Advertisement Downtown Plaza demolition for arena to start Friday City has pledged $255M for arena construction Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Crews will begin tearing down the Downtown Plaza in Sacramento on Friday, making way for the city's new sports and entertainment complex.Watch report: Downtown Plaza demolition to start Friday, making way for new arenaOfficials with the Sacramento Kings said construction will start at 6 a.m.The construction will mark the beginning of two years of work at the site.The city of Sacramento was waiting on a contract to sell bonds to fund the construction of the arena to close before starting demolition of the Downtown Plaza.That agreement closed Wednesday."What happens now is the project in phases is fully funded -- the city side and the team side. The project can now move forward," said Russ Fehr, treasurer for the City of Sacramento.The city has pledged $255 million toward the total construction cost of the sports and entertainment center.In the remaining West Plaza shopping section, the owner of River City Brewing Company was anxiously awaiting the announcementBeth Ayers-Prio will be adjusting employee schedules to increase the number of people on duty to serve expected new patrons, the construction workers."I’ve heard there will be thousands of them working from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. and they will need a place for meals," she said. "and when they're done for the day they can have a beer with us."The restaurant and brewery has created Wrecking Crew Ale to honor the workers.About 90 people were evacuated from the Marshall Hotel and the Old Jade Residential Building in preparation of the demolition. On Tuesday, streets and sidewalks around the project area had fresh spray-paint markings indicating the location of critical utilities, such as power lines, water and sewer connections or communication lines.Those identifications were required before beginning demolition.At an RT bus stop at L and Fifth streets, a notice to riders is posted, informing them of route changes.RT officials said the partial closure of L Street along the arena project area will impact six bus routes.Inside KCRA.com: +Demolition of Downtown Plaza quickly approaching+Sac judge denies injunction to stop arena construction