Several months ago, it appeared almost certain that the Kings were going to be relocated to Anaheim after a long stint in Sacramento. But by some hard work from Sacramento mayor, Kevin Johnson and others, they were given more time to better their case for remaining. All signs are now pointing toward them remaining in northern California.
“Team co-owner Gavin Maloof came out of negotiations in tears to announce that the team has made a long-term commitment to the capital. George Maloof said Monday morning that his family would put in ‘close to $75 million upfront, probably another $75 million over the term of the agreement. We got something worked out, tentative. We’re all very excited about it. We were skeptical about whether or not something could happen.’ Asked about the family’s ability to afford such a deal, he said, ‘We can finance that.’ He said that in this morning’s negotiations, ‘We kind of bridged the gap of where we needed to be.’ George Maloof said the $75 million in additional payments, to be made over the course of the deal, will come partially from surcharges on arena tickets. He said the rest will come ‘definitely from us.’ Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson’s initial description of the agreement differed from the Maloofs, in that he said the family would contribute $70 million to the project. He also said the team has made a long-term commitment to Sacramento. ’It’s game over,’ he said. The NBA will contribute to the project, but that contribution is not clear yet. ’(The owners) have authorized me to be as supportive as we could possibly be in this process so we could cement the future of the NBA in Sacramento,’ league commissioner David Stern said. Joe Maloof expressed satisfaction that the owners and the city were able to agree. ’I’m excited; (I’m) sure the fans are excited,’ he said. ‘We aways said we wanted to stay. It worked out.’”
Source: Sacramento Bee
