Stadium Deal Falls Apart, Kings On Move?

[Elite]

NEW YORK -- The Kings' future in Sacramento is uncertain again.

A tentative deal for a new arena has fallen through, leaving open the possibility the team's owners could again try to move from California's capital.

The Maloof family said Friday it intended to remain in Sacramento, and commissioner David Stern says he believes them. But Stern also said it was the Maloofs' right to re-examine the deal that had been agreed to last month, and he says there is nothing more the league can do to broker a new one.

Stern stressed that the deal was "always nonbinding," and he supported the Maloofs' decision to say they were no longer comfortable with its terms.

"I think it's fair for the Maloofs to say they don't want to do that," Stern said during a news conference after two days of owners meetings. "If they had done it simpler, earlier or more directly, it could have saved a lot of angst and trouble."

The Kings nearly moved to Anaheim after last season before agreeing to stay this season while the city tried to put together a plan to replace Power Balance Pavilion.

The two sides reached a tentative deal last month to fund the estimated $391 million arena that would open for the 2015-16 season in the downtown Sacramento rail yards. The Sacramento City Council already passed its end of the deal, brokered by the league and tentatively agreed to by the Kings.

Kings owners Joe, Gavin and George Maloof had since taken issue with some of the terms -- particularly environmental and pre-development costs. Under the agreement, the Kings and arena operator AEG each agreed to pay about $3.25 million in pre-development costs with the city paying the remaining $6.5 million.

The Maloofs made a presentation to owners Thursday, which they shared at a separate news conference Friday. They were meeting later in the day with Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, leaving Stern "hopeful about its outcome but not optimistic."

During their news conference, the Maloofs said they liked Sacramento but insisted the arena project was too expensive. George Maloof said they had given the city a list of their concerns that needed to be addressed before they could commit to such a major deal.

Maloof even floated the idea of renovating Power Balance Pavilion. Stern said he didn't know if that was possible.

"If they choose to do that, that's up to them," he said.

The Kings are scheduled to play at Power Balance Pavilion next season. Stern wouldn't speculate where they would play beyond that, and said if they sought to relocate, approval would be left to the relocation committee that is headed by Oklahoma City owner Clay Bennett.

ESPN

 

[MR.ballin]

Poor Kings fans lol.

 

[Pugz]

move em.

 

[.infamous]

SEND EM TO SEATTLE

 

[elcheato]

If they move, they're going to Anaheim

 

[Mexi]

as we all know, Kings fans love their team
I lived up there for a year and saw it first hand in 2000.
I was so happy when I thought they had a deal, this definitely sucks

But if they move to Anaheim, I will welcome DeMarcus with open arms

 

[ZigZag]

move em.

SEND EM TO SEATTLE

You can both suck a dick. King's fans are some of the most loyal fans in the NBA and have shown that in the last year by supporting this team.. regardless of the fact they're in the bottom 5. The Maloofs are just looking out for their own self-interest and ignoring the interest of an entire city. People in Sacramento have completely lost faith in the Maloofs because of their selfishness. Do you know how many jobs exist solely because of the Kings? Most of those people are going to lose their jobs and struggle to find a replacement in an area with already above average unemployment rates.

The city has done it's part, the Maloofs are just greedy pigs.

 

[Elite]

The Kings are 28th in home attendance, 23rd if you go by %. That's bad.

 

[ZigZag]

The Kings are 28th in home attendance, 23rd if you go by %. That's bad.

So there's 2 other teams, 7 if you go by %, that should be moving also? Doesn't help the stadium is a half hour out of the populated areas of Sacramento, my friends and I can't afford a ticket, overpriced stadium food, and the cost of gas to get to the game... The new stadium proposal was going to be downtown and accessible by public transport unlike Arco. On top of that, our stadium and our team are some of the worst in the league. Put a better product on the court and people will come to the games... At the end of last year they were still selling out games left and right as people tried to show support. We're talking about a team that sold out 354 consecutive games when they were competitive.

There is not reason for this bullshit other than the desperation of the Maloofs

 

[Elite]

So there's 2 other teams, 7 if you go by %, that should be moving also? Doesn't help the stadium is a half hour out of the populated areas of Sacramento, my friends and I can't afford a ticket, overpriced stadium food, and the cost of gas to get to the game... The new stadium proposal was going to be downtown and accessible by public transport unlike Arco. On top of that, our stadium and our team are some of the worst in the league. Put a better product on the court and people will come to the games... At the end of last year they were still selling out games left and right as people tried to show support. We're talking about a team that sold out 354 consecutive games when they were competitive.

There is not reason for this bullshit other than the desperation of the Maloofs

Moved? No.

Contracted? Yes.

 

[ZigZag]

Moved? No.

Contracted? Yes.

:spideypalm:

 

[MR.ballin]

While pondering the recent developments Saturday afternoon, I (Ailene Voisin) called Joe Maloof’s cellphone, and in yet another in an ongoing series of surprises, he not only answered but responded to a quick series of questions. Here is an abbreviated version of the intense, 20-minute conversation.

Why did you kill the deal?

It was a bad deal. The main thing was … the projected revenues were too high. They were at 2005 levels, before the housing bubble burst and the economy went down. We kept telling (NBA attorney) Harvey Benjamin that. He didn’t listen, he didn’t listen.

How do you feel 24 hours after the fact? Any regrets?

We feel like criminals, and we didn’t do anything wrong. This was just the wrong time and this was the wrong deal. When the time is right, we’ll do a deal. We’ll look at another downtown deal or something at Natomas. Bring us a deal we can sign. Nobody wanted to get an arena done more than we did. We’ve been talking about it for 13 years. Everyone just needs to calm down. We all need to cool off.

So what’s different a year later? A lot of people still suspect your plan is to spend next season in Sacramento and then file for relocation in March.

That’s not true, that’s not true. I swear that is not going to happen. I don’t care what rumors are out there. It’s our team. We’re not selling, and we’re not leaving. Our identity is the Sacramento Kings. That’s how we’re known.

via Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee

Can't tell if he's sincere.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

The Maloofs have been doing this shit for like the last decade.