Venue News: Fenway Added to National Register of Historic Places; Sacramento Approves Arena Financing Plan

Fenway Park, the storied, century-old home of the Boston Red Sox, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places, according to the Massachusetts secretary of state’s office. The Massachusetts Historical Commission approved the nomination for the listing in December and the ballpark was added today. In addition to the honor of being listed, the designation means that any work done in or around the park requiring federal or state funding or permitting has to be reviewed by the commission to determine its effect on the historic nature of the park. It also makes available certain federal tax incentives for rehabilitation work done there according to National Register standards. More than 70,000 properties in Massachusetts are listed in the National Register program, which is administered in the state by the historical commission…

…In a historic vote, the Sacramento City Council approved the financing plan Tuesday night for a $391 million sports arena in the downtown railyard. By a 7-2 vote, the council accepted a nonbinding “term sheet” agreed to by city officials, the Sacramento Kings, arena operator AEG and the development firm slated to build the project. An overflow crowd began assembling at City Hall more than three hours before the meeting began. Led by hundreds of Kings fans dressed in white T-shirts – and with Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof and team point guard Isaiah Thomas joining the crowd – security officials said it was among the largest audiences ever for a City Council meeting…

…A judge says the issue of building a stadium for the San Francisco 49ers cannot go before Santa Clara voters a second time. Officials with the 49ers officials praised the ruling and said construction could begin this spring. The judge made the ruling Monday in response to a last-ditch attempt by a group to block the city’s stadium deal. The group, Santa Clara Plays Fair, is opposed to city officials’ approval of $850 million in bank loans to fund the $1 billion stadium. It argued that the bank loan wasn’t part of the measure that voters approved in 2010. The group tried to put the issue back on the June ballot. The city countered that the loan was an “administrative” act that didn’t need voter approval…

…Chris Hansen, the Seattle-raised investor who wants to spend millions on a new arena and NBA team for his hometown, said Wednesday it is “somewhat inevitable that we will eventually have a team out here.” The hedge-fund manager, in town for a hearing with the city’s Arena Review Panel, may live in San Francisco now but clearly left his heart in Seattle. He consistently referred to Seattle as “our” city and is obviously excited as a fan, not just as a businessman, about the possibility of getting the NBA back here. “It’s just a matter of patience,” Hansen told a group of reporters after speaking to the panel. “If we can get the deal with the city, then it’s a question of when, not if.” It was Hansen’s first public appearance since Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and King County Executive Dow Constantine on Feb. 16 unveiled Hansen’s financing proposal for a new NBA, NHL and concert venue in Sodo, on land Hansen owns just south of Safeco Field.