jcassio
Starter
On April 3 a Sacramento Kings press release announced that the Natomas arena would be used as a hospital to help with the Coronavirus pandemic:
Today, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services announced plans for the California Department of Public Health, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to convert the Natomas arena and practice facility into a surge field hospital to provide critical medical services for coronavirus and trauma care patients.
https://www.nba.com/kings/news/sacr...rge-hospital-and-250000-donation-support-area
The press release goes on to say what “additional contributions” the Kings are making:
To further assist the state and city in its fight against the coronavirus, the Sacramento Kings are making additional contributions, including donating $250,000 to support area community organizations providing essential services and supplies to families and individuals in need, and the donation of 100,000 medical masks to state and local health agencies.
So yay for the Kings, right? Very community minded of them. Except yesterday (April 24) a SacBee article revealed that the State of California is paying the Kings up to $3 million to use the arena for three months (or $500k per month plus utilities).
https://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/article242265671.html
Not a good look for the Kings.
If they had been up front about the transaction, no big deal. Easily defendable. But with the April 3 spin about all that the Kings were doing for the community, and no mention of the arena’s rental cost, this really looks like someone got caught with their pants down. As a Kings fan, I’m embarrassed.
The SacBee article said that on April 3, Matina Kolokotronis, chief operating officer of the Kings, said Vivek Ranadivé, her boss, had called her and said, "What about offering the arena? He asked how we could use our platform to do good.”
So did Kolokotronis not know that they were "renting" the arena for a substantial amount of money? Of course she knew that! It was just inconvenient at that time for her to be honest about what the Kings were donating.
Again, just not a good look for the Kings.
Lost in all this dishonesty is the fact that the Kings are donating the use of their practice facility and making other donations through the Kings’ charitable foundation.
Today, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services announced plans for the California Department of Public Health, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to convert the Natomas arena and practice facility into a surge field hospital to provide critical medical services for coronavirus and trauma care patients.
https://www.nba.com/kings/news/sacr...rge-hospital-and-250000-donation-support-area
The press release goes on to say what “additional contributions” the Kings are making:
To further assist the state and city in its fight against the coronavirus, the Sacramento Kings are making additional contributions, including donating $250,000 to support area community organizations providing essential services and supplies to families and individuals in need, and the donation of 100,000 medical masks to state and local health agencies.
So yay for the Kings, right? Very community minded of them. Except yesterday (April 24) a SacBee article revealed that the State of California is paying the Kings up to $3 million to use the arena for three months (or $500k per month plus utilities).
https://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/article242265671.html
Not a good look for the Kings.
If they had been up front about the transaction, no big deal. Easily defendable. But with the April 3 spin about all that the Kings were doing for the community, and no mention of the arena’s rental cost, this really looks like someone got caught with their pants down. As a Kings fan, I’m embarrassed.
The SacBee article said that on April 3, Matina Kolokotronis, chief operating officer of the Kings, said Vivek Ranadivé, her boss, had called her and said, "What about offering the arena? He asked how we could use our platform to do good.”
So did Kolokotronis not know that they were "renting" the arena for a substantial amount of money? Of course she knew that! It was just inconvenient at that time for her to be honest about what the Kings were donating.
Again, just not a good look for the Kings.
Lost in all this dishonesty is the fact that the Kings are donating the use of their practice facility and making other donations through the Kings’ charitable foundation.