Hold the moving vans, the Sacramento Kings appear to be staying put, after all. Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson said on Monday that the city had approved the framework for a deal that would put a new entertainment and sports facility in downtown and keep the Kings right where they are. Sactown Royalty definitely sounded optimistic:
Kings Likely To Stay In Sacramento After Plan Approved For Construction Of New Arena
This was a crucial step ... but just a step. Next up: approval for parking funding from the county on Tuesday, approval on the deal from the City Council on March 6. This isn’t over.
The Maloofs, who own the Kings, would be kicking in about $73 million of the total of $387 million. The involved parties were sounding as if this was all essentially a done deal and that city council approval was more of a formality (via Sacramento Bee).
This has to be seen as a massive step forward as the Kings have, seemingly, had at least one foot out the door for quite some time. In recent weeks, that has heated up as Seattle announced its own plans to build a new arena in an attempt to lure an NBA and NHL team to town. It had been widely speculated that the Kings and Phoenix Coyotes were the most likely teams to make the move.
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