Burkle to focus on development, not Kings ownership

[VF21]

Key points for Kings fans to keep in mind as highlighted by Carmichael Dave:

The NBA is desperately trying to make sure they do not take the Kings from Sacramento. This is why David Stern set the April 3 meeting. He didn't have to do it. He allowed the Sacramento and Seattle group to present their proposals so that any potential roadblocks could be identified and addressed prior to the committee recommendations and vote by the BoG.

Burkle not being an active part of the ownership group is not a game changer. Once Vivek Ranadive came on board, he became the premier equity investor because of his ability to take the Kings (and the NBA) globally. Remember, David Stern took a trip to Mumbai yesterday. If you can't put those pieces together, you simply haven't been paying attention.

Ron Burkle is still going to be the primary investor/developer in the revitalization of downtown Sacramento. That's in his wheelhouse and only strengthens the overall Sacramento presentation.

We got this, folks. It's like officials reviewing a call in a game. Once they've looked at everything, unless there is clear proof to reverse a decision, the call stands. In this case, unless there's overwhelming benefit to moving the Kings to Seattle they're going to stay right where they are. That's the bottom line. Will the NBA benefit MORE all things considered from keeping the team in Sacramento or by uprooting them and putting them into Seattle? If Seattle isn't the clear and decisive winner in that comparison, the team stays where it is.

 

[VF21]

driving force? I thought he was out completely now, aside from developing projects around the arena, due to a conflict of interest pointed out by the league last week. regardless its not a huge deal, as CD said, its another sign of the BOG pointing us in the right direction.

To clarify what I was trying to say: Burkle is still a driving force in the deal even if he isn't a financial backer of the arena/team. He is still the primary investor in some $400-$500 million in development of downtown Sacramento. Sorry if I wasn't clear. I was trying to do too many things at once.

 

[Hallama]

We got this, folks. It's like officials reviewing a call in a game. Once they've looked at everything, unless there is clear proof to reverse a decision, the call stands.

I like this analogy.

 

[Dreamtiger]

I get why there was a conflict of interest with him having partial team ownership, but what is the conflict with investment in the arena?

 

[VF21]

I get why there was a conflict of interest with him having partial team ownership, but what is the conflict with investment in the arena?

The arena deal is between the City of Sacramento and the Kings ownership group (I think)...

 

[VF21]

stevelarge_cbs13 stevelarge_cbs13 ‏@largesteven 24m

Burkle money helped JMA buy Downtown Plaza.

stevelarge_cbs13 ‏@largesteven 24m

So Burkle money is in the mall now. His name adds credibility. That is why he is still part of off-site development deal.

 

[Kingsfan23]

Wow, I thought Burkle was the money behind the arena.. and he was the deep pockets in this ownership group.. I wonder where the money on the arena side is now coming from.. On a side note, if Burkle isn't participating in the arena I don't really mind, because it is my dream to get NHL as well and that wouldn't happen with him part owning the Penguins

 

[VF21]

Wow, I thought Burkle was the money behind the arena.. and he was the deep pockets in this ownership group.. I wonder where the money on the arena side is now coming from.. On a side note, if Burkle isn't participating in the arena I don't really mind, because it is my dream to get NHL as well and that wouldn't happen with him part owning the Penguins

You keep mentioning the NHL. Right now, one of our strongest selling points is that the Kings are the ONLY major sports franchise in town. Just sayin...

Are you forgetting about the Jacobs family of QUALCOMM? I'm guessing they're the premiere investors for the arena, and there are some rumors floating around (I actually may have inadvertently been the source of one of them myself) with the name Larry Ellison attached.

Deep pockets and money are not going to be a problem.

 

[kingjatt]

You keep mentioning the NHL. Right now, one of our strongest selling points is that the Kings are the ONLY major sports franchise in town. Just sayin...

Are you forgetting about the Jacobs family of QUALCOMM? I'm guessing they're the premiere investors for the arena, and there are some rumors floating around (I actually may have inadvertently been the source of one of them myself) with the name Larry Ellison attached.

