Reign out...

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

Most of the team is under contract and will go whereever the franchise lands unless the investor group can't get a deal done before the end of year. In which case there will be no worry about keeping or changing a team name because the players will be dispersed.



Reign Out: Maloofs End Ownership of Sacramento Monarchs

By Kecia Bailey
November 21, 2009
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The skies over Sacramento were wet and gray Friday morning almost seeming to foreshadow the news that would come later. Through a press release shortly before noon, Maloof Sports and Entertainment announced that they would no longer operate the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Sacramento Monarchs. (more)


http://www.sportspagemagazine.com/c...aloofs-end-ownership-of-sacramento-mona.shtml

 

[Purple Reign]

Good Piece Kecia; I guess my biggest regret in al of this is "it seems" like the league and/or the organization did not let this issue play out in the best interest of the fans and the community without immediately jumping to the worst case scenario of folding or moving.

Could they not have waited this out one more season to give the community a chance to respond to some type of RFP. If my memory serves me, the Seattle Storm was gone unil a last minute local investor stepped up and saved the team to stay in Seattle.
Seattle found local investors
LA found local investors
Atlanta found local investors

Why was not Sacramento at least given the opportunity to do the same. The Maloofs just dumped the product.

Was there an opportunity to find a Lifelock, Farmers, Krogers type sponsorship. Is Sacramento that bad financially, or are the Monarchs thought of so little that these two options could not be given the "opportunity". Really how much money are we really talking about. The equivalent of 1/4th of the mid level exception for an NBA player.

It is all very unfortunate and makes me feel like this decision was not made on Friday morning over breakfast. Somebody felt fo a while that the product was not worth saving, regardless of the 7,000 plus per game during the summer; which is better than dark dates of nothing in an outdated arena. Just my opinion.

 

[Den-Den]

Good Piece Kecia; I guess my biggest regret in al of this is "it seems" like the league and/or the organization did not let this issue play out in the best interest of the fans and the community without immediately jumping to the worst case scenario of folding or moving.

Could they not have waited this out one more season to give the community a chance to respond to some type of RFP. If my memory serves me, the Seattle Storm was gone unil a last minute local investor stepped up and saved the team to stay in Seattle.
Seattle found local investors
LA found local investors
Atlanta found local investors

Why was not Sacramento at least given the opportunity to do the same. The Maloofs just dumped the product.

Was there an opportunity to find a Lifelock, Farmers, Krogers type sponsorship. Is Sacramento that bad financially, or are the Monarchs thought of so little that these two options could not be given the "opportunity". Really how much money are we really talking about. The equivalent of 1/4th of the mid level exception for an NBA player.

It is all very unfortunate and makes me feel like this decision was not made on Friday morning over breakfast. Somebody felt fo a while that the product was not worth saving, regardless of the 7,000 plus per game during the summer; which is better than dark dates of nothing in an outdated arena. Just my opinion.

One has to at least ponder whether the Maloof's preferred to have an empty Arco Arena during the summer months to fill with "other" events.

 

[6th]

To answer PR's question, I think the Maloofs are hurting a lot more than people realize. With the Kings only filling half the stadium on weeknights, and the economy really affecting their business in Las Vegas, I understand things are pretty tough. Even the attendance at weekend games is dismal. And, that is not to mention that the other events are not drawing all that well. (People just don't have the disposable income to enjoy the events brought to ARCO.)

Now, I'm not making excuses for them, especially not for the way they went about things, but I do think things have gotten really tight. Still sucks for us though.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

As I posted somewhere in another thread. This was NOT about the Monarchs losing money or an indictment on the league.

This is squarely about the money hemmorrhage that the Kings are experiencing. That it is serious enough for them to dump the Monarchs should be giving fans of the team down the hall pause.

As I also posted previously, I do not fault the Maloofs for making a business decision. The thing I do think they should be faulted for was jettisoning the Monarchs this late in the game. If the Bay Area doesn't work out and the team is dispersed, that will be on Joe and Gavin's head and will fly in the face of how deeply they always said their family believes in the WNBA product and it belonging in the portfolio. In that sense, I'd expect them to have been in talks with the league last year to get this team to Tulsa or I guess Oakland.

I don't know if an ownership group could have emerged here in Sac, if it could have the Kings wouldn't be in the trouble they're in. But if there is a group in Oakland AND they can get solvent before the end of December, that's about the best we can hope for. And what I've learned over the last 72 hours, it's not a simple process (1) to get the investors and $$ together and (2) get all the things done so the team can actually take the floor somewhere. As I get more information, I'll be writing stories on the progress.



With their act here, they become as bad as Robert Johnson and Les Alexander who just flat out dumped their team off on the league's doorstep and said good riddance. And that flies in the face of what they've always said and even done said publicly.

 

[Emma]

I can see where people get the idea that the Kings are hemorrhaging money, but it is a fallacy:

http://www.sacbee.com/kings/story/2245748.html

• The Kings are operating in the black and are projected to break even throughout the season, the result of reducing operational costs and more prudent salary cap management.

Now, if they said MSE was operating in the black I would give more credence to the belief that the Kings were the anchor tied to the Monarch's foot. But the article specifically stated that the Kings were fine. I just think we should re-direct the blame to where it rightfully belongs: The other business endeavors of the Maloof's that are hemorrhaging money.

Edit: that article may sting a little, it's about the Maloofs keeping their word.

 

[StevenHW]

[snip]...As I also posted previously, I do not fault the Maloofs for making a business decision. The thing I do think they should be faulted for was jettisoning the Monarchs this late in the game. If the Bay Area doesn't work out and the team is dispersed, that will be on Joe and Gavin's head and will fly in the face of how deeply they always said their family believes in the WNBA product and it belonging in the portfolio. In that sense, I'd expect them to have been in talks with the league last year to get this team to Tulsa or I guess Oakland....[snip]...

With their act here, they become as bad as Robert Johnson and Les Alexander who just flat out dumped their team off on the league's doorstep and said good riddance...

Agree. Robert Johnson owned the Charlotte Sting, and he let go of the Sting very late in 2006. If I remember correctly, he opted out of the Sting just one week before Christmas, and only a few weeks before the 2007 WNBA Schedule deadline. That did not give the league enough time to find another owner, especially during the holiday season.

If the Maloofs really did want to dump the Monarchs, they should have announced it right after the regular season ended.

 

[nancgo]

This has really pissