The XC included a full-working model lounge.
REPORTING FROM SACRAMENTO — With views of cranes and pouring concrete right next door, the Sacramento Kings’ Experience Center (the XC) looks over the site of the new Sacramento Entertainment and Sports Center from 660 J Street in downtown Sacramento. The XC gives fans a taste of the innovations the new facility will include by providing them with an interactive preview experience.
Finding inspiration from what other National Basketball Association arenas were doing to raise excitement around new construction, Kings owner Vivek Ranadive ordered the XC to happen after he acquired the team with his fellow owners about a year ago. The XC was built in eight weeks by AECOM and Turner Construction, which are the same companies working on the actual arena.
“The idea of this arena is to make it bigger and better than anything else out there,” said Director of Arena Programming James Rasmussen, “with technology that won’t only be innovative for today’s audiences, but also still on the cutting edge in five years.”
Before showing off any of its technological features, the XC immediately sets the tone of the new arena by greeting visitors with a fully-furnished and functional lounge area, including couches, a bar lined with bar stools and a purple-lit plant wall. A 4,000-sq.-ft. lounge, similar to this one, is planned for the private, VIP area where suite and loft holders will be able to congregate and network during games.
Using Oculous Rift technology, the XC features a virtual reality experience through a pair of goggles that, when worn, offers a stereoscopic 3D view of the arena from the outside, as well as courtside and suite level views, and a greeting from a virtual Demarcus Cousins. Oculous Rift also uses tracking technology to provide 360-degree head tracking, so when you turn your head to the right, your view of the arena also turns, allowing you to explore the site more fully.
“It allows people to really experience it in a new way that is so much more powerful than just having a video or a photo,” said Rasmussen. “It’s also representative of the kind of high-tech features we’re going to have in the new arena.”
Using iPads, the XC offered another way to virtually explore the new arena. When pointed at two kiosks, interactive renderings of the view from the plaza or on the concourse appear on the touch screens, giving users an example of what they would see from certain spots in the building. One option on the iPad mapped out the airflow patterns of the region to show how entries and openings in the arena will take advantage of the winds to cool the bowl.
In addition to exploration of the future arena, the XC also includes a suite and a loft, both built to scale and fully furnished. With a sales team and conference room just across the way, these model luxury seating areas provide potential buyers with an actual product to fully interact with. The 580-sq.-ft. suites are almost twice as large as those at Sleep Train Arena, the current home of the Sacramento Kings.
Each one will include padded seating facing the court and a long table that seats eight in the back next to the storage and built-in refrigerator. A countertop will double as a wireless charging station, and another will keep food warm even while staying cool to the touch. Two flat screens will provide multiple camera views of the game as well as real-time statistics on players, all controlled by a tablet, which will also be used to order food and beverages.
“One of the benefits of the suites is that you’ll have access to your suite 24 hours a day, five days a week,” said Paul Suchomel, manager of Suite Sales and Service.
A model loft is also set up next door as a cheaper, smaller premium seating option that will include much of the same technology and amenities minus the wireless charging station and 24-hour access.
“Lofts I think fit a lot better in Sacramento just based on the amount of smaller to midsize companies,” said Suchomel. “We don’t have a ton of Fortune 500 headquarters here in Sacramento, which is why we’ve got 48 lofts and 34 suites. And that’s by design just because the loft is smaller and more intimate, almost like a living room style feel. The suite is built to make sure there are a number of ways to interact with your customers or family members; it’s just a lot more versatile.”
The pricetag of a suite or loft ranges based on size and proximity to center court, as well as the number of years contracted. The smallest term length for a suite is seven years, with 10- and 12-year options, while lofts have eight or 11-year options. Suchomel said prices range from $200,000 to $400,000 approximately, with an average contract length of 11 years. All but a couple of suites have already been reserved, completely sold or are in the contract phase. “We throw in the first round of the playoffs complimentary with the 12-year contract, which is a pretty nice benefit,” said Suchomel. “The contract is transferrable, too, so between the seven-year and 12-year, you might as well do the 12, because by year six if you need to get out, it’s transferrable, so you’re able to do that.”
Lofts went on sale a month ago and about half of them are sold.
The model suite and loft at the XC both had images on either sidewall to illustrate what the view would be to the left and right as well as a wall-to-wall screen that showed what the view of the court would be.
“Especially for the price tag on these, I think it’s really important for people to be able to see what they’re getting. People are definitely pretty excited when they come in. It’s different from anything else they’ve seen. It’s almost double the size of our largest suite now.”
Suchomel said they are still playing around with branding in the suites. Potentially, a glass section between the door and the wall could feature a stained-glass logo. There could even be a branding wall in the suite itself with a backlit logo and logos on the screens.
Beyond the XC, the new arena itself, which is scheduled to be completed in 2016, promises to wow with features like aircraft hangar-like doors that will be able to open up the 17,500-seat arena. Local artists and products will be tapped for decorating, with a few art pieces already being featured at the XC. Sustainability will also play a major role in the new arena’s operations as the owners strive for LEED Gold certification.
Interviewed for this story: James Rasmussen and Paul Suchomel, (916) 928-3604