Gloria Mercado, right, and grandson, Maddux Mercado, 12, attend the Sacramento Kings organization’s “Final Farewell to Arco Arena” on Saturday in Natomas. “He’s been coming since he’s been six weeks old, with me,” she said. The arena, also known as Sleep Train Arena and Power Balance Pavilion, was home to the NBA’s Kings and WNBA’s Monarchs, and last hosted a Kings game in 2016.
Xavier Mascareñas
xmascarenas@sacbee.com
It wasn’t a wake Saturday afternoon as much as it was a celebration of life for an old building.
Hundreds of Kings fans stopped by Arco Arena for one final peek as the venerable venue will soon be demolished to make way for a teaching hospital. If Kings fans know three things especially well, it’s this: They know how to cheer, they know how to tolerate heartache and they know how to say farewell.
“We’ve said goodbye to this place a bunch of times,” said fan Scott Levin, flanked by girlfriend Lauren Guis, in a long line that snaked throughout the parking lot. “Lot of memories here. We cheered on our team here. We’ve been to the new arena (Golden 1 Center) but there’s nothing like being inside Arco.”
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Levin and Guis debated going to the event. Why deal with morning rain and traffic? And why not for one final hurrah?
“We decided we should go,” said Guis, who like Levin works in a local nonprofit for the deaf and hard of hearing. “Once we got through the gates here, it sparks nostalgia.”
Guis was proof of nostalgia. She wore a Mitch Richmond jersey No. 2, honoring the Kings star guard of the 1990s. That jersey is a keepsake of Levin, a Kings fan since 1990. The Kings sweat top Guis was wearing belongs to her father, another Kings lifer.
The Arco parking lot was reflective of lack of usage: weeds sprouting everywhere. The Kings logos have long since been pulled off, but the shadow of them remains permanent on the walls. Arco was built for $40 million in 1988 and closed for basketball business in 2016. During its run, Arco aged quickly, but fans didn’t notice or they simply did not care. Their focus was on the product in front of them, and for all of the Kings misery, there were those eight magical playoff seasons in succession, from 1999-2006. The Kings haven’t fielded a winner or a playoff team since.
And it wasn’t the building that made Arco so unique in a small-market city reveling in the big time. It was the people, namely, the fans.
Christopher Yang, of Sacramento, chooses the Kings logo to leave his mark among fans’ names drawn in chalk on the arena floor during the organization’s “Final Farewell to Arco Arena” on Saturday, March 19, 2022, in Natomas. “I lived in Fresno,” he said of his childhood, “and I never had a chance to come here for a game, but I did use that as kind of motivation.” He added, “I grew up watching all the games on TV and always wanted to be here, so it’s a treat to be able to come on the floor before they take it down.” The By Xavier Mascareñasxmascarenas@sacbee.com
Former Sacramento Kings player and current broadcaster Henry Turner, right, of Sacramento, talks with lifelong Kings and Monarchs fan Mary Barker, of Natomas, about Barker’s prized Monarchs memorabilia find, left, during the Kings organization’s “Final Farewell to Arco Arena” on Saturday, March 19, 2022, in Natomas. “They were the only team that brought a championship to Sacramento,” Turner said, “ those ladies did something that no one else did … so, so many memories here.” Barker added, “It feels weird that it’s going to torn down … farewell I like, instead of goodbye.” The arena, also known as Sleep Train Arena and Power Balance Pavilion, was home to the NBA’s Kings and WNBA’s Monarchs, and last hosted a Kings game in 2016. By Xavier Mascareñasxmascarenas@sacbee.com
Gloria Mercado, right, and grandson, Maddux Mercado, 12, attend the Sacramento Kings organization’s “Final Farewell to Arco Arena” on Saturday, March 19, 2022, in Natomas. “He’s been coming since he’s been six weeks old, with me,” she said. The arena, also known as Sleep Train Arena and Power Balance Pavilion, was home to the NBA’s Kings and WNBA’s Monarchs, and last hosted a Kings game in 2016. By Xavier Mascareñasxmascarenas@sacbee.com
Sacramento Kings and Monarchs fans posed for final photos from the floor as the Kings organization holds a “Final Farewell to Arco Arena” on Saturday, March 19, 2022, in Natomas. The arena, also known as Sleep Train Arena and Power Balance Pavilion, was home to the NBA’s Kings and WNBA’s Monarchs, and last hosted a Kings game in 2016. By Xavier Mascareñasxmascarenas@sacbee.com