Deep pockets and money are not going to be a problem.

The fact that the Jacobs family realesed a statement today regarding their full commitment to sacramento and saving the kings helps ease the slight unrest caused by the burkle news.

 

[VF21]

The fact that the Jacobs family realesed a statement today regarding their full commitment to sacramento and saving the kings helps ease the slight unrest caused by the burkle news.

Agreed. And the fact that our ownership group announced the addition of the Jacobs family before all of this hit is another indication of an incredible game plan. Strategy, timing and execution. Chris Lehane and everyone else assisting KJ in this campaign are doing all the right things.

 

[Trueblood]

You keep mentioning the NHL. Right now, one of our strongest selling points is that the Kings are the ONLY major sports franchise in town. Just sayin...

Are you forgetting about the Jacobs family of QUALCOMM? I'm guessing they're the premiere investors for the arena, and there are some rumors floating around (I actually may have inadvertently been the source of one of them myself) with the name Larry Ellison attached.

Deep pockets and money are not going to be a problem.

That actually makes some sense. They could be the primary investors in the arena and then stick the Qualcomm name on the building as a form of free advertising. Instead of the Kings and the city looking for naming rights, they are reversing the process. Have the Jacobs family invest more in the building and then let them put their name on it for free. Just a guess on my part.

 

[ninjabiscuit]

As Carmichael Dave and others have said, I keep noticing that whenever there's a chance that this thing could come off the rails (dollar amount, Burkle's conflict of interest, etc.), Stern seems to give us a way to fix it. That's a very, very good sign to me that he wants to keep the Kings here. Maybe I'm misguided (I'm certainly biased), but it seems that way to me.

p.s. For some peace of mind, I recommend ignoring the Seattle fans. They're just doing the same thing we are, but in the opposite direction. All they're going to do is make you mad. Leave them alone and don't worry about them. They have no say in this.

 

[Glenn]

Stern in Mumbai? Perhaps it is known that Ranadive is from Mumbai but the kicker is that Qualcomm has sewn up the cell phone business in that area of India.

 

[VF21]

As Carmichael Dave and others have said, I keep noticing that whenever there's a chance that this thing could come off the rails (dollar amount, Burkle's conflict of interest, etc.), Stern seems to give us a way to fix it. That's a very, very good sign to me that he wants to keep the Kings here. Maybe I'm misguided (I'm certainly biased), but it seems that way to me.

p.s. For some peace of mind, I recommend ignoring the Seattle fans. They're just doing the same thing we are, but in the opposite direction. All they're going to do is make you mad. Leave them alone and don't worry about them. They have no say in this.

And don't forget that every time the Maloofs have tried to do something incredibly slimy (Anaheim, Virginia Beach, Seattle) there has been a leak of information at a critical time. Remember, it was that agent's daughter who first tweeted (and then retracted) the information about the Seattle deal that galvanized the fan base well before the official announcement. At every turn, we have had a guardian angel in our corner. Adding Stern's belief in us and our city is just another indication that the universe wants the Kings to stay in Sacramento.

At least that's how I'm looking at it.

 

[VF21]

Stern in Mumbai? Perhaps it is known that Ranadive is from Mumbai but the kicker is that Qualcomm has sewn up the cell phone business in that area of India.

And just when you think you see the whole picture, you step back a little more and discover there are even more pieces fitting into the puzzle. I can't help but continue to praise KJ and his group of friends, advisors, etc. who have put together this entire campaign. Add the grassroots efforts of the various groups and you have a formula for success that will most likely be taught in the future. (Of course, that's assuming a positive outcome but I don't see that as a problem).

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

I think it should be pretty apparent that Stern is holding Sac's hand through this whole ordeal so it will work out for Sacramento and the Kings. I don't think ANY other Commish has or would stick his neck out on the line as much as Stern has for Sacramento.

