Mayor Johnson aims to find Kings new home
- Thread starter Sac.1989
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At this point, there is more interest in watching a Division II high school football game than a Kings game...the Maloofs have to be taking notice that the early season(first 4 games)enthusiasm was just smoke and mirrors, and now I'm almost sure are leaning towards relocating somewhere(but NOT Las Vegas!)...sad sad times in Sacramento. Very soon all we'll have left is Memorial Auditorium in which to watch anything 2nd rate at. 'Arco' will soon be either torn down or leased/retrofitted for other commercial business. Sacramento is about 2 million people 'strong', and very soon will be without a pro sports team...I shall wear a bag on my head the day the Kings leave...there will be nothing left here...
Yep, and Folsom just knocked off Grant 41-20! As far as "Sacramento" having about 2 million people - the actual puny city is only 450,000. You have to extend out into entire county of Sac and take in large parts of Placer and El Dorado plus even throw in West Sac to get to 2 mil. And that's always been part of the problem - clout. Sac city has very little stacked up against other cities in the state of which there's around 7-8 larger than cowtown California capital.
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the best thing that could've happened to the Kings happened yesterday when the NBA announced they are taking over the Hornets, if so they claim to be looking for a local owner or owner to keep the Hornets in NO, that is lip service, no one can emerge with that kind of money. They will be sold to an out of town buyer who plans to move them, to a city which would cross the Kings off as potential suitors. This helps us.
Not really...David Stern/the NBA has no dealings with the Kings anymore, internally...and the Maloofs are the ones who still hold the relocation card. This changes nothing, IMO. And in the end, I think this just compounds our issues. We need a new arena, Kings or not, and it's KJ's legacy as Mayor to get it done on his watch, especially if the Maloofs pack their bags...it will be about recovery and rebuilding as a CITY then.
I will say this. I used to be very close to Hornet insiders when they first moved to New Orleans and still keep tabs on what goes on down there. The main inside source guy, who talks regularly with their color commentator, Gerry Vaillancourt, and Hornet President Hugh Weber, seems to think that the NBA's possible purchase is to bridge the gap between outgoing owner George Shinn and a new owner.
Here's the deal. These are 3 facts that aren't up for speculation. It's the situation in a nutshell.
1) Shinn wants to sell before the end of the year because of the tax deal that I'm too lazy to figure out.
2) Nobody has stepped up to buy the team yet and may not make up their mind before the end of the year. Because they're running out of time, the league is stepping in to facilitate things for Shinn.
3) The Hornets can opt out of their lease if certain attendance benchmarks aren't made by early January. This is based on a lease they signed upon return to the city from OKC after Katrina. Right now, they're only averaging 13,000 plus. At this rate, the benchmark won't be met and they'll be free to seek other markets.
From there, it gets murky. The league claims that it wants to make things work in New Orleans and that they will try to find a local buyer. However, they thought they had that in place when Gary Chouest was supposed to buy the team back in the spring. Now, he's saying that he doesn't have the time to devote to both the Hornets and his offshore shipping business. Keep in mind the gulf spill when thinking about Chouest. He had his hands full with the gulf situation and probably realized that he's not the guy for the Hornets anymore as he has to make the gulf his priority.
If Chouest doesn't buy the team, who will? Saint owner Tom Benson can't buy them because NFL owners can't own teams from other sports if they are in the same market as the NFL team. Nobody else in the New Orleans area has close to enough money to pull this off so I'm starting to think that this is lip service from the league. Don't get me wrong. They will make their best effort to get things done but eventually, the writing on the wall will be there and they will start looking to sell to the highest bidder.
This is where speculation starts to run rampant. The advantage we have is that we have ownership that doesn't want to sell. The Hornets and the league do. If Steve Ballmer starts to make waves about purchasing a team and building his own arena, you have to think that the Hornets would be the more likely target due to being up for sale. Obviously.
