http://www.sacbee.com/breton/story/1626370.html
Marcos Breton: Fact is, the Kings are ours to lose
By Marcos Breton
mbreton@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Feb. 15, 2009 | Page 1B
You may be wondering why the sudden flurry of news on a proposed new arena for the Kings – with a breathless subtext that the team might leave town.
Kind of curious, huh?
There was the rumor Thursday that the Kings owners were in Anaheim, shopping for a new city. That Anaheim and San Jose are hot for the Kings. That the Maloofs are panicking as a slumping economy – and a slumping Kings team – have turned a once-raucous Arco Arena into a funeral parlor with concession stands.
Give it a rest. There is a gaping chasm between fact and rumor here.
The facts: The Kings owners were not in Anaheim Thursday. San Jose and Anaheim want an NBA team, but that's been true for years.
There are negotiations under way to raise a new Kings arena at Cal Expo, and a meeting scheduled for Feb. 27 where state officials and the NBA are to unveil their proposal for the project.
NBA boss David Stern has staked his reputation on keeping the Kings in Sacramento. Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson is working overtime to shower love on the Maloofs.
It's true the Kings play before empty seats, but that's not so much because the team is losing.
It's the way they are losing.
The Kings are small and slow. They don't defend or rebound well. They just seem to give up in games.
By record and reputation, they are the worst team in the NBA.
It's tough to get behind that kind of play when you're looking at pay cuts and furloughs, when you fear losing your job or your home.
Consequently, owners Joe and Gavin Maloof are having a tough time financially. How tough? I haven't seen their books, and when asked this week by the Bee's Tony Bizjak, Joe declined to say how much the Kings have lost.
But guess what? Everyone is hurting right now.
Layoffs right and left, in private business and local governments. The state slashing worker salaries and money for schools. Sacramento County closing medical clinics for the poor. The city of Sacramento poised to gut services.
And yet? Mayor Johnson and most everyone else in town wants to keep the Kings. That's a commitment that is real, not rumored.
There are lingering frustrations with the Maloofs over the state of the team and their role in past arena initiatives that failed – but no one with any sense wants the Kings to leave. Team loyalties aside, it's just not a good time for the city to lose a major enterprise.
This isn't Seattle, a city that gave the SuperSonics a collective middle finger before that team bolted for Oklahoma City.
Granted, it wouldn't be surprising if the Maloofs have listened carefully to overtures from Anaheim, San Jose and other cities. That's called due diligence.
But talk is talk, and fact is fact. And the fact is, the Kings are Sacramento's to lose in a game that's far from over.
Call The Bee's Marcos Breton, (916) 321-1096.
Marcos Breton: Fact is, the Kings are ours to lose
By Marcos Breton
mbreton@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Feb. 15, 2009 | Page 1B
You may be wondering why the sudden flurry of news on a proposed new arena for the Kings – with a breathless subtext that the team might leave town.
Kind of curious, huh?
There was the rumor Thursday that the Kings owners were in Anaheim, shopping for a new city. That Anaheim and San Jose are hot for the Kings. That the Maloofs are panicking as a slumping economy – and a slumping Kings team – have turned a once-raucous Arco Arena into a funeral parlor with concession stands.
Give it a rest. There is a gaping chasm between fact and rumor here.
The facts: The Kings owners were not in Anaheim Thursday. San Jose and Anaheim want an NBA team, but that's been true for years.
There are negotiations under way to raise a new Kings arena at Cal Expo, and a meeting scheduled for Feb. 27 where state officials and the NBA are to unveil their proposal for the project.
NBA boss David Stern has staked his reputation on keeping the Kings in Sacramento. Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson is working overtime to shower love on the Maloofs.
It's true the Kings play before empty seats, but that's not so much because the team is losing.
It's the way they are losing.
The Kings are small and slow. They don't defend or rebound well. They just seem to give up in games.
By record and reputation, they are the worst team in the NBA.
It's tough to get behind that kind of play when you're looking at pay cuts and furloughs, when you fear losing your job or your home.
Consequently, owners Joe and Gavin Maloof are having a tough time financially. How tough? I haven't seen their books, and when asked this week by the Bee's Tony Bizjak, Joe declined to say how much the Kings have lost.
But guess what? Everyone is hurting right now.
Layoffs right and left, in private business and local governments. The state slashing worker salaries and money for schools. Sacramento County closing medical clinics for the poor. The city of Sacramento poised to gut services.
And yet? Mayor Johnson and most everyone else in town wants to keep the Kings. That's a commitment that is real, not rumored.
There are lingering frustrations with the Maloofs over the state of the team and their role in past arena initiatives that failed – but no one with any sense wants the Kings to leave. Team loyalties aside, it's just not a good time for the city to lose a major enterprise.
This isn't Seattle, a city that gave the SuperSonics a collective middle finger before that team bolted for Oklahoma City.
Granted, it wouldn't be surprising if the Maloofs have listened carefully to overtures from Anaheim, San Jose and other cities. That's called due diligence.
But talk is talk, and fact is fact. And the fact is, the Kings are Sacramento's to lose in a game that's far from over.
Call The Bee's Marcos Breton, (916) 321-1096.