NBA’s New Sacto Plan

National Basketball Association officials have unveiled designs for a new venue for the Sacramento Kings basketball team, along with an adjacent revamped California State Fair site.

The multibillion-dollar plan includes a mixed-use development featuring an 800,000-square-foot basketball arena, Cal Expo facilities for sporting events, concerts and trade shows, as well as housing, shops and restaurants.

But while the plan may look impressive, NBA officials admitted during a recent meeting with Cal Expo board members that they’ve yet to work out exactly how the project will be funded, the Sacramento Bee reported.

Construction costs for the arena and fairgrounds are expected to reach $500 million to $600 million, according to the NBA presentation, with the rest of the project ringing in at nearly $2 billion as it’s developed over a 25-year timeline.

Officials at the meeting were still reportedly quick to jump aboard the NBA’s plan in light of current conditions at the aging fairgrounds and 20-year-old ARCO Arena that houses the Kings.

NBA and Cal Expo will seek a developer to partner on the project, as well as funding from private and public resources, the paper said.

Voters in the region shot down two proposals to raise county sales tax to partially fund a new arena in 2006.