A break in arena property taxes this year for the Maloofs

If you think your property tax bill is high in Sacramento County, take a look at the amount paid out each year by Maloof Sports & Entertainment for Power Balance Pavillion (formerly Arco Arena). More than just the numbers, what do you make up such a steep decline in property taxes over the past year? How does that impact the City of Sacramento?

There are actually five separate parcels for the arena in Natomas, but the above graph only considers 1 Sports Pkwy since it is the largest and most heavily taxed parcel (it’s the parcel that includes the arena). The other four parcels really only added up to just over $430,000 in assessed value for 2010, which is about $6,500 in property taxes.

Breakdown of assessed value and property taxes for 1 Sports Parkway
2011 assessed value: $29,129,000 ($450,000 in property taxes – estimate)
2010 assessed value: $56,534,445 ($881,208 in property taxes)
2009 assessed value: $58,844,792 ($904,003 in property taxes)
2008 assessed value: $59,595,796 ($940,690.94 in property taxes)

It might seem surprising to see such a low assessed value for an entire arena, but keep in mind the original stadium was constructed for about $40 million in 1987 (Wikipedia states today’s costs would be $74.3 million).

What do you think of the numbers above? How much of a role does the arena play in the health of our local economy?

FYI: Property taxes for 2011 were posted yesterday by the Sacramento County Assessor. I strongly recommend all property owners to look over their assessed value closely (click this link) to make sure you are paying your fair share of taxes – and no more. If you have any questions about the tax appeal process or would like my tax appeal company to look up your property for free, please click here.

UPDATED POST: If you’re visiting from the Forbes article that mentioned this post, you can also see an updated version of this post here for 2012.