 

[Mojo]

I think it should be pretty apparent that Stern is holding Sac's hand through this whole ordeal so it will work out for Sacramento and the Kings. I don't think ANY other Commish has or would stick his neck out on the line as much as Stern has for Sacramento.

Agreed. I guess it could be said he did the same thing for the Hornets when the league bought them and ensured that they went to a local owner. He definitely watches out for some markets it seems.

 

[jaysoonii]

his way in apologizing for 2002

 

[sdballer]

I think it should be pretty apparent that Stern is holding Sac's hand through this whole ordeal so it will work out for Sacramento and the Kings. I don't think ANY other Commish has or would stick his neck out on the line as much as Stern has for Sacramento.

Yeah, I think there are a couple of ways of interpreting how this has all gone down.

1. Stern's hand holding is the league's way of helping the Kings to make sure they put together a proposal that will make the BOG vote no.

2. Stern is good cop to the owner's bad cop vote to move another team. Seattle get's a team back but in a way where the "league" did everything it could to help Sac make a compelling counter.

I'm really hoping its #1 but I'm more anxious than most that this is heading the other way. We'll see in a couple weeks.

 

[funkykingston]

Yeah, I think there are a couple of ways of interpreting how this has all gone down.

1. Stern's hand holding is the league's way of helping the Kings to make sure they put together a proposal that will make the BOG vote no.

2. Stern is good cop to the owner's bad cop vote to move another team. Seattle get's a team back but in a way where the "league" did everything it could to help Sac make a compelling counter.

I'm really hoping its #1 but I'm more anxious than most that this is heading the other way. We'll see in a couple weeks.

I just don't think Stern is all that concerned with public perception of him to go to such lengths to look like the "good guy" if indeed the endgame is the BOG voting for sale and relocation. For that matter, why on Earth would he want to be the good guy and cast the other owners as the bad guys? If anything Stern is shown that he'd prefer to put the hammer down and be resented than to create a negative public opinion of his owners.

I'm not saying I'm 100% confident that this will go Sacramento's way, but I am pretty close to 100% confident that David Stern isn't helping the Sacramento group for the sake of appearances.

 

[sdballer]

I just don't think Stern is all that concerned with public perception of him to go to such lengths to look like the "good guy" if indeed the endgame is the BOG voting for sale and relocation. For that matter, why on Earth would he want to be the good guy and cast the other owners as the bad guys? If anything Stern is shown that he'd prefer to put the hammer down and be resented than to create a negative public opinion of his owners.

I'm not saying I'm 100% confident that this will go Sacramento's way, but I am pretty close to 100% confident that David Stern isn't helping the Sacramento group for the sake of appearances.

Because he is the public face of the "league". To casual fans, instead of how the Sea/OKC deal went down, it comes off like the league gave them a real shot of staying but that in the end the owners made the tough decision to vote in favor of the move. If he wasn't doing any of this public support of the King's attempt, at the end it would feel like the league did the same thing to Sac that it did to Seattle which was unpopular. You can tell from fans/media that they already perceive that Stern is assisting the Kings on this which is a huge public difference than the Seattle move. Not saying I think this is happening, just that its a different interpretation.

 

[Kingsfan23]

I understand the need for many, on such a pivotal issue, to look at the issue positively. In my opinion Seattle can do it as well. IMHO Stern needed to let the Sacramento group know to up their offer because it wouldv'e been horrible PR for them to lose their team based on not knowing Seattles bid, there is not too big of a deal with Stern and/or owners letting Sac know they aren't comfortable with Burkle weeks before vote, and something tells me Stern is in Mumbai right now not for the reasons of paying homage to Ranadive. I'm a Kings fan and a realist and I do think we have an above 50% chance of keeping this team but I see the issues evenly without tint as they arise, and hope to see some news that will indeed let me know we are on the certain path

 

[Chupacabra]

Our hook to keeping the Kings in Sacramento relies on the arena. Burkle is still spearheading the arena, so I COULD'NT care less about them "officially" removing Burkle from the ownership group. I never got the sense that the Kings would've been managed by Burkle anyway. Even when they announced just Mastrov and Burkle. It was going to be Mastrov as managing the team and Burkle building the arena.

