A Sacramento judge has rejected a pair of environmental lawsuits that sought greater scrutiny of a new arena under construction for the Kings basketball team.
Judge Timothy Frawley dismissed many of the opponents' claims in his decision on Friday. Though Frawley previously raised concerns about the city's traffic congestion plan, his final ruling said it was OK.
Work on the $477 million arena project began in August. Opponents had argued, among other things, that putting the arena downtown would expose the center of the city to possible postgame rioting.
Kelly Smith, an attorney for the one of the groups that sued, tells the Sacramento Bee the court denied an analysis of the arena's obvious environmental impacts. She says her clients will consider an appeal.
The arena is still facing other hurdles, including a lawsuit challenging a $255 million subsidy.