Thoughts? I think this is a good thing for Sacramento. Get Seattle out of the way and the league may want to hold off on more relocations for the time being and may allow Sacramento more time to get something done. Too many relocations isn't good for the league so we may be able to buy some time. I realize that I'm reaching on this one but let's be honest, when Steve Ballmer's name comes to the forefront, Sonic fans don't have to worry about public financing. This guy is liquid now due to selling his stocks and $2 billion deep in it. He doesn't need public assistance but it makes more sense to own a team if you're going to put up that much dough.
Here's the deal. These are 3 facts that aren't up for speculation. It's the situation in a nutshell.
1) Shinn wants to sell before the end of the year because of the tax deal that I'm too lazy to figure out.
2) Nobody has stepped up to buy the team yet and may not make up their mind before the end of the year. Because they're running out of time, the league is stepping in to facilitate things for Shinn.
3) The Hornets can opt out of their lease if certain attendance benchmarks aren't made by early January. This is based on a lease they signed upon return to the city from OKC after Katrina. Right now, they're only averaging 13,000 plus. At this rate, the benchmark won't be met and they'll be free to seek other markets.
From there, it gets murky. The league claims that it wants to make things work in New Orleans and that they will try to find a local buyer. However, they thought they had that in place when Gary Chouest was supposed to buy the team back in the spring. Now, he's saying that he doesn't have the time to devote to both the Hornets and his offshore shipping business. Keep in mind the gulf spill when thinking about Chouest. He had his hands full with the gulf situation and probably realized that he's not the guy for the Hornets anymore as he has to make the gulf his priority.
If Chouest doesn't buy the team, who will? Saint owner Tom Benson can't buy them because NFL owners can't own teams from other sports if they are in the same market as the NFL team. Nobody else in the New Orleans area has close to enough money to pull this off so I'm starting to think that this is lip service from the league. Don't get me wrong. They will make their best effort to get things done but eventually, the writing on the wall will be there and they will start looking to sell to the highest bidder.
This is where speculation starts to run rampant. The advantage we have is that we have ownership that doesn't want to sell. The Hornets and the league do. If Steve Ballmer starts to make waves about purchasing a team and building his own arena, you have to think that the Hornets would be the more likely target due to being up for sale. Obviously.
Thoughts? I think this is a good thing for Sacramento. Get Seattle out of the way and the league may want to hold off on more relocations for the time being and may allow Sacramento more time to get something done. Too many relocations isn't good for the league so we may be able to buy some time. I realize that I'm reaching on this one but let's be honest, when Steve Ballmer's name comes to the forefront, Sonic fans don't have to worry about public financing. This guy is liquid now due to selling his stocks and $2 billion deep in it. He doesn't need public assistance but it makes more sense to own a team if you're going to put up that much dough.
Yeah it could work out perfectly for us. If we have just an extra year after this one, the team might start playing well again and fans would come back and if the economy rebounds getting a new arena would be a lot easier. Stern said we had a year to figure it out, so if we get that year or 2 then things might look a lot better. Hopefully anyway.
Here's an article that seems to be hinting that Chouest is the bad guy. Sounds to me like BP's screwup is effecting the NBA as well.
http://www.nola.com/hornets/index.ssf/2010/12/chouest_owes_hornets_fans_some.html
http://www.nola.com/hornets/index.ssf/2010/12/chouest_owes_hornets_fans_some.html
I think it's a smart move for the NBA. They can purchase a team from an owner that is in "must sell" position. Then they can turn around a make a sale as a moveable franchise. Talk about flipping properties! I'm wondering how they do this? There would have to be a vote of the team owners and a share to each team with a nice tidy sum for NBA to facilitate.
As for Ballmer building his own arena, I'll believe that when I see it. Save the speeches for how rich the man is because that isn't the point. He would be as big a fool as Paul Allen was for putting money into the Rose Garden. And then be stuck trying to get out from under the mess like Allen. Seattle still has to publicly fund most of a new arena.
