NBA update: Sacramento not giving up on the Kings just yet
The Sacramento Kings relocation saga entered yet another phase on Tuesday as the city made one last pitch to salvage the franchise. Hoping to convince the owners,
the Maloof brothers, and the NBA against moving, at least until next year, the Sacramento officials took the first step in the right direction.
"Today is another historic day in Sacramento," said Mayor Kevin Johnson. "The NBA had said to Sacramento, `Show me the money.' And today, we're doing just that. We're
making a down payment on the future of the Sacramento Kings and this being their permanent home."
He was addressing reporters after the corporate community of Sacramento pledged $10 million in sponsorship deals to the want-away franchise. The city now believes
they have done enough to convince Joe and Gavin Maloof, owners of the Kings. The ball is now in their court.
Clay Bennett, who oversaw the move of the Seattle Supersonics to Oklahoma City in 2007 as an owner, now heads the powerful NBA relocation committee and will send
a final report to NBA Commissioner David Stern later this week. The move will have to be approved by the owners of NBA franchises by a majority vote, and there has already been a stiff opposition of the relocation to Anaheim, particularly by the Los Angeles
Lakers, who do not want three franchises in the same metropolitan area.
Mayor Kevin Jones, a former All-Star, has been working hard to get Joe and Gavin Maloof to change their mind. In his latest efforts, he gathered the assortment of
businesses, including McDonalds, Wells Fargo and AT&T among others, who met the NBA’s representatives at the Golden 1 Credit Union in Sacramento.
However the core issue behind the whole relocation saga remains unresolved. The Maloof brothers have repeatedly tried and failed to build a new arena for the franchise.
This has been a thorn in negotiations and still there is no progress, with a feasibility report on the project to come at the end of May by earliest.
However, time might run out by then. There is political agitation against the move, with protesters demanding that the city to spend on education and job creation
instead. There were a small number of protesters in the vicinity even as the Mayor made his speech.
Recently some politicians have voiced support for the project. The leader of the state Senate and three other California lawmakers have come forward and offered to
sort out the political opposition to the move by working with local leaders in the city.
Mayor Johnson is still optimistic, and recognized the need for a new arena if the Sacramento Kings are to stay in town long term. Although he promised to look into
the matter, but said that the first step is keeping the Kings where they are until next year, "if we're lucky enough - and this is not to be presumptuous - but if we're lucky enough to be given another year in Sacramento, then we have to immediately start
our new campaign for an entertainment and sports complex."
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