http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/24555.html
Marcos Bretón: New arena 'negotiations' sounding all too familiar
By Marcos Bretón - Bee Columnist
Last Updated 12:30 am PDT Sunday, September 17, 2006
The Bee headline was in big, bold letters ...
"Maloofs: City sabotaged arena"
"The Kings owners also say the developer lied to them"
The date was Oct. 29, 2003.
Then the headlines read ...
"A city arena is off the table, Kings insist"
It was Aug 7, 2004.
And then it was:
"Arena plan scuttled; Kings' future unsettled"
That was Feb. 24, 2005.
And then:
"Arena talks put on hold"
"Failure to agree on financing ends drive for a November vote"
June 30, 2006.
And then:
"Maloofs quit arena talks"
"Disagreement surfaces over parking, project's size and amenities"
That baby ran Thursday, when my San Jose State education kicked in and I noticed a trend here.
You know, I thought, the Maloof brothers are like those gringo tourists at a Tijuana swap meet -- the ones who haggle, scream and storm away as a negotiating ploy.
Deep down, they really want to buy the velvet Elvis on a cross -- but not for no stinkin' 10 pesos!
It's five or sayonara!
What's that? Sayonora is Japanese, not Spanish? I'm outta here! I feel betrayed!
Good grief.
I think I speak for much of Sacramento when I say:
I'm fed up to here with this whole downtown arena debacle and these Maloof guys with their paper-thin skin, hangdog looks and loud barks whenever someone dares disagree with them.
I mean, I'm leaning toward voting to raise my danged sales tax for what will largely be a public giveaway of $500 million to build the Kings a new arena at the Union Pacific railyard. As a city resident raising a young family, I can see the benefits of a downtown arena to my family, my city and my property value.
Sure, if I voted for this thing, I'd hold my nose with both hands and turn the levers with my toes -- which truly stinks.
But how many times have we held our noses behind that soiled curtain offering fools choices on Election Day?
Remember Dan Lungren vs. Gray Davis?
The fumes knocked me to my knees on that one. And let's not even mention John Kerry vs. W.
The point being: As a voter, I've already stomached much more odious choices than a publicly financed arena controlled by the Maloofs.
But then the Maloof boys go on another Tijuana bender and play the BETRAYAL card.
And then a tough sell on the arena grows daunting.
Understood. These are high-wire negotiations with a lot of posturing and lot of lying.
Walking away from the negotiating table is part of the negotiating.
But the Maloofs painting themselves as victims is too much to swallow. You can't be the victim when you own the monopoly, the card table, the jacks, jokers, chips -- and the very air in the room.
The Maloofs blew up when drawings of a potential arena at the UP railyard showed them squeezed into a small space -- and robbed of many of the parking spaces they claim they were promised. City folks deny those claims.
OK. So, the Maloofs respond to one bad meeting by going to a news conference at the railyard where, without warning to civic leaders standing with them, they poured cold water on moving the Kings downtown?
City and county leaders were floored, humiliated -- spent that whole event scraping their jaws off the ground.
Why would the Maloofs do that when two years ago, they stormed out of a City Council meeting when City Councilman Steve Cohn surprised them with talk of splitting the arena costs 50-50?
If they were furious with the city for negotiating in public then -- and without the courtesy of a heads-up -- why would the Maloofs turn around and do the same thing?
And then they pulled the betrayal card?
No way. At the sleazy intersection of sports, public money and greed -- no one should be allowed to get away with that.
The truth is, the Maloofs and Sacramento are locked in an uneasy marriage filled with loathing.
They are stuck with each other and would each be diminished by a divorce.
This marriage can bring out the best in both, but right now it's the worst as time slips away toward Election Day.
Meantime, no one can cry if the arena loses as a consequence of this mess, but someone probably will. Guess who?
About the writer: Reach Marcos Bretón at (916) 321-1096 or mbreton@sacbee.com.
Marcos Bretón: New arena 'negotiations' sounding all too familiar
By Marcos Bretón - Bee Columnist
Last Updated 12:30 am PDT Sunday, September 17, 2006
The Bee headline was in big, bold letters ...
"Maloofs: City sabotaged arena"
"The Kings owners also say the developer lied to them"
The date was Oct. 29, 2003.
Then the headlines read ...
"A city arena is off the table, Kings insist"
It was Aug 7, 2004.
And then it was:
"Arena plan scuttled; Kings' future unsettled"
That was Feb. 24, 2005.
And then:
"Arena talks put on hold"
"Failure to agree on financing ends drive for a November vote"
June 30, 2006.
And then:
"Maloofs quit arena talks"
"Disagreement surfaces over parking, project's size and amenities"
That baby ran Thursday, when my San Jose State education kicked in and I noticed a trend here.
You know, I thought, the Maloof brothers are like those gringo tourists at a Tijuana swap meet -- the ones who haggle, scream and storm away as a negotiating ploy.
Deep down, they really want to buy the velvet Elvis on a cross -- but not for no stinkin' 10 pesos!
It's five or sayonara!
What's that? Sayonora is Japanese, not Spanish? I'm outta here! I feel betrayed!
Good grief.
I think I speak for much of Sacramento when I say:
I'm fed up to here with this whole downtown arena debacle and these Maloof guys with their paper-thin skin, hangdog looks and loud barks whenever someone dares disagree with them.
I mean, I'm leaning toward voting to raise my danged sales tax for what will largely be a public giveaway of $500 million to build the Kings a new arena at the Union Pacific railyard. As a city resident raising a young family, I can see the benefits of a downtown arena to my family, my city and my property value.
Sure, if I voted for this thing, I'd hold my nose with both hands and turn the levers with my toes -- which truly stinks.
But how many times have we held our noses behind that soiled curtain offering fools choices on Election Day?
Remember Dan Lungren vs. Gray Davis?
The fumes knocked me to my knees on that one. And let's not even mention John Kerry vs. W.
The point being: As a voter, I've already stomached much more odious choices than a publicly financed arena controlled by the Maloofs.
But then the Maloof boys go on another Tijuana bender and play the BETRAYAL card.
And then a tough sell on the arena grows daunting.
Understood. These are high-wire negotiations with a lot of posturing and lot of lying.
Walking away from the negotiating table is part of the negotiating.
But the Maloofs painting themselves as victims is too much to swallow. You can't be the victim when you own the monopoly, the card table, the jacks, jokers, chips -- and the very air in the room.
The Maloofs blew up when drawings of a potential arena at the UP railyard showed them squeezed into a small space -- and robbed of many of the parking spaces they claim they were promised. City folks deny those claims.
OK. So, the Maloofs respond to one bad meeting by going to a news conference at the railyard where, without warning to civic leaders standing with them, they poured cold water on moving the Kings downtown?
City and county leaders were floored, humiliated -- spent that whole event scraping their jaws off the ground.
Why would the Maloofs do that when two years ago, they stormed out of a City Council meeting when City Councilman Steve Cohn surprised them with talk of splitting the arena costs 50-50?
If they were furious with the city for negotiating in public then -- and without the courtesy of a heads-up -- why would the Maloofs turn around and do the same thing?
And then they pulled the betrayal card?
No way. At the sleazy intersection of sports, public money and greed -- no one should be allowed to get away with that.
The truth is, the Maloofs and Sacramento are locked in an uneasy marriage filled with loathing.
They are stuck with each other and would each be diminished by a divorce.
This marriage can bring out the best in both, but right now it's the worst as time slips away toward Election Day.
Meantime, no one can cry if the arena loses as a consequence of this mess, but someone probably will. Guess who?
About the writer: Reach Marcos Bretón at (916) 321-1096 or mbreton@sacbee.com.