As for Ballmer building his own arena, I'll believe that when I see it. Save the speeches for how rich the man is because that isn't the point. He would be as big a fool as Paul Allen was for putting money into the Rose Garden. And then be stuck trying to get out from under the mess like Allen. Seattle still has to publicly fund most of a new arena.
Most of the posters here agree that there are only a few viable NBA homes that aren't in use. (Seattle, maybe Anaheim ... unclear whether KC or San Jose are. Vegas might not be and could be blocked off.)
We know the Hornets are most likely heading to one of those cities. Since the league is looking for local buyers first, they probably won't be doing that by 3-1-11.
This could be very good. If the Kings only view one other market as viable, say either Seattle or Anaheim, then maybe the Hornets block them off.
On the flip side, it could cause the Kings to file by 3-1-11 to grab the market they want before a buyer gets the Hornets and files papers.
Unclear how this plays out. Could be very good. Could speed the ax here. We'll know more in three months.
We know the Hornets are most likely heading to one of those cities. Since the league is looking for local buyers first, they probably won't be doing that by 3-1-11.
This could be very good. If the Kings only view one other market as viable, say either Seattle or Anaheim, then maybe the Hornets block them off.
On the flip side, it could cause the Kings to file by 3-1-11 to grab the market they want before a buyer gets the Hornets and files papers.
Unclear how this plays out. Could be very good. Could speed the ax here. We'll know more in three months.
The Maloofs really aren't in control of this, if all your postings about the Revolver are true. It seems they are so far underwater between the Kings and the Palms that I believe you have a higher net worth than the Maloof family does. They borrowed to buy the team; they owe the City $70M; and they've borrowed from the NBA. Still worth more than they owe, but not as much as they'd hope. And they owe way more for the Palms than it's worth.
I think a lockout next season is pretty close to a done deal, and when they return, the league will have 2-4 fewer teams. The Kings will be among those contracted.
They key here is that the Maloofs really have lost control of their empire. You can't overlook this issue.
I think a lockout next season is pretty close to a done deal, and when they return, the league will have 2-4 fewer teams. The Kings will be among those contracted.
They key here is that the Maloofs really have lost control of their empire. You can't overlook this issue.
The Maloofs are in trouble.
But the whole contraction thing is a ridiculous nothing. Not going to happern. Not even the slightest chance of it happening. It was thrown out there purely as a negotiating threat with the players' union. I.e give us what we want or we'll get rid of 10% of your jobs or whatever.
But the whole contraction thing is a ridiculous nothing. Not going to happern. Not even the slightest chance of it happening. It was thrown out there purely as a negotiating threat with the players' union. I.e give us what we want or we'll get rid of 10% of your jobs or whatever.
Yeah that contraction talk is 100% about negotiating position. No team owner is going to watch their approx. 300 million dollar investment be reduced to nothing. And zero chance the NBA can buy a team and sell off the assets and players and make that pencil out. These franchises may be losing some money, but contraction talk is a suicide pill for pretty much all concerned.
You may be right about the Maloofs but no way in hell does the league contract any teams. They even said themselves that the contraction discussion won't go anywhere. They subtlely let it known that it was a threat that's being thrown out. If you're right about the lockout being a foregone conclusion then the players will eventually cave like they always do. Therefore, there will be no reason to contract since the owners will have a more favorable and profitable situation.
This is completely off-topic, but I'll ask anyway.
Has anyone else tried commenting on Sacbee about anything lately? It's completely hopeless.
There are three comments (as of this time) about the Kings at Clippers last night. Other articles that would by now have a couple hundred comments are languishing.
I know I can't figure it out.
I think they blew it.
Oh well, sfgate is a better site anyway.
Has anyone else tried commenting on Sacbee about anything lately? It's completely hopeless.
There are three comments (as of this time) about the Kings at Clippers last night. Other articles that would by now have a couple hundred comments are languishing.
I know I can't figure it out.
I think they blew it.
Oh well, sfgate is a better site anyway.
