SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, Mayor Kevin Johnson and the Sacramento Kings launched the Sacramento First Community Advisory Council, a new leadership group dedicated to ensuring the downtown Entertainment and Sports Center (ESC) achieves transformative economic and community impact for the Sacramento region.
“From day one, we’ve said this project is bigger than basketball,” said Mayor Kevin Johnson. “It must also bring new jobs to local residents, new revenues to local businesses, and new vitality to downtown and our region as a whole. This Council makes a powerful statement about our seriousness of purpose in delivering on the historic, once-in-generation potential of the Entertainment and Sports Center.”
“The Kings are immensely proud of this project and this Council,” said Kings President Chris Granger. “We are honored to work with this dynamic group of leaders in fulfilling our collective commitment to ensuring the Entertainment and Sport Center becomes a win for both the Kings and Sacramento.”
Sacramento First will be co-chaired by Council Member Allen Warren and Kings Attorney Clothilde Hewlett, a national expert on diversity and small business contracting. Additional members include leaders from a variety of business, labor, faith, civic, government and community backgrounds:
- Councilmember Allen Warren (Co-Chair)
- Clothilde Hewlett, Partner, Nossaman LLP (Co-Chair)
- Daniel Conway, Chief of Staff to Mayor Kevin Johnson
- Azizza Goines, President and CEO, Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce
- Pastor Kevin Brown, Pastor, Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church
- Kathy Kossick, Executive Director, Sacramento Employment & Training Agency
- Peter Tateishi, CEO, Sacramento Region Builders Exchange
- Dennis Canevari, President, Sacramento-Sierra Building and Construction Trades Council
- Lino Pedres, President, Sacramento Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO
- Michael Ault, Executive Director, Downtown Sacramento Partnership
- Clint Williams, Business Development Manager, Turner Construction
- Shelly Willis, Executive Director, Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission
- Alastair Macgregor, Vice President, AECOM
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Sacramento First will oversee implementation of several initiatives developed by the Kings, City and community partners in seven focus areas:
- Local Hiring and Workforce Development
- Local and Small Business Participation
- Green and Sustainability
- Arts and Culture
- Education and Youth
- Community and Neighborhood Issues
- Public Transparency and Accountability
“I’m honored to Co-Chair this Council and eager to get to work,” said Council Member Warren. “I commend the Mayor and the Kings for their genuine commitment to working with the community to ensure this project remains tethered to economic and community development at every step of the way.”
The Council will meet on a quarterly basis throughout the construction of the ESC, beginning in June 2014. In addition, the Council will develop a ‘Community Impact Scorecard’ that it will update and publish on a regular basis to inform the public on the ESC’s progress against specific goals and objectives.
Construction of the ESC is anticipated to begin in Summer 2014 and be completed by October 2016.
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