In October our chapter held its first joint meeting with Calmentor. The meeting was held at the SACOG Office in Downtown Sacramento, with John Dangberg as the guest speaker. John has been Assistant City Manager for the City of Sacramento since 2006 and is currently the Project Director for the Entertainment and Sports Center Project.

As part of his talk, Mr. Dangberg discussed details of the Downtown Arena Project. He reviewed unique design features of the project, which include:

• A below grade “bowl” with an open perimeter concourse at the ground level.
• A large open view into the area from surrounding streets.
• Below ground access for trucking/shipping/receiving.
• A large open plaza for concerts, other events, and overflow crowds.
• Plans for facilities immediately adjacent to the arena including a hotel.

Mr. Dangberg concluded his talk with an overview of the project’s timeline and a brief discussion about ideas for use of the current Sleep Train Arena in Natomas.