Kings’ exit could make room for Warriors
Don’t expect the
Golden State Warriors to complain if the
Sacramento Kings move to Anaheim, Calif.
The Warriors are in the nation’s sixth largest media market in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area. If the Kings move to Anaheim, the Warriors would also gain the 75-mile mark surrounding old Arco Arena – a market that includes Sacramento, Stockton, Davis and Vacaville – sources told Yahoo! Sports. The Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto market is the 20th largest in the country and bigger than the NBA markets in Portland, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City, Milwaukee, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Memphis and New Orleans. Also, the Warriors would no longer have to share the Modesto, Fresno and Monterey markets and Nevada’s Reno and Lake Tahoe markets with the Kings.
“The Warriors won’t be crying spilled milk by seeing [the Kings] go,” one NBA executive said. “For that kind of market share and advantage, they’d say, ‘Can I help you pack?’ ”
The Warriors already have some season ticket-holders in Sacramento and should be able to increase their marketing and sponsorship revenue if the Kings leave. The Warriors have been in Northern California since 1962 while the Kings moved to Sacramento in 1985.