The Kings belong to Sacramento!!! Not Seattle, not Vegas, not Kansas City. And its starting look like the Kings will play in Sactown next year after mayor Kevin Johnson and city leaders met with NBA officials in Sacramento about how the region is stepping up financially to support the struggling franchise. Read full story below.
NBA's Stern talks about Kings staying in Sacramento
By Tony Bizjak and Ryan Lillis
tbijzak@sacbee.com .Courtesy of the Sacramento Bee
Evidence is mounting today that the NBA is seriously considering keeping the Kings in Sacramento - at least one more year.
Speaking last night to the Associated Press at the Philadelphia 76ers - Miami Heat playoff game, NBA Commissioner David Stern suggested the league might forestall a team move to Anaheim for a year to see if Sacramento officials can make good on promises to build a new arena.
Stern noted that NBA officials are in Sacramento today reviewing Mayor Kevin Johnson's claims that Sacramento has stronger economic viability as an NBA city than it has shown in recent years.
"They're sort of verifying some of the representations by Mayor Johnson about how to produce so much in increased sponsorships, so much in increased ticket revenues," Stern said. "And as a result, if the team does come back or stay in Sacramento for another year, it will not only be much better off financially, but it will also give us the time to deliver a deal on a regional basis for a new arena."
If the NBA decides to keep the team here, it likely would amount to a last-chance offering to the capital city. Sources have told the Bee the NBA would give the city until next March to finalize a plan for a new arena to replace antiquated Power Balance Pavilion, formerly
Arco Arena. Numerous previous arena building efforts have failed in Sacramento.
League officials said they are impressed with the mayor's efforts in the last week, including soliciting what Johnson claims is $9.2 million in new corporate support for the financially troubled franchise.
NBA staffers are expected to be sent to Sacramento on Monday to begin vetting those numbers by calling the companies to see how firm they are on pledges they made to the mayor.
The team's efforts to move to Anaheim also faced pushback this week in Southern California.
Speaking on
Los Angeles radio, a minority owner of the
Los Angeles Lakers confirmed the team's lead owner,
Jerry Buss, has been actively opposing a Kings' move.
"Dr. Buss has led the charge on this," said Tim Lieweke, president of AEG, the company that runs the Staples Center arena in Los Angeles. "We are on the same page as doc.""I question whether or not this is the best move for the league. I am hoping they go look at other alternatives, including can they solve the problem in Sacramento."
And, in a letter to NBA attorney Harvey Benjamin, Sacramento political strategist Rob Stutzman said he will hand in more than 11,000 signatures to Anaheim officials on Monday supporting a referendum to reverse that city's issuance of a $75 million bond package aimed at luring the Kings.
Stutzman said "the immediate legal effect of filing the petitions will be to suspend the bond authorization. In other words, the bond sale cannot go forward."
Most of the bonds - $50 million - would help pay the Kings' relocation costs to Anaheim. The rest is being set aside for improvements to the Honda Center arena, where the Kings would play.
Anaheim officials declined comment this week on the petition drive.
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Kings Blog and Q&A: NBA's Stern talks about Kings staying in Sacrament
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