Kings May File for Relocation Before Deadline

RookieOfTheDay · Feb 20, 2011

It's possible I'm confusing it with when they said that in 2009 about March 2010 because i can find lots of sources for that. I'm still almost positive though that one of them said the same thing at the beginning of this season or just before the beginning of the season. If anyone else remembers it, please speak up!

Mike0476 · Feb 20, 2011

RookieOfTheDay said:

I found it.

No plan to flee, Kings insist - OWNERS VOW TO BE PATIENT ON REPLACING ARCO
Sacramento Bee, The (CA) - Thursday, October 1, 2009

Responding to rising fears, team co-owner Gavin Maloof said the team won't file for relocation by the NBA's deadline of March 2010.

"No, no, no. There's no way," Maloof told The Bee Wednesday, waving his arms emphatically. "We love the market. We love our fans. This is the only place we want to be."

Maloof met with Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson for a half-hour later in the day, telling Johnson the team is "not going anywhere."

The naysayers are calling the Maloofs liars about it yet I don't recall them ever saying they will not file for relocation this season.

ParniValjak · Feb 20, 2011

Kings Faithful said:

Oh please!

When the team was one of the most exciting teams in the league AND when we had the longest sell out streak in the NBA AND when the economy was much better than it currently is, the new arean was STILL as much of a long shot as it is now simply because of the small minded and idiotic nature of the representatives of the city of Sacramento.

Back when Kings were the best team in the NBA they were playing in the ****tiest arena and the city of Sacramento still didn't want to genuinely build the new arena

RookieOfTheDay · Feb 20, 2011

Mike0476 said:

It's certainly possible that I'm mistaken about that. I'm not mistaken about them sending mixed signals though by saying things like "we're exploring all options" one day and "we want to be right here in Sacramento" the next.

rainmaker · Feb 20, 2011

Čarolija said:

Oh please!

When the team was one of the most exciting teams in the league AND when we had the longest sell out streak in the NBA AND when the economy was much better than it currently is, the new arean was STILL as much of a long shot as it is now simply because of the small minded and idiotic nature of the representatives of the city of Sacramento.

Back when Kings were the best team in the NBA they were playing in the ****tiest arena and the city of Sacramento still didn't want to genuinely build the new arena

Completely agree.

Uncia03 · Feb 20, 2011

RookieOfTheDay said:

I've seen this idea tossed around as well as a few quotes from you regarding the Kings in Anaheim as being a '3rd Fiddle'.

Since I've lived in Orange County for the last 7 years I have a good idea of the Orange County vs. LA dynamic when it comes to pro sports.

When it comes to basketball Orange County is composed of two different groups. Laker Nation and everyone who hates the Lakers.

I'd say that 85%-90% of the basketball fans are Laker fans.

I have never met a basketball fan who is solely a Clipper fan, because to be a Clipper fan you have to be close enough to go to games and get invested in the team. Most Clipper fans are going to be LA residents who also hate the Lakers.

Driving to Staples from Orange County is a pain. When my wife and I drive to Staples for events we usually leave 3 hours early just to make sure we'll get there in time.

Now, what is truly important is to look at the other sports. Namely baseball and hockey. I'd say that 90% of the baseball fans in my area are Angel fans. There are very, very few Dodger fans around here. The same holds true for hockey, where most everyone is a Ducks fan, and there are very few LA Kings fans around.

There is a very large distinction between living in LA and living in Orange County. Residents from both geographical groups constantly make distinctions between themselves and this has made itself very manifest when it comes to pro sports.

So if the Maloofs were to take the Kings to Anaheim I can absolutely guarantee you that they'd get a large fan base very quickly, especially since the Kings are primed to become an elite team in the next couple of years and the Lakers are going to be on the decline.

I'm not sure how long it will take, but it will happen.

Here's the thing. If the Kings move to Orange County, the people in LA will start start with their superiority complex with their Lakers, and that in and of itself will drive casual Orange County Laker fans to support their regional team to prove to LA that they are not 2nd class. And with the Pond in Anaheim being so close to much of Orange County, it will be far easier to get to the games and begin rooting for this team.

I talk basketball with people at work all the time. They are all Laker fans who know I'm a die-hard Kings fan. I'd be first in line for seaon tickets if the Kings were to move and I know I won't be the only one.
In fact I'm fairly certain that I'd be able to convert a good number of casual Laker fans into Kings fans.
Give it a couple of years with a team on the rise and the Lakers in decline, and you'll start to see the same dynamic in basketball that currently exists for both baseball and hockey.

I will say this. If for some reason the Clippers moved to Anaheim and the Kings shared Staples with the Lakers, then I could see that failing for the Maloofs.
What would make this a successful move would be to move the team to the Orange County region, where there is such a distinct regional difference from LA, and that regional difference is what would help turn the casual Laker fan into a Kings fan.