Fans tour inside as the Sacramento Kings organization holds a “Final Farewell to Arco Arena” on Saturday, March 19, 2022, in Natomas. The arena, also known as Sleep Train Arena and Power Balance Pavilion, was home to the NBA’s Kings and WNBA’s Monarchs, and last hosted a Kings game in 2016. By Xavier Mascareñasxmascarenas@sacbee.com
Kristin Wong, center, of Sacramento, searches through free memorabilia during the Sacramento Kings organization’s “Final Farewell to Arco Arena” on Saturday, March 19, 2022, in Natomas. “I’ve been a fan forever,” she said. “My mom’s now an usher — she became an usher when she retired she loved the Kings so much.” The arena, also known as Sleep Train Arena and Power Balance Pavilion, was home to the NBA’s Kings and WNBA’s Monarchs, and last hosted a Kings game in 2016. By Xavier Mascareñasxmascarenas@sacbee.com
Matt Nelson, center of Sacramento, walks away with his Bobby Jackson basketball and more, while wife, Rachel, and daughter, 14-month-old Eliza, also carry memorabilia assisted by Israel Salas, with Chipman Relocation & Logistics, on Saturday, March 19, 2022, in Natomas. The Sacramento Kings organization held a “Final Farewell to Arco Arena,” where current and former members of the organization spoke, fans got a chance at a massive collection of memorabilia and toured in side the arena one last time. By Xavier Mascareñasxmascarenas@sacbee.com
The Sacramento Kings organization holds a “Final Farewell to Arco Arena” on Saturday, March 19, 2022, in Natomas. The arena, also known as Sleep Train Arena and Power Balance Pavilion, was home to the NBA’s Kings and WNBA’s Monarchs, and last hosted a Kings game in 2016. By Xavier MascareñasSacramento Bee file
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See photos from Sacramento Kings and fans’ ‘Final Farewell to Arco Arena’ in Natomas
Gary Gerould said as much Saturday, a reminder, and he would know as well as anyone. G-Man has been the Kings radio voice since the Kings relocated from Kansas City in 1985, and he’s still going strong. Gerould was on hand for one last stop over inside Arco, where Kings VIP fans, longtime season ticket holders, sponsors and the like got to see a patch of the original Arco floor with a Kings logo under a spotlight.
Retired Kings players or front-office people who played a paramount role in Sacramento’s best seasons spoke inside Arco on Saturday, reflection and laughter coming from Vlade Divac, Doug Christie, Brad Miller, Jerry Reynolds, current principal owner Vivek Ranadive and original Sacramento Kings owner Gregg Lukenbill, who was the driving force getting the Kings to Sacramento, leading a group that purchased the club for $10.5 million in 1983. Lukenbill was also the one who constructed Arco Arena.
“The old building had character,” Gerould told The Bee, marveling at the long line of fans eager to peek or take or home a handful of memorabilia, such as signed basketballs. “But it was the passion of the fans inside that building that made it so special. This line, all these people here today ... just wow.”
Inside Arco, fans could hear a number of Gerould’s radio calls, none more stimulating than playoff moments. But Arco also housed a lot of heartache, and fans touched on that in these lines to get into the place one last time. For every dramatic Mike Bibby game winner, there was a crushing loss to the Lakers, none more so than in Game 7 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals against the dreaded Lakers.
Los Angeles won that series and then the NBA championship, a title many Kings fans felt should have been their own. Christie, a Kings guard in that series, recalled being in such “shock” that he had a friend drive him home. Christie didn’t even shower. He went straight to the parking lot, in his own jersey
“I was here for that game, Game 7, Kings-Lakers, with my Doug Christie jersey on, and I cried all the way home like a baby,” said Robert Miller, a retired educator, eyeing that same trusty Christie jersey on his chest Saturday. “It hurt then and it hurts now. Mostly, I think we’ll remember the good times. Those will live with us forever.”
This story was originally published March 19, 2022 2:50 PM.
Joe Davidson has covered sports for The Sacramento Bee since 1989: preps, colleges, Kings and features. He was in early 2024 named the National Sports Media Association Sports Writer of the Year for California and he was in the fall of 2024 inducted into the California High School Football Hall of Fame. He is a 14-time award winner from the California Prep Sports Writer Association. In 2021, he was honored with the CIF Distinguished Service award. He is a member of the California Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Davidson participated in football and track in Oregon.