Kings to Virginia Beach?

[Hurricane Season]

The owners of the Sacramento Kings, an NBA franchise, and officials from Philadelphia-based Comcast-Spectacor are expected to be in Virginia Beach Tuesday to propose moving the team to the resort city and for Comcast to help build and lease a new pro sports arena.

A deal between the Maloof family, which owns the Sacramento Kings, and the city of Sacramento for a $391 million entertainment complex fell apart three months ago and it has been reported that the owners are looking for a city for their franchise.

Media giant Comcast will guarantee a 25-year lease on a new arena, supposedly for naming rights and for broadcasting the games, sources said. Comcast owns NBC and Global Spectrum, which operates arenas and stadiums across the country including the Ted Constant Convocation Center at Old Dominion University.

City officials and the Maloof family are expected to announce Wednesday, Aug. 29, that the Kings will land in Virginia Beach, sources said.

http://insidebiz.com/news/sources-sacramento-kings-may-move-virginia-beach-arena-deal-works


All of my wat

 

[buzzy]

quite the relocation, to say the least

 

[bestkeptsecret13]

Does this mean division realignments are coming too?

Can't keep the Kings in the Western Conference if they move across the country.

 

[CameronCrazy06]

Well the Magic played in the West so I guess anything is possible.

 

[Pugz]

i would think theyd have to realign the divisions. this move would be pretty cool. they might be able to bring in better players playing in that area.

 

[Elite]

My guess is Milwaukee would get moved out West, they're the most west team in the East, just ahead of Chicago. They're farther West than the Grizzlies and Hornets too.

 

[RipCity32]

A team in Virginia Beach? That'd be a site to see lol.

 

[ZigZag]

Typed up a different comment, and then researched this a bit.

http://www.sactownroyalty.com/2012/8/23/3263018/new-report-kings-may-move-to-virginia-beach

Here's the interesting bits:

1. Virginia Beach may be the biggest city in Virginia, but it's smaller than Sacramento and a much smaller media market. The Hampton Roads area has approximately 1.6 million people, about half of the Sacramento metropolitan area. Sacramento is also the 19th largest media market in the country, while the Norfolk area is 42nd. (Source)

2. The Maloofs don't have any money to build a new hotel. They might say they do, but actions speak louder than words.

3. The article says the Maloofs own the Palm Hotels. This is false, as they lost most of their stake and now just own 2%.

4. The Maloofs would not announce a move 2 months prior to the season starting, particularly to a city where no arena has been built. Ticket sales would absolutely plummet, boycotts would start, etc.

5. David Stern very recently said that if the Kings wanted to move to Anaheim, they would not be allowed to. That's in one of the biggest media markets in the country, and one with an arena already built.

6. The likely costs of relocation would cost more than the city of Sacramento asked from the Maloofs to build a new arena in Sacramento, which they shot down.

7. About a billion different things need to happen before a team can move. The team must apply to relocate, the Board of Governors needs to approve, a new arena needs to be built, numerous contracts need to be signed. None of this has happened yet.

UPDATE (10:46 AM):

CBSSacramento has got hold of the Maloofs for comment:

However, Kings part-owner Joe Maloof rejected the claim. "We haven't talked to Virginia beach," he said.

The statement was echoed by team spokesman Eric Rose: "George said it best, we have been approached by several cities over several years about moving the Kings and we will not comment other than that."

UPDATE (11:25 AM):

Via Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today

NBA spokesman Mike Bass on Kings: "We have no information from the Kings on this matter and there has been no application for relocation."

UPDATE (11:59 AM):

From KJ:

I spoke with the NBA, neither they nor my office has been contacted by the Kings. At this point there is nothing new to report.

 

[Mexi]

ok so nothing to report, they havent talked to Virginia Beach, no papers for relocation, etc

then how the hell did this become a story?

 

[ZigZag]

Because idiots exist

 

[CameronCrazy06]

I'm starting to think this is a joke lol.

 

[bestkeptsecret13]

Didn't really seem like something that was going to happen.

 

[Mexi]

i was thinking about it too
if the Kings move to an eastern city like VB, realignment would have to happen

Bulls or Bucks would have to move to the west

I think the NBA would rather keep the Kings in the west

 

[ZigZag]

This whole idea is a joke and should not be taken seriously.

The article says an announcement will come Wednesday. So they'll tell the city of Sacramento that they are moving to a city that does not have an existing arena? It takes a couple years to build an arena. I don't think even the Maloofs are that incompetent...