Sorry, one of my few peeves Im not sure how to interpret this development. Im assuming that Ranadive would act as the financial buffer in terms of ensuring that the Sacramento bid is up to par.

 

[Fear the Putin]

Sorry, one of my few peeves Im not sure how to interpret this development. Im assuming that Ranadive would act as the financial buffer in terms of ensuring that the Sacramento bid is up to par.

Couldn't care less = could not care less

 

[xyrin]

Couldn't care less = could not care less

Yes, but you misused the idiom in your original post

 

[VF21]

Yes, but you misused the idiom in your original post

Yes, but he didn't use an idiom so he couldn't possibly misuse it. He used an expression that is often misused - I could care less vs. I couldn't care less. An idiom is a combination of words which means something other than the literal definition.

For example, he kicked the bucket.

 

[kennadog]

I was at the press conference today, where KJ was asked about this and answered. Of course, he's always very optimistic, but KJ said the Burkle possible conflict of interest issue came up at the BoG meeting and was successfully concluded at the meeting. So Burkle being out was already taken care of at the meeting and the BoG committee was satisfied at the meeting that the remaining partners could step in with the financing.

Also noted today in the news was the fact that Hansen was borrowing all of his investment and Randivé saying the Sac partners would not be borrowing any of their investment, that it would be all equity. So no Burkle obviously means no problem for the remaining partners as far as financing every thing per the term sheet. That's why it was pointed out today that the term sheet would not have to be re-voted on, just because Burkle is dropping out.

So I'm not going to worry. If Ranadivé says the rest of them have it handled just fine, who am I to worry?

Burkle can still participate in development of the arena as a non-investor. As he has built an arena, he can be an invaluable adviser. However, Ranadivé was in Sac today, talking to the local minority investors. I'm thinking he may partly talking to them, because some of them are long-time developers in Sacramento. They know this market and city requirements inside out.

The fact that Burkle expressed a desire to still commit up to $500 million in investment in Sacramento makes me very happy. It means he still sees Sacramento as a city worth investing in even if he doesn't own any share of the team. I am curious why the NBA sees a conflict of interest for him as far as the arena goes. The city will own the arena, the team will sign a long-term lease with the city. Guess they still felt iffy about it, so maybe Burkle backed out so they didn't have to decide if there really was a conflict of interest in an arena lease deal. Just eliminates an issue for the NBA lawyers to fret over and speeds up the decision-making process.

 

[Gliesian]

On NBA.com, the third top story is titled "Burkle drops out of Sacramento's bid to keep Kings."

http://www.nba.com/2013/news/04/08/kings-sale-burkle.ap/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpts

I have to say, I don't like the way this looks. A few key words, carefully designed, can send stocks tumbling, even if they are insignificant. This looks bad instinctively. 50% of the people who glance at this will think our bid has been damaged, and maybe that's what the NBA wants... <remove tin foil hat?>

 

[jpsls]

On NBA.com, the third top story is titled "Burkle drops out of Sacramento's bid to keep Kings."

http://www.nba.com/2013/news/04/08/kings-sale-burkle.ap/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpts

I have to say, I don't like the way this looks. A few key words, carefully designed, can send stocks tumbling, even if they are insignificant. This looks bad instinctively. 50% of the people who glance at this will think our bid has been damaged, and maybe that's what the NBA wants... <remove tin foil hat?>

Their opinion doesn't matter because they don't have a vote. They said the Kings were long gone a couple of months ago. They're on the outside looking in just like us.

 

[ParniValjak]

It's not a great development that's for sure BUT as has already been pointed out, the fact that NBA tried to find a way to sort it out before Burkle was "pulled" from the ownership group should be a clear indication that the NBA wants us to succeed!

They could easily have ignored it and recommended Seattle on the basis that Sacramento's offer had flaws! But the didn't and tried to work it out with us. We move on now and find out where we stand in about 10 days.