Elk Grove Mayor on Soccer Stadium - 'We're getting really, really close' On Mall - 'It's back on track'

February 23, 2014 | In two separate news interview that aired today on Sacramento's KCRA, Elk Grove Mayor Gary Davis expressed confi...

February 23, 2014 |

In two separate news interview that aired today on Sacramento's KCRA, Elk Grove Mayor Gary Davis expressed confidence that the city would succeed in building a professional soccer stadium, land a Major League Soccer team and that the unfinished Elk Grove Promenade Mall will be rechristened The Outlet Collection at Elk Grove and, it will be open soon.

See both videos below.





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38 comments

Anonymous said...

Looks like the mayor has been smoking some weed. It would explain his pipe dream that the MLS would expand to the most southern suburb of Sacramento, furthest away from the money of the foothills.

Anonymous said...

Some ground breaking news for sure...starting to sound like a broken record. This man needs a reality check. How does he plan on paying for this $100M complex...with some sausage sizzles and collections at the door?Not that it has a chance in ---- coming here in the first place.

How many opportunities have we missed because of our city council being so lazer focused on two projects for so long. It's time to bite the bullet and move on....

Anonymous said...

Did that reporter say "25,000 jobs" between the mall and a stadium?? Who are they kidding? That's so crazy even Channel 3 should have questioned them. Mayor, please stay lazer focused with your estimates. This number is unrealistic and misleading. Your honesty is on the line here. Did teh reporter get it right? Is that what you told them? Please reply Mayor Davis...we need to know if this number is correct and not a pipe dream.

Thomas A. Anderson said...

The mayor seems to be channeling former council member Mike Leary, circa 2008. Remember Leary was claiming he brought 10,000 jobs to Elk Grove. The mayor got this 25,000 job figure the same place as Leary - from thin air!

Anonymous said...

I for one can't wait to go SHOPPING!!!! Thank you Mayor for finally bringing the mall back to life! Well done!

Lynn said...

The mall will come to life when Howard Hughes believe it is fiscally viable, or our city gives them lots of incentives... Please we have been hearing the same mall story for two years.

Anonymous said...

Elk Grove is becoming a combination of South Sac, Stockton and Modesto.

Ugly bland subdivisions, cheap strip centers, convenience stores, fast food joints, an amusement park in a residential neighborhood and now a soccer stadium out in the boonies.

To top this off this place is extremely devoid of culture.

Anonymous said...

Reallly????

Did she say Saks Fifth Avenue, Coach and the Nordstrom Rack?

Did he say that you will see people coming from probably a hundred miles?

Did he forget about Walnut Creek's Broadway Center, Pleasanton's mall, Rosevile Galleria, Folsom Outlets, Vacaville Outlets, Tracy Outlets, Livermore Outlets, the Napa Valley Premium Outlets?

So what if it is close to Galt? Galt is a small town, so is Lodi. The next large city to the south is Stockton!

Elk Grove as a major league city?

Try West Sac instead. It is off 50, 80 and I-5. The mall is way off the beaten track and too far away from affluent cities like Roseville, Rocklin, Granite Bay, El Dorado Hills, Folsom, etc.

Michael said...

The interviewing news reporter performed a Freudian slip.
She says "Thank you, Mayor Gray, er, Gary Davis" at the very end of the second clip.
Perhaps the slip is an omen of things to come; that Davis will be replaced for promising and then not delivering.
I don't think these pie-in-the-sky predictions come from thin air.
These ideas and promises are plucked from the terminus of their intestinal tracts.

Anonymous said...

Opie opining.
Could this be election year?

Anonymous said...

It's really sad that the 2nd largest city in the Sacramento Region doesn't have a decent mall. I mean, a real mall when in fact, all other cities like Elk Grove have.

Add to that is the fact that Elk Grove is the 2nd city in the region with the highest income population. And these earnings are just spent outside of Elk Grove. So, this disputes the earlier comment that the people with money only live in Roseville, Rocklin, El Dorado or Folsom.

I wish the city's Economic Chamber sells the city aggresively for the business people to come here. They should also update us, the taxpayers, regularly regarding these issues. Thanks to the Mayor for the minimal update last Sunday.

They should help the owner of the mall seriously court businesses like Barnes & Noble, Olive Garden & Macy's to name a few.

One important thing that this city is missing is a music or arts venue. The city council should consider that in their agenda.

Elk Grove is not only the 2nd largest city in the Sacramento Region but it is also the city with the population who has money. So, there is no reason for these businesses not to succeed here.

