When the Sacramento Kings Move Downtown, What Should Become of Old Sleep Train Arena?

The Sacramento Kings need to start making some great memories at Sleep Train Arena, because when 2017 arrives, the Kings will be out of Natomas, and be in the middle of the rebirth of downtown Sacramento.

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We have fancied so much about how much the King’s new downtown palace would impact the region as a whole, but let’s take a step back for a second and wonder what shall become of the Kings current, and soon to be abandoned, home.

The first question any Kings fan has to ask is whether or not the building should be used for another purpose instead of being bulldozed. Sleep Train is horribly inadequate when it comes to hosting concerts and events, that we all know. But what about Sleep Train becoming the world’s largest trampoline park? Everybody loves trampolines.

Or, Sacramento could follow in the footsteps of a little Midwest town called Dayton, Ohio, where a businessman transformed an old, rusted furniture warehouse into the country’s largest entertainment center. That could be something the Kings could look into, and it would be pretty cool for Sacramento to one up the Bay Area in the entertainment department for once.

This future thinking is all made possible because the building moratorium that has been in effect in the Natomas area, which also stunted development around Sleep Train, is finally on the verge of being lifted, and the Kings can start preparing to map out the future for the old arena once the Kings’ move downtown.

But whatever happens to the old arena, it would be sad day to see the Kings no longer occupying the building they have called home since 1988. There were a lot of memories made in that building, and still more to be made until the Kings finally vacates the little arena in Natomas.

Let’s just hope the memories are good.