So there is a report that the Sacramento Council vote may be delayed for 2 days so that it can be reviewed and evaluated.
Now I don't think that this will matter much in the scheme of things (in fact I'm pretty sure that none of this matters much) but I am hopeful that it happens.
You only have to look at Kevin Johnson's interview yesterday to realize that he really does not want to address the deal points of this issue. I highly recommend that you fast forward to the 8 minute mark and listen to the response given to a straight yes or no question.
I don't have any doubt that Sacramento City Council will ultimately pass this proposal because they have done so at every opportunity in the past. I do hope that they pass it after having some significant public dialogue around this issue BOTH so that the general public can become aware of the inherent weaknesses of the deal and so that Sacramento taxpayers can be aware of what they are getting themselves into. I'm a basketball guy and always have been but I have been on the record as opposed to deals that impact our cities general fund. If I were down there I would feel the same way.
The truth about their deal is that unless they hit the 1.4 million attendance figure every single year (which is the average of their best years, far in excess of what they can possibly get without playoff appearances) this deal is structured in a way that practically ensures that hotel money will come out of the general fund to repay those bond payments.
I don't know whether the NBA will look closely at the potential regional impacts of this deal but I do think that they have to have some sense of accountability. Do they want front page headlines as their arena deal being the straw that broke the camels back and lead Sacramento to bankruptcy? Has the city government provided enough assurances that they will not wind up repeating Stockton's mistakes?
Your guess is as good as mine whether that matters or not. I will be glad to see them have a couple of days of actual discussion on the pro's and con's of the deal so that we don't have to feel like the cheerleaders have dominated the dialogue down there.