This city has still BIG potential for growth. I pray that that this time, new opportunities will come our way and stay.

Anonymous said...

Was in Las Vegas last month and heard about this new mall being built. Perhaps with all this money flowing in EG from all those high paying jobs this would make us a Destination City for sure. People would flock from near and far.

http://www.grandbazaarshops.com/

35th Safest City in the U.S. said...

2011 Median Household Income:

Granite Bay: $117,268
El Dorado Hills: $102,188
Folsom: $87,349
Roseville: $75,184
Rocklin: $73,606
Elk Grove: $73,250
Sacramento: $47,908

Source: www.city-data.com

Anonymous said...

Well as noted above, Elk Grove has one of the lowest incomes of the surrounding communities. Let's face it people, Elk Grove is packed full of state, city and county workers who just want a little slice of heaven where they sleep at night. We are not the Las Vegas strip or LA basin. In my opinion, we need to think "moderate" in order to get a mall here. We are not a destination city and do not have the capacity to be one in the future. We have no unique history to speak of; no unique infrastructure to support us; we have no unique natural preserves or open space in which to draw people. We are a bedroom community and there is nothing wrong with that. Mayor Davis, you really need to take this to heart. Maybe we don't want to be a designation city with all the drama that entails. Perhaps we just want soccer fields for our kids to play on and a quality of life that suits our modest needs. If we wanted LA, we’d move to LA. Regarding the mall, when Howard Hughes believes the economy has recovered enough to make a profit, the mall will be completed and not one second sooner. There is nothing EG officials can do to speed this up unless consistently calling HH and bugging them counts for something. But the economy will drive the mall opening. Period. Mayor Davis is not truthful if he is implying his “leadership” is pushing this mall. His leadership (lack of) has no bearing on the mall success or failure.

Anonymous said...

Well stated. Absolutely accurate
.

Jill said...

Anon 08:18 - you hit the nail on the head. Even though the mayor has used the "I love Elk Grove" catchphrase to the point it has become a punchline, many of us moved here and want to stay. We came because of good schools for our our kids and dare I say reasonably priced housing. You are right - we are not Granite Bay, Mountainview or La Jolla - we are plain ole Elk Grove. Yes, we would like to have more jobs, but we are nonetheless a bedroom community of many government workers. The mayor, city council and city managers should "laser focus" on projects like the new trail bridge and maybe build a really nice soccer field, not stadium, for our kids - not Fabian Nunez. Keep it real!

Anonymous said...

Right On!

Anonymous said...

Because Elk Grove is a suburb and bedroom community, that should be exactly where its focus should be - to be the "best" bedroom community around.

Amenities like the trails, a great system of wider and contiguous bike lanes throughout the city, substantially more bike racks in shopping areas as well as places like the library, a well-advertised and ongoing focus on safe routes for children both to school and friends' houses, including a crackdown on motorists driving too fast and not obeying sidewalk and intersection law; looking ahead to creating multiple smaller town neighborhood centers walkable/bikeable for people of all ages, maintaining our citywide parks system and playgrounds, perhaps more pools and soccer/softball fields scattered throughout the city rather than mega-projects, pools which kids can ride or bike safely to; additional (or any) consideration of our large senior population, including senior centers; finally an acknowledgement that great, livable cities promote good transit.

All kinds of ideas come to mind.

Jobs, I think, are more likely to locate here if the city is seen as a fabulous place for a business to come and bring employees and raise their families.

So, what I am saying is that maybe the city is starting at the wrong end with its stadium and amusement park ideas. Watch the mall come when smaller amenities and livability issues are enhanced and something we are known for.

Anonymous said...

LOL to the one stating EG has the second highest income in the Sac Region. And that median will continue to drop in time. Those who have the means to live elsewhere will. The slow crawl of South Sac will eventually overwhelm large parts of the city. Not saying tomorrow, but give it another 20 years. The American culture of have and have nots is not going away, probably will accelerate. EG is bound to be home to the "have nots".

Anonymous said...

Agreed.

Remember how nice Southgate Center was in the old days?

Remember how Parkway Estates was THE place to live?

Guess what happens when the hood oozes into your neighborhood.

Bainc said...

@ Anon 11:39. I couldn't agree more. Be great at the small things and the big things will follow. This is why I was at the PC meeting for Silverado Village telling them the neighborhood park was too far from the majority of the homes including those in Quail Ranch and the nearby apartments. Same thing with the PC and City Council meetings regarding Fieldstone North. I told them to connect the neighborhood with a trail so the kids can walk or ride to school. Fieldstone they approved as is and Silverado they turned back for now.

