by Jerry Feitelberg

Sacramento Citizens lawyers Patrick Soluri and Jeffery Anderson told the Sacramento City Council on Friday that they will continue their lawsuit to pursue blocking the subsidy that will pay for the city’s share for the Sacramento Kings new arena of $255 million, the Kings share is $222 million. Soluri and Sac Citizens were turned down by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley in their attempt to stop the city from paying $255 million out of public subsidies.

Souluri during the meeting with the city council argued that the Kings are benefitting from back room deals that were’nt part of the subsidy. Soluri also said that the parking garages owned by the city should not have been part of the subsidy as well. The city plans to use parking revenue to help pay back the $255 million subsidy.

Frawley said that the term sheet that was voted on by the city council last year approving the arena terms was not binding. Frawley had indicated as much on Thursday and that he would toss out the Sac Citizens lawsuit. The City said that the garages are in bad shape and that they are in need of repairs and that the garages are worthless and shouldn’t be counted on the term sheet as an expenditure of the subsidy.

The Citizens group argued that the secret subsidies included the garage, but there was nothing secret about the city garages being part of the deal as Soluri and Anderson argued. Also that erecting digital advertising billboards on city property also should not be part of the subsidy.

Dawn McIntosh an attorney representing the city said that all the terms was aired on TV, radio, newspaper print, and internet and that there was no secret back room deal made concerning the subsidy by the city’s part, (there was full disclosure through the media concerning) “any secret deal they think might have happened” said McIntosh.

In Feburary Frawley ruled that arena opponents who tried to have signed petitions to get a ballot measure to question if public monies should be used for any new sports or entertainment facilities be built on the public’s dime was thrown out because the ballots were legally flawed. Frawley was assigned to preside over the “secret subsidy” hearing which he tossed out the arena opponents arguement Friday.

The lawyers also argued against the Kings getting city owned land valued at $32 million and that the city had valued the billboard and garages at zero. This fight isn’t over yet according to Soluri and Anderson who are putting together a voter referandum that would overturn the city council’s vote last Tuesday to approve construction on the new arena. The City Council approved the new arena in a 7-2 vote. The city argued that the financial term package can’t be part of the referandum.

Jerry Feitelberg is covering the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors arena developments for http://www.sportsradioservice.com