Mike0476 · Feb 20, 2011

RookieOfTheDay said:

I see nothing wrong with what the Maloofs have said. They have been patient for over a decade. At some point they have to see what other options they do have.

The Hammer · Feb 20, 2011

PurpleHaze said:

If the Kings move I don't know how in the hell it would't be Louisville. 22 thousand seats sold out pretty much guaranteed for a few years is huge. Plus the Cousins mania, and not to mention fairly close to some Evans history too.

Only reason would be far from Maloofs other ventures, probably

=LarryLegend= · Feb 20, 2011

The Hammer said:

dont forget Cisco played at Louisville.

RookieOfTheDay · Feb 20, 2011

Uncia03 said:

I've seen this idea tossed around as well as a few quotes from you regarding the Kings in Anaheim as being a '3rd Fiddle'.

Since I've lived in Orange County for the last 7 years I have a good idea of the Orange County vs. LA dynamic when it comes to pro sports.

When it comes to basketball Orange County is composed of two different groups. Laker Nation and everyone who hates the Lakers.

I'd say that 85%-90% of the basketball fans are Laker fans.

I have never met a basketball fan who is solely a Clipper fan, because to be a Clipper fan you have to be close enough to go to games and get invested in the team. Most Clipper fans are going to be LA residents who also hate the Lakers.

Driving to Staples from Orange County is a pain. When my wife and I drive to Staples for events we usually leave 3 hours early just to make sure we'll get there in time.

Now, what is truly important is to look at the other sports. Namely baseball and hockey. I'd say that 90% of the baseball fans in my area are Angel fans. There are very, very few Dodger fans around here. The same holds true for hockey, where most everyone is a Ducks fan, and there are very few LA Kings fans around.

There is a very large distinction between living in LA and living in Orange County. Residents from both geographical groups constantly make distinctions between themselves and this has made itself very manifest when it comes to pro sports.

So if the Maloofs were to take the Kings to Anaheim I can absolutely guarantee you that they'd get a large fan base very quickly, especially since the Kings are primed to become an elite team in the next couple of years and the Lakers are going to be on the decline.

I'm not sure how long it will take, but it will happen.

Here's the thing. If the Kings move to Orange County, the people in LA will start start with their superiority complex with their Lakers, and that in and of itself will drive casual Orange County Laker fans to support their regional team to prove to LA that they are not 2nd class. And with the Pond in Anaheim being so close to much of Orange County, it will be far easier to get to the games and begin rooting for this team.

I talk basketball with people at work all the time. They are all Laker fans who know I'm a die-hard Kings fan. I'd be first in line for seaon tickets if the Kings were to move and I know I won't be the only one.
In fact I'm fairly certain that I'd be able to convert a good number of casual Laker fans into Kings fans.
Give it a couple of years with a team on the rise and the Lakers in decline, and you'll start to see the same dynamic in basketball that currently exists for both baseball and hockey.

I will say this. If for some reason the Clippers moved to Anaheim and the Kings shared Staples with the Lakers, then I could see that failing for the Maloofs.
What would make this a successful move would be to move the team to the Orange County region, where there is such a distinct regional difference from LA, and that regional difference is what would help turn the casual Laker fan into a Kings fan.

Thanks for the first hand perspective. It still seems like a big gamble to me, though. The Lakers always manage to find a way to get elite talent and build winning teams. If that trend keep repeating, then it seems like the Kings would have a hard time competing if their success depends of being better than The Lakers in order to convert OC Laker fans to Kings fans.

RookieOfTheDay · Feb 20, 2011

Mike0476 said:

I have no problem with them exploring options. It's their right to do so. But don't say you're exploring options and then say you want to be in Sacramento at the same time. The city needs to know if they're committed to waiting another year or not so they don't waste time and resources trying to keep The Kings here if the Maloofs have already made up their minds not to stay.

Uncia03 · Feb 20, 2011

The Hammer said:

I don't want the Kings to move, as I'd rather Tyreke and Cousins win a championship for the Sacramento Kings.

Sacramento deserves an NBA championship.

But you can't blame the Maloofs for leaving, as they've given Sacramento all the chances in the world to get something done.
Even the latest proposal is performing a feasibility study to see if a project is viable. That's great and all, but I can't see that being something to prevent the Maloofs from leaving if there is the certainty of a better situation elsewhere.

I agree with you that Louisville would be a great place for the Maloofs to relocate with Cousins looking to be a dominant NBA player for this team. But I believe that the Maloofs ultimately can decide where it is that they want to relocate, provided that they have an arena which is up to spec. And since I know they won't have a problem with a fan-base in Orange County, if they are getting a good deal to locate to Anaheim, I can see them doing that to remain in California.

