Arnold’s Fire Sale

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has some ideas on how to get the state out of its financial morass, and one idea is to sell venues like the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Daly City’s Cow Palace.

Schwarzenegger was expected at press time to propose the sale of several venues and fairgrounds, according to the Sacramento Bee and Los Angeles Times.

Property includes the Del Mar Fairgrounds, Orange County and Ventura County fairgrounds, and Cal Expo, the 850-acre plot that is home to the California State Fair.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, told the Bee he would consider selling Cal Expo, considering the troubled state budget.

“It’s not a new idea, but I and my colleagues are certainly open to any and all creative ideas, and you know every dollar saved through ideas like this means a dollar less of painful cuts to public education, to the most vulnerable people in California,” Steinberg said.

The National Basketball Association is trying to develop an arena on the site of Cal Expo, but the plan does not address it, according to the Bee. Sale of all the properties – including San Quentin State Prison – would raise between $600 million and $1 billion, although financial relief is still two to five years away, according to the Times.