The two local leaders said NBA officials listened attentively and asked plenty of questions as Johnson and Steinberg delivered a unified message: Give Sacramento at least one more year to show the league it has the financial wherewithal to support the Kings and the political will to get an arena built.
Should the league decide to give the Kings one more season in Sacramento, that timeline would come with a significant restriction, the sources said: plans for a new arena must be finalized by next March in order for the city want to keep the team long-term.
Is next March enough time to get a ballot measure passed? Can this even be put on the ballot at this point? If not then enough private money will have to be raised to cover the costs.
Johnson said he presented Bennett and Benjamin with a list of corporate sponsorships totaling $9.2 million, making good on his promise in New York last week that he and others here were drumming up the kind of money the NBA needs to see to keep the team in town. Johnson has yet to make that list public.
I’m assuming this is $9.2M per year? If so this is a good start for the “save the kings” campaign. If it’s not annual, this is just a drop in the bucket of the estimated $300M arena costs.
The NBA pair, however, will meet this afternoon with Tim Romani, one of the men chosen earlier this year by the City Council to investigate where and how an arena can be built in Sacramento. The NBA representatives also are expected to take a look at the railyard, where city officials have said they would like to build a new arena.
Been there, tried that. I was a student when this was on the ballot and it failed miserably. I wonder if the recent threat of relocation will cause the taxpayers to green light this location the second time around and give a taxpayer subsidized arena to the casino owning Maloofs.
I’m not sure how I feel about this. Sure the kings leaving would leave the Hornets as the only show in town, but I don’t expect droves of people to support Hornet hoops just because there is nothing else to do. A new kings arena would serve the city and surrounding region well, and if it is owned and operated by the city, the Hornets could get some favorable agreements to play a few games there. My only concern is the negative impact on a new Hornet arena this will probably have. It’s easier for private money to get behind the “save the kings” campaign because there is a great chance at getting a return on the investment, whereas investing into a Hornet arena is really just a donation with little (if any) return. Also even if the 20k+ capacity kings arena does get done, Sac State will still need an events center/arena of 6-8k capacity to suit its needs (most of their hoops games, commencement, concerts, smallish conferences/seminars, etc.).
SH, given the recent addition of UND, the BSC will also have an atrocious travel situation so that point is moot wrt any potential move to the WAC. :twocents:
