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Dale Carlsen saw an opportunity , but his board wasn ’ t so sure .
It was late spring 2012 . The naming rights to the arena in Natomas where the Sacramento Kings played were suddenly available because the previous sponsor had filed for bankruptcy . The team ’ s future in Sacramento was far from certain — the arena was one of the oldest in the NBA , Seattle and Anaheim were just two of the cities courting the team , and the team owners had earned the ire of local fans by seemingly , if not actively , supporting a move .
Losing the Kings would be both culturally and economically devastating , Carlsen thought . So the Sacramento State graduate and founder of Sleep Train Mattress Centers , the largest mattress retailer on the West Coast , decided to make the investment , even though it was a rare time he didn ’ t have his board ’ s unanimous consent .
Carlsen remembers talking to then- NBA Commissioner David Stern at the first game inside the newly christened Sleep Train Arena in October 2012 . “ The commissioner told me , if we hadn ’ t done that , the Kings would not be there ,” Carlsen says .
Without Sleep Train ’ s investment in the arena , which is now acting as a COVID-19 field hospital , it ’ s likely that the Kings would have left the region and the ensuing chain of events that reshaped Sacramento would never have occurred . After the team spent four seasons at the old arena , a new ownership group led by Vivek Ranadivé purchased the majority stake in the team and partnered with the City of Sacramento to build the Golden 1 Center — part of the group ’ s commitment to keeping the team in town . The new state-of-the-art arena revitalized a blighted Downtown area , turning it into a hip new hotspot in the urban core and setting off a cascade of development citywide .
Naming rights are one of the most visible forms of impact investing , a strategy the Global Impact Investing Network defines as “ investments made with the intention to generate positive , measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return .” Sleep Train ’ s investment did just that — in supporting an important cultural component of the city , it also built brand awareness and community goodwill for the company that turned out to be great for business .
Revitalization was also on the mind of SAFE Credit Union President and CEO Dave Roughton when his 250,000-member cooperative recently agreed to make a $ 23 million investment to put its name on Downtown Sacramento ’ s new SAFE Credit Union Convention and Performing Arts District . Anchored by a dramatically redesigned convention center and 2,190-seat performing arts venue currently under construction down the street from the Golden 1 Center , Roughton believes the project is a transformative change that
Renovation is underway on the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center , which will feature improved accessibility , AV capabilities , acoustics and additional restrooms .
PHOTO COURTESY OF VISIT SACRAMENTO
2021 | comstocksmag . com 23