The $700k being spent on the aquatic park would have gone a long way as matching funds for SACOG grants on trail projects. Every flier I see on homes for sale near a trail advertise their proximity to the trails as one of the top selling points. Build a city where people want to live and jobs will follow.

Anonymous said...

bainc -

I am on the trail between Laguna Springs and Laguna Blvd a couple of times a week. It is highly used, and now that the old asphalt has been smoothed out (in expectation of the opening of the pedestrian/bike overpass link?) it so much nicer to ride on. Many, many people walk that trail every day. I can go from my house in East Elk Grove all the way to a doctor's appointment at Kaiser. The light crossing on Laguna Blvd. is exceptionally safe and easy with a crosswalk, light and meridian point.
Thank you, trails committee.
Fantastic amenity for our city.

Lynn said...

Indeed the trails committee has been fighting to improve the quality of life for residents; indeed the residents interest at heart. I was encouraged to see someone post on a blog that we need bike parking at our strip centers....when the zoning code was being worked on I attended the Planning Commission meeting....and guess what; when I suggested this needed to be in the code our leaders questioned me as to who rode their bikes to strip centers...I have/had a vision for our city....Yes you build a good solid foundation in the city and jobs/high paying jobs will come. Just ask small businesses how they choose where they want to locate. Our city would not have to be giving such business incentives if long term planning and building a solid foundation community would of occurred. In East Elk Grove one home builder was able to get a rezone to bring fill in and build homes on the flood plain....a gentleman spoke at that meeting as to what a bad idea this was...how about working on sidewalks trails and bettering the subdivision instead of rezoning. Have not seen him since....so sorry to see how he was addressed and discouraged.

Anonymous said...

I don't usually post but this topic is irriating to me. How come the mayor thinks we all want these fancy things. I just want a quiet, small town to live in. Bigger is not better for me. I don't like the traffic and noise adn the crowds. Please reconsider this water park and other large projects. Maybe the people don't need them or want them. I would like just nice neighborhoods and big beautiful parks. We don't have many nice neighborhoods, just lots of houses. Hopefully that makes sense.

Anonymous said...

I actually have to laugh when I hear our council members speak as if they have some kind of inside track with HHC. Don't they know that in HHC's eyes, they're nothing but a bunch of p---ants to be used and crushed when the need arises.

When they meet with the council, they know what they came for and it doesn't cost them a dime to feed their egos. There's only one who has any business sense, the others are just tag-alongs hoping someone will drop a crumb they can grab and scarf down.

Jeff O. said...

I think this has been a very interesting discussion about what the vision is for our city. When talking to neighbors and reading the bloggers, the vision and desire of what we want seems to be different from what's championed by the mayor and council.
I drive to and from work everyday to El Dorado Hills on Grant line and was driving past the mall and the undeveloped SEPA area, and was thinking why do we feel like we have to build all of this out.
I don't need to be seen by outsiders as a destination city, I want my neighbors and family and myself to feel excited about living here. Would I love to work in city limits, sure but I don't mind working elsewhere if I have a great quality of life when I'm home. The parks and trails are great, we should invest our money there instead of soccer stadiums.

I think adding cultural amenities need to be a focus of the city as well as expanded partnerships between the city and CSD. Since the majority of the city is newer construction, I'd like to see centers designed that aren't always cookie cuter, that the city require some design elements that would make for some nice restaurants i.e. brickhouse, local coffee shops and businesses that make you want to hang out in the evenings on the patio or in the morning on the weekends.

The simple things are usually make the biggest difference.

These are the types of issues I hope council candidates begin to talk about instead of who politically has endorsed them.

Robert J said...

As usual, the little heard from, but well-stated Jeff O lays it out as well as anyone.

We need to build what our citizens need and want for a wonderful quality of life, not what will make us a "destination."

Please step and run. We need this kind of vision. This type of vision will enhance our city, for us, not others.

Lynn said...

Jeff O, as a mayoral candidate it was my attempt to bring to light the city leaders wanting to expand our boundaries by 8,000 acres...The SEPA is a very good example of how the city does planning; residents had a couple opportunities with follow up meetings between the "stakeholders"ie land owners and developers. I would of liked to have heard that the city was considering purchasing land for a stadium when the city had the "public" meetings. Maybe we could of said something then. We can get council candidates to speak to issues; ie stronger neighborhoods but once elected what is the plan? The endorsements and donations speak louder as to the direction our city is going. BTW your drive along Grantline will take longer with 35-40 signals. It has been called an expressway....not sure it will be with all the signals...People in Sheldon are trying very hard to protect the area. They all need our support!

