Venue News: Sacramento Kings’ Golden 1 Center Officially Opens; 2020 Tokyo Olympics Costs Skyrocket

The Sacramento Kings hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Golden 1 Center on Sept. 30.

After years of searching for a new home, the Sacramento Kings have  opened a new venue that raises the bar of what an arena can be, writes the Associated Press. Along with some of the modern accouterments that have become commonplace like smartphone apps that allow fans to order food or watch replays from their seats, giant screens to watch the game and high-speed connections that let fans post photos almost instantaneously, the Golden 1 Center also has many first-of-its-kind features. It has the NBA’s first 4K ultra HD videoboard — providing a picture four times clearer than HD — that stretches 84 feet long and hangar doors, which can open to allow the delta breeze to cool the building and provide the option for concerts — or eventually even basketball games — with an indoor-outdoor feel…

…In its winning bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics, organizers in Tokyo promised a compact Games, with 28 of the 31 competition venues within about a five-mile radius of the Olympic Village, writes The Washington Post. But in the wake of soaring costs involved with building a number of temporary venues and other budgetary missteps, that promise is on the verge of being abandoned as organizers now may move a number of events away from Japan’s capital city — some of them hundreds of miles away…

…As he exited Major League Baseball in 2014, former commissioner Bud Selig proudly pointed to the 20 new ballparks that opened during his 22-year tenure as a major part of his legacy. He probably figured they would last quite a bit longer, though, writes USA Today. As one team bids farewell to a stadium only two decades old, another facility in the same age range is on the endangered list and a third one — younger than the other two — could be abandoned as well. At this rate, much of Selig’s ballpark legacy could be obliterated in a matter of years. That raises concerns that major league cities — which in some cases might have recently finished paying for a stadium or have bond obligations decades into the future — could be faced with having to raise money for a new venue or risk seeing the occupants leave, or at least threaten to…

…As Temple University alumni prepare to return to campus for Homecoming weekend, another issue returns to campus as well, writes CBS Philly. Friday afternoon, community faith leaders and the group Stadium Stompers protested the University’s proposal for the building of an on campus football stadium. The group says the stadium will worsen quality of life for neighbors with issues like parking, traffic, litter and noise. Temple says they’re taking those concerns into account. According to the school, money needed for the 35,000-seat stadium, if built, would come from fundraising and other sources. Adding the stadium will save the school money in the long run. Right now, Temple pays $3 million a year to use Lincoln Financial Field for home games…

…Vivint Smart Home Arena will be transformed as the result of a $125 million renovation, according to NBA.com. The majority of the construction will begin at the conclusion of the 2016-17 Utah Jazz basketball season with anticipated completion by fall 2017. A series of top-to-bottom upgrades on all six levels of Vivint Smart Home Arena will elevate the guest experience with redesigned lower and upper bowl concourses; vibrant social spots from private clubs/suites to open gathering spaces; more food choices with the installation of “live” kitchens; and a new 12,000-square-foot indoor lobby to welcome guests. A custom-designed video display system was installed in 2013 as part of a $15 million arena investment…

…A plan to build an NFL stadium in Las Vegas and lure the Raiders from Oakland crossed a major hurdle when a Nevada oversight committee voted unanimously to recommend $750 million in public funding for the project, writes the Associated Press. The Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee recommended raising the hotel tax in the Las Vegas area to help pay for a 65,000-seat domed venue that was promoted and would be partially financed by billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. Proponents still need to win over the governor, the Legislature, and three-quarters of NFL owners to make the project a reality, but it’s a significant milestone for a city that’s never had a professional football team and has been hammering out the particulars of the Raiders deal for months…

…D.C. United shared an updated look at their new stadium, when the club released new renderings of their future home for the first time since January. The stadium, tentatively named D.C. United Stadium, is scheduled to open in 2018 in Southwest D.C. In addition to releasing updated renderings, D.C. announced several external features that will shape the fan experience at the stadium.