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Contractor Outreach Meetings Announced for New Arena

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Today, the Sacramento Kings and Turner Construction announced the 2014 calendar of outreach meetings for construction opportunities with the new Entertainment and Sports Center (ESC). The goal of these meetings is to educate and assist contractors interested in competing for the estimated nearly $300 million in construction work needed to build the new ESC.

“We are excited to launch the contractor outreach plan for the new ESC,” said Chris Granger, President of the Kings. “We are committed to a competitive and inclusive bidding process that provides the best construction firms, and particularly local and small businesses, every opportunity to compete for and win construction bids for the ESC. These meetings are a key part of our overall strategy to honor that commitment.”

The outreach meetings will provide contractors with the opportunity to prepare for upcoming bid packages and the requirements associated with them. Topics will include: key dates for construction and bidding; local and small business participation goals; prequalification and certification requirements, workforce and apprenticeship goals, and technical assistance and networking opportunities.

The outreach meetings represent one component of a broader outreach strategy that will also include extensive promotion and education via web and social media platforms, email distribution lists, databases, and additional small-group outreach events.

“I applaud the Kings and Turner for their commitment to promoting contracting opportunities, especially to local businesses,” said Mayor Kevin Johnson. “We want the best and the brightest companies in the region and beyond competing for the honor of building a facility that will bring so many economic and civic benefits to our community.”

The scheduled dates and locations of future meetings are:

Thursday, March 6 @ 5:00pm - 6:30pm
Robertson Community Center - 3525 Norwood Avenue

Thursday, May 1 @ 5:00pm - 6:30pm
City Hall Council Chambers - 915 I Street

Wednesday, July 9 @ 5:00pm - 6:30pm
City Hall Council Chambers - 915 I Street

Thursday, September 4 @ 5:00pm - 6:30pm
City Hall Council Chambers - 915 I Street

Tuesday, December 9 @ 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Universal Technical Institute - 4100 Duckhorn Drive

Construction of the ESC is expected to create an estimated 3,000 on-site and off-site jobs during construction, including 200 – 300 apprenticeship opportunities. In recent months, Turner, Sacramento Kings, City of Sacramento and the Sacramento-Sierra Building Trades have collaborated to develop a series of targets to maximize the positive impact of the ESC project to the local economy. These include:

  • At least 60 percent of biddable work awarded to local businesses;
  • At least 20 percent of biddable work to small businesses; and
  • At least 70 apprentices on the project from disadvantaged backgrounds and/or communities.

Demolition of the Downtown Plaza Mall arena site is scheduled to start this summer, with the groundbreaking for the new arena to begin in September 2014. The facility is expected to be completed by October 2016.

Turner will facilitate these meetings in conjunction with other partners on the ESC project, including the Sacramento Kings, City of Sacramento, ICON Venue Group, and the Sacramento-Sierra Building Trades.

The meetings will be open to the public; however, seating will be limited.

Registration for future outreach events will be open to the public 10 days prior to each outreach event.

To sign up for future updates on the outreach meetings and overall construction bidding schedule, please visit http://www.mykingsevents.com/forms/SacramentoESCInterest.