Jeff O. said...

Thanks Robert J. It was a quick brain dump (hence the typos).

There's plenty of people like yourself that are informed, in touch with what citizens want and aren't using the council seat as a stepping stone that could put their name in the ring. For most who contemplate running it's a daunting thought when all you hear is that you have to have a massive war chest and political allies. I outlined my thoughts on that issue in response to something Lynn posted recently on one of the forums on Elk Grove Online.
I won't rehash it here but if we want someone from the community and not a politician to represent us, then we need to band together and provide courage and support to someone we want up on the dais (and not just financially).
The GRASP win on the SOI shows that a grassroots effort can win but it needs to be organized and have an uncompromising will to succeed.
Say when and where and I'd be happy to participate in something like that.

Anonymous said...

The SEPA and mall area will probably end up being a dumping zone for all the crappy land uses like the 2,200 low income housing units, soccer stadium, water amusement park.

Anonymous said...

I'm in......when and where?

Lynn said...

Jeff O,
GRASP "uncompromising will to succeed"; dedicated Elk Grove residents who against all the odds believed this fight was worth the commitment to our current residents and most importantly to the future of our city and region. In addition, GRASP was regionally supported by many others outside of Elk Grove who have worked long and hard to protect valuable resources and insure the 1993 Urban Service Boundary means something and is not just a line in the sand to be moved. Our elected leaders said it would be a year before the SOIA is resubmitted to LAFCo. It will happen and this is what we all need to come together for; to replace the current council who believes the SOIA is about jobs.
We need active and engaged participants! GRASP is continually seeking new membership! GRASP, and more importantly, Elk Grove residents and the residents of the region had a temporary win. The SOIA will be back...Are you ready to take this on?

Jill said...

I think this conversation, particularly the last third, points out two things.

1. There is a huge disconnect between what our elected officials want - mostly projects to inflate their egos - and what taxpayers want out of their dollars.

2. There is a real leadership vacuum in our city. Elected officials in our city have this almost Freudian obsession to build large unneeded things be it a bunch of ball fields, soccer stadium or an amusement park. Can they be trying to substitute for some other personal deficiency? Moreover, they don't lead, they are simply errant boys for the developers who enable this growing and highly obvious size obsession.

Lets save our money an sanity and buy each of the gentlemen a copy of Sim City and let them build their big empires there.

Anonymous said...

Jill,
I could not agree more. A nice place to live; no stress; nice parks; great schools and a great PD. I don't need MSL soccer or a large opulent civic center pavilion. In our case, the schools provide all the entertainment/activities for us..along with CSD for spring ball. It seems our tax dollars are not wisely invested nor ideas for civic amenities wisely publicized or brain-stormed. It is time to wisely choose what we need vs. what we want. And our leaders seem to focus on what THEY want.

Anonymous said...

" And our leaders seem to focus on what THEY want."

Also what the developers want.

Anonymous said...

Cultural amenities are needed for theater arts & music intended for families so we don't need to go to other cities to enjoy them.

Also, a museum. Have they even thought about this?

We can't just walk and ride the bike on the trails all the time. The city and the people need these.

C'mon, let's all be realistic.

Bainc said...

@ Anon 23:47 ~ I agree there are many amenities besides trails that are important to a thriving city. Trails are simply an example. Yes, a theater for arts & music would be fantastic. Look at what Folsom has done with 3 Stages, their old town, and their trail system. Last I checked they don't have a soccer stadium or waterpark but employers such as VSP keep moving there. My former employer moved from Rancho Cordova to Folsom a few years ago. Folsom is hosting a stage for the Amgen Tour of California in May. All this w/o a $100M stadium, go figure.

Build civic amenities that keep our citizens from moving out when they move up. I don't think the soccer stadium and waterpark qualify but perhaps the mall does.

Anonymous said...

There is no reason we should not have all the stuff Roseville has in Elk Grove. We have more people and the Same Median income. I my self am a Bay Area transplant, and see in the Bay its all about the numbers. Even bad Area's have entertainment. No reason why EG can not have a Mall and stadium in town. Maybe that's the problem in small towns the mindset. If you want small towns head to Galt, Lodi, Placerville. EG seems to be headed in the big city direction which if done correctly can be beneficial to the residents of this city.

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