Arena plan excites officials, fans at crumbling Cal Expo

The water pipes at Cal Expo are deteriorating. The sewer system is outdated. Fewer people are showing up at the horse track.

California's state fairground – once envisioned as a "Disneyland of the North" – is starting to resemble a concrete wasteland when the fair isn't under way.

So it's easy to understand why Brian May, a Cal Expo executive, was so excited about the news he received Friday: Negotiators for Cal Expo and the NBA have agreed to move ahead on plans to build a Sacramento Kings basketball arena at the fairground.

Not only would that mean renewed prominence for 40-year-old Cal Expo, but an infusion of cash to help pay for $40 million in needed repairs. It's enough to make the potential traffic headaches tolerable.

"This is just a great opportunity to modernize and redevelop," May said Saturday. "We hear a lot from people we do business with that our facilities are starting to look tired, and they're not meeting their needs."

The Kings are still years away from a new arena – wherever it ends up, if anywhere in Sacramento at all.

For now, the NBA and Cal Expo plan to spend the next 180 days hammering out a development plan that would accommodate both an arena and a revamped fairground. Developers will submit proposals for turning the 360-acre fairground into a mixed-use and entertainment district.

Traffic will surely be among the thorniest issues, since the fairground sits just off a bottleneck-prone stretch of the Capital City Freeway. The site, however, does feature a vast parking lot, which usually fills up only during the two weeks of the State Fair.

"We recognize it's an issue for us and the public, and it will be addressed," May said.

While news of the arena deal had many thinking Saturday about what could be, some Cal Expo regulars are concerned about what might change – beyond just the traffic.

At the horse-racing track and satellite betting facility, several gamblers said a new arena might bring in more visitors and help offset some of the escalating costs.

But there has been talk that a new arena might mean the demise of racing at Cal Expo. May said the track has become a financial drain on Cal Expo's $30 million budget, as the industry has faced a slide nationwide.

Cal Expo is committed to harness racing and satellite off-track betting, May said, for at least another two years. After that, he wouldn't say.

Kings fan Michael Smith, who said he was up $50 on his off-track wagering Saturday, sees no reason an arena and a racetrack can't co-exist. At 360 acres, Cal Expo certainly is big enough, he said.

"That's just like moving a casino out of Reno," said Smith, 58, of Sacramento. "Where would we go?"

Kit Lolohea said he hoped a new arena might inject some money and bring down prices at Cal Expo. He complained about $8 parking and buffalo wings that cost $7.

"I lose $20 before I walk in the door," said Lolohea, 59, of south Sacramento, sitting behind a bank of televisions as he wagered on a race at Hollywood Park.

On the other side of Cal Expo, Richard Walter stood in the shade of an awning on his motor home.

The Orlando, Fla., retiree stays at Cal Expo's RV park when he's in town visiting his son. He praised it as one of the best he's visited. "Great hookups," he said.

Walter said an arena would bring renewed interest in the area, attracting new restaurants and amenities.

Outside Raging Waters water park, a group of 19- and 20-year-olds took a break from swimming and fired up a barbecue.

Vincent Williams, 20, said he's a Kings fan, and he figures an arena at Cal Expo makes sense because it's got so much parking already. He looked across the sea of pavement on the fairground's north side.

"You don't have that downtown," he said, referring to an alternative arena site at the railyard.

Williams said he would support a new arena, which would add a new level of excitement to Kings basketball. A recent game at Arco Arena against the Clippers "was so boring we left after the first quarter," he said.

Whatever happens, May said Cal Expo would move at a slow pace to ensure that the public has enough time to weigh in.

"The deal is a complex one, and parties are committed to do it right," May said.

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