'Light the beam' takes center stage at State of Downtown address

The Downtown Partnership also stressed that hotel occupancy rates are now above pre-pandemic levels and visitor numbers are continuing to show signs of rebounding.

The Downtown Partnership also stressed that hotel occupancy rates are now above pre-pandemic levels and visitor numbers are continuing to show signs of rebounding.

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The Downtown Partnership also stressed that hotel occupancy rates are now above pre-pandemic levels and visitor numbers are continuing to show signs of rebounding.

The new phenomenon of chanting "light the beam" has become a staple of Sacramento Kings basketball games after a win. Now, Sacramento's Downtown Partnership is highlighting it as a key thing raising the city's profile on social media and in arenas across the country.

The 2023 State of Downtown event, which traditionally highlights the economic positives over the past year, was delivered inside the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center.

LIVE | Sacramento leaders are recapping the city's accomplishments and looking forward to this year's newest projects at the State of Downtown Breakfast https://t.co/VOhlgfUor6

In addition to the notoriety of the "light the beam" impact, the Downtown Partnership also stressed that hotel occupancy rates are now above pre-pandemic levels and visitor numbers are continuing to show signs of rebounding.

"Now let's build on some of that energy. If you haven't been downtown and been on the couch for a while, come back," said Michael Ault, executive director of the Downtown Partnership.

The issues of safety, homelessness and drug- and mental health-related crime continued to be a key point of concern.

"We know we have challenges," Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said. "Look, we lived through this terrible pandemic. We know that homelessness is a major problem. I don't ignore that but I look at all the great things."

Here is the text from my State of Downtown address this morning. We’re seeing more visitors, more hotel nights and more investment in housing than ever before. Light the beam!! https://t.co/afwyp4xF9b Thank you @DowntownSac for putting on a great event! pic.twitter.com/E0Hw9KIQAP

Brent Toderian, a city planner and the event's keynote speaker, pointed out that Sacramento's downtown is "not as bad as other downtowns" when it came to those issues.

"You should toot your horn. You have a lot to brag about," Toderian said as he highlighted what Sacramento's leaders are doing right and what needs to be addressed. "But, it will get worse if the right actions aren't taken."

He called for more housing.

Nearly 1,000 people attended Tuesday's event.

Michael Ault challenged those in attendance to keep looking forward toward investing and reshaping the downtown.

"What is our next beam?" he asked.

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As downtown Sacramento rebounds from the pandemic, some businesses are still struggling to stay open.

Scott Ford with the Downtown Sacramento Partnership says that housing will be a major key in the future of business in the city's heart.

"Until we get the body heat of residential density downtown that we really need, it's going to continue to be a struggle for a lot of our ground floor businesses that are missing that lunchtime crowd they used to have with that consistency of office workers," Ford said.

Ford said building mixed-use urban downtown spaces will be important to make up for the lost foot traffic from office workers.

Last year, downtown had about 16.5 million visitors, a 30% increase from 2021, but still fewer than in 2019.

This year's state of downtown analyzed good things happening in Sacramento.

"We call it the social economy, but it's really the hospitality sector. The private events — whether that's concerts, private events, a Kings game at the Golden 1 Center — that has been a big driver of pedestrian traffic," Ford said.

A statement that Tony Christ, a partner at Tiger Restaurant & Lounge on K Street agrees with since the recent Sacramento Kings games have brought them a lot of business. The team's continued success and likelihood of ending its 16-year playoff drought revitalized a lot of excitement downtown.

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Christ adds that running two businesses made everyone aware of how valuable paying higher wages was to keep a full staff.

"Hospitality is one of those places that I think people depend heavily on tips and so, hourly, historically people pay low for those things. But we here pay people a fair wage and make sure that people are compensated well," Christ said.

But while these are boosting business, some owners in the downtown area are either struggling with short staffing or fewer patrons.

Downtown Sacramento generates nearly 50% of the tax base revenue in the city.