Personally, I'll still be surprised if they actually file before March 1st, but I can't blame them if they do. Hopefully Taylor can work with them and give them enough hope to postpone a move for one more year.

Uncia03 · Feb 20, 2011

RookieOfTheDay said:

I lived in the Sacramento area for 10 years before moving down to Orange County. I'm a rabid Kings fan who finds that League Pass is the best expenditure of money I can make on a yearly basis so I don't miss a single game.

When I moved here I was really surprised that there were no Dodger fans around. They are absolutely crazy about their Angels here. I'm sure that when they first thought to moving a baseball team here, there were some concerns about the Dodger fanbase. I don't know how long it took, but you've got more Yankee fans down here than you Dodger that this point.

So I really do expect the same sort of thing for the Kings. I think you'd find a lot of fans who are from other places (Boston, Chicago, New York) who would become Kings fans as their '2nd' favorite team, just to have a team that they could root for locally that isn't the Lakers.

And if the Lakers start having some bad years, it's easy to see those casual Laker fans turning towards their local Kings team.

Anyway, I'd rather the Kings stay in Sacramento, because that's where they should be.

I root for the Kings even though I left town, so I'll continue to root for the Kings even if they leave town. If they end up in Kansas City, Seattle, Las Vegas, San Jose, or anywhere else, I'll still be rooting for these young players to get thier championship, hopefully by smashing through the Lakers.

But if they move to Anaheim I'll be getting season tickets and will begin the work of converting as many fans as I can to Kings fans.

jon e · Feb 20, 2011

Čarolija said:

Oh please!

When the team was one of the most exciting teams in the league AND when we had the longest sell out streak in the NBA AND when the economy was much better than it currently is, the new arean was STILL as much of a long shot as it is now simply because of the small minded and idiotic nature of the representatives of the city of Sacramento.

Back when Kings were the best team in the NBA they were playing in the ****tiest arena and the city of Sacramento still didn't want to genuinely build the new arena

where do you live again? man if i foreiner can get it...

ParniValjak · Feb 20, 2011

jon e said:

I am originally from Serbia but I live in Australia now!

Its no rocket science! If the City genuinely wanted to build the new arena and in the process keep the Kings in Sacramento, they would have come up with a plan YEARS ago and the Kings would now be playing in the new arena with bright future ahead in Sacramento.

Now it might be a case of too late even if the ICON group come with the plan that all sides could agree to.

Sac.1989 · Feb 20, 2011

Yeah it obviously would. Im just hoping for that last roll of the dice - that the Maloofs wake up and realise that this last min ditch thinking of theres makes minimal business sense and that its in their best interests to give it at least one more year. I doubt it will happen knowing how impulse based they are but we cant lose the kings. It will break many of us.

ParniValjak · Feb 20, 2011

Sac.1989 said:

Look the Mr Taylor from ICON was quoted saying the following:

Even this latest attempt is a very long shot because of coucils hard line on funding. They have been sitting on their asses for over a decade now without genuinely wanting to works something now. They have always had some sort of excuse. This sports and entertainment facility is not about the Kings only. Its needed to stimulate other means of income that ARCO arena just is not able to cater.

Building the arena is not just about keeping the Kings in Sacramento, its about having a facility that can generate revenue from concerts, exibitions and other revenue raising events but the imbeciles do not see that thats how short sighted they are. Arena would not only keep the Kings it would be a great thing for Sacramento for many other reasons but those idiots just look at how Maloofs will profit for it.

Maloofs have been losing money on Kings for some time now and I can't think of one place where they wouldn't be better off financially than they are in Sacramento. I would be shattered to see the Kings reolocate but I would still follow them.

If Sacramento loses the Kings, it won't be because of Maloofs not wanting to stay there but because of the cretins that are SO short sighted to see that the new arena is not only about the Kings. Its a MUCH MUCH bigger issue than that.

The Kings as a business would be much better off in Anaheim than in Sacramento on current financial terms but Sacramento would not be better of without Kings and that what those nuff nuffs need to realise. It would especially suck because the team is on the verge of something special. Seattle saw the demise of Sonics and when the things started looking up, the team relocated and OKC is enjoying watching the young up and coming team for the next decade.

And while Maloofs are impulsive, the latest move is not an impulsive move. They are looking into the pros and cons of relocating and have been doing that for some time now. After over a decade of trying to get something done, its a bit rich to call it impulsive if they want to move the team now.

Sac.1989 · Feb 20, 2011

Whilst our arena issues have been going on for a good 10+ years its not like the Maloofs have slowly planned an escape route. I give them credit as business savy entrepreneurs for assessing the pros and cons of moving but things have indeed picked up recently with the relocation deadline approaching, last year they werent even considering moving and were quoted as such. The Anaheim deal really doesnt make the most business sense and at least in the short term Sacramento would benefit from the money owed by the Maloofs not that i want it to go down that road.

The quote you have there from Taylor is in regards to public funding for the Arena. The issue mainly has always been funding and not how or where to build an arena. Given the economic context were in i cant blame the people if they dont want to foot the bill for a new stadium regardless of the fact that its an investment for the community

Heuge · Feb 20, 2011

The only thing that would make me not be a kings fan is a socal move. I hate the Maloofs foe even thinking about it.

fansinceday1 · Feb 20, 2011

We have to remeber that not being able to get an arena built is not just a sacramento problem.
The SF Giants had one foot in Tampa St. Pete before PacBell came along. Might i add that pacbell had to be built with private funds. The 49ers are moving to Santa Clara cause SF cannot get a new stadium built. The Oakland A's are having zero luck. For over a decade San Diego has been talki g about building a new stadium for the chargers. Spanos has talked about moving the chargers. And its not just CA.

The only way the NBA has been able to keep a team in New Orleans is by buying them from ownership and keeping it away from Larry Ellison who would have moved them to San Jose. For some strange reason the NBA does not want Ellison to have a team, hence the previous owners accepting the leagues $300 mil offer while ellison was offering $350 mil.

Teams most likely to relocate because their cities have been unable to get them stadiums?
Minnesota Vikings
Jacksonville Jaguars

And how can I forget the supersonics who actually left. Seattle is no closer to an arena than they were the day the sonics left.

jdbraver · Feb 20, 2011

Fan house said JT posted something on twitter about Anahiem. What was it? He must know something.

Arkitect · Feb 20, 2011

If the kings move, Anaheim would be my first choice. From San Diego I could definitely justify the 80 min drive. I would definitely be getting season tickets.

NikateeN · Feb 20, 2011

The city of sacramento makes me sick to my f'ing stomach... We had chance after chance to get the ball rolling here, we've had years to build this arena, years before the recession even began. If all these other cities in the NBA (and even cities without NBA teams)can get new arenas built, why cant we? I guess thats the question we've been asking for some time now...

Kings Fan Gerard · Feb 20, 2011

I'm not from the states so I wouldn't really know but is Anaheim a small or big market for sports teams?

RookieOfTheDay · Feb 20, 2011

Kings Fan Gerard said:

The population of Anaheim is listed at about 350000 but the population of Orange County is about 3 million.

Section 101 · Feb 20, 2011

RookieOfTheDay said:

Cavs fans had already renewed before James left. See what they have next year.

pshn80 · Feb 20, 2011

Does it make a difference to any of you where the Kings go if they leave Sacramento?

The only thing that can save the Kings for Sacramento is action on this front - right here in Sacramento - to either build a new arena or have locals buy the team. Just takes money. Do any of you have money to help on either issue? Do any of you know of a friend with Meg Whitman type money who can be persuaded to back the Kings in Sacramento? During these hard economic times the only ones who have money to spare are the very successful and very wealthy . get out your Christmas card list and see what you can find.

It doesn't do any good to follow the news and knowing who has or may make an offer on the Kings from Timbuktoo. That will take care of itself. What we need is 2011's version of Greg Lukenbill and his cohorts to make a move. If the voters, the City and County politicians, the monied, the fans get going this whole thing may catch fire and start rolling. All it takes is money and people.

At my age I might not miss the Kings very much because I might forget they left or what sport they played. Come on you young guys, get some fire. It's not going to happen if you sit back and read the newspaper, or appraise the population or wealth or what-have-you of Anaheim or Klamath Falls, so do something, rub two sticks together.

Don't call the Maloofs names, support them. It's not their responsibility to keep the Kings here. That responsibility is ours in Sacramento.

=LarryLegend= · Feb 20, 2011

Sam Amick is going to be on www.sportsbusinessradio.com at 11pm pacific talking about Anaheim Kings.

Sac.Kings · Feb 20, 2011

As of right now, there is still hope. I am not from Sacramento, but to me saying anything other than the Sacramento Kings will never have the same ring to it. I feel pride in saying that name and I hope that you lot in Sacramento do your best to have your team stay. At least do that, the best you can do so if they do leave, at least there won't be too much guilt. Although from what I know and have heard, attempts at a new arena have been going on for years and years and thus it may not matter much how hard everyone tries at this point. There is still the possibility that the Maloofs are using this as a last ditch scare tactic... in an attempt to rile some people up and get that new arena to go down. The Maloofs have been losing money for years, being patient with the process, but everyone's patience runs out eventually. Sacramento better do something if it wants to keep the team in Sacramento. I, for one, want to keep saying the Sacramento Kings, not Anaheim Kings or where they plan on going.

Tetsujin · Feb 20, 2011

Heuge said:

Pretty much this.

Kings May File for Relocation Before Deadline

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