I've been completely out of the loop lately. Can someone fill me in? I know the move was blocked, but what's going on in terms of ownership and a new arena?
Thanks.
Let me esplain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up:
The relocation committee voted unanimously to reject relocation by a 7-0 vote. The 5 member finance committee was also in attendance but didn't take part in this vote.
On May 15th the BOG in full will vote on relocation and are widely expected to follow the committee's recommendation.
The next issue is that of the sale. Chris Hansen has vowed to keep fighting which initially means he will continue lobbying for the full BOG to vote yes on relocation. If that fails then the question of ownership comes up. The rumor is that even if relocation is denied Hansen will lobby for his groups sale offer to still be accepted. Seattle fans see this as a possibility but I don't see how. If Hansen pushes for an actual vote, 8 or more members of the BOG voting against him would negate the sale to Hansen/Ballmer/Nordstrom.
Assuming that happens, the Kings backup offer is considered binding by Stern and theoretically the Maloofs would sell to the Ranadive/Mastrov group. In the meantime the prospective Kings owners are pushing forward with arena plans and the NBA was on the ground in Sacramento looking at Sleep Train Arena, presumably to see what upgrades were needed to keep it functioning for the next few seasons.
That's my view of where things stand today.