Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "tom friery"

City Council revisits 2003 contracts with Sacramento Kings

2010-09-08T05:51:53Z

The City Council on Tuesday revisited the city’s 2003 loan agreements with the Sacramento Kings and decided to keep them in effect.

City Treasurer Russ Fehr said he discovered the possible issue with the old loan agreement a few months ago. He said he discussed the matter with City Attorney Eileen Teichert, and she suggested that the current City Council examine the contract because it didn’t go before council members in 2003.

The Kings’ remaining debt to the city is $68 million, according to Fehr.

In 1997, the Kings and the city signed a contract that permitted the Kings to pay back its loans to the city after reimbursing $30 million in debt to another party, Fehr said.

Then, in 2003, the Kings worked with former City Treasurer Tom Friery to alter its contract with the city. The Kings decided to borrow an undisclosed amount from the National Basketball Association, and wanted to be able to reimburse the NBA before it paid back the city, according to Fehr.

The amount of debt specified in the contract changed, too. The new language permitted the Kings to pay up to $75 million in loans to the NBA before reimbursing the city’s loans.

Friery made that change without City Council approval, according to Fehr.

The changes to the contract contained minimal risk, Fehr said.

Councilman Kevin McCarty voted against authorizing the old loan agreement, saying that he felt uncomfortable with the way it had been handled in 2003.

Five other council members voted to greenlight the old loan contract. Council members Robbie Waters, Rob Fong and Sandy Sheedy were absent from the meeting.

Janelle Gray, a debt officer for the city, wrote in a Sept. 7 report that the Kings have been paying their debts to the city.

Read the city staff report on the issue here.

Photo of Kevin McCarty by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Task force questions prospective arena developers

2010-02-18T06:59:14Z

Prospective developers for a new sports and entertainment complex were questioned by Mayor Kevin Johnson’s volunteer task force Wednesday night.

The 12-member task force, which includes real estate, finance and communications executives, asked numerous follow-up questions after listening to presentations by Matt Haines, Doug Tatara and Ali Mackani.

Haines, who owns Bistro 33 in Midtown, told the task force about his proposal to build the complex in downtown’s Docks Area. “This would be a direct front-door” to Old Sacramento, he said.

Old Sacramento is north of the proposed area.

Task force project coordinator Matt Massari wrote earlier that Haines’ Docks Area project would be “adjacent to the central business district defined on the north by Capitol Mall, on the east by the I-5 freeway, on the south by Broadway and on the west by the Sacramento River.”

Haines proposed to finance the project by selling seats at the complex.

Task force member Mark Harris called Haines’ ideas "great," but said Haines had not figured out every detail on how to finance his proposed project.

Tatara took the floor after Haines. He pitched a project that would include an arena, theme park and monorail at Cal Expo.

He suggested that the theme park would finance the project. “This visitor-generation goal is important for the purpose of attracting corporate equity marketing sponsors who will finance the project.”

Task force member Tom Friery asked Tatara if he had discussed his proposal with the state, which owns Cal Expo.

“I have not,” Tatara said. “Again, you have to understand that I’ve been working behind the scenes on this for 18 months because Cal Expo wouldn’t talk to me.”

Mackani made the final presentation. He proposed building the entertainment and sports center in the Westfield Downtown Plaza. “We have a line item in our budget -- to buy Westfield,” Mackani said.

He said the project's budget would be $500 million: debt financing would be $200 million; equity partners would provide $100 million; private placement would be $100 million; and the city would invest $100 million.

Friery noted that the task force was told not to consider city funding. But task force co-chairman Chris Lehane indicated that Mackani’s idea for city funding might not violate the panel's principles because it was not related to a “broad-based tax.”

The task force is researching seven private-sector proposals and two other plans: remodeling Arco Arena and building an arena at Cal Expo.

Task force members will meet again Thursday to hear from the remaining prospective developers. The public meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to noon at the Natomas Holiday Inn on Advantage Way.

The panel's recommendations will be delivered to the City Council.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Public can address mayor's task force on arena

2009-11-20T05:47:44Z

Citizens will get to present their views about a proposal for a new arena and entertainment center to Mayor Kevin Johnson’s task force, the mayor said. His remarks came at a news conference Johnson held Thursday in Old Sacramento to introduce the panel’s members.

Community feedback will be part of the review process before the task force makes its recommendations to the City Council, he said.

The 12-member task force is tentatively planning to hold public meetings on the first and third Thursdays of each month, said Chris Lehane, task force co-chairman and partner in Fabiani & Lehane, a public relations firm. The task force includes real estate, finance, and communications executives. Public meetings may begin in December, he said, adding, “We’re really looking for feedback and information from the community.”

Lehane said the task force expects to make its recommendations to the City Council in mid-March. 

Johnson has tied building an arena and entertainment complex to making Sacramento a “world-class city.”

The task force will analyze developers' ideas for the complex. Members, who come from a wide range of professions, are not paid.

Co-chair Chris Lehane was the Special Assistant Counsel to President Bill Clinton from 1995 to 1997. Restaurateur Lina Fat is the other co-chair.

Other members include land development executive Dea Spanos Berberian; former city treasurer Tom Friery, infrastructure finance executive Mark Harris; local union leader Matt Kelly, sports facility designer Dan Meis, former aide to Gov. Schwarzenegger Adam Mendelsohn and lobbyist Ron Tom.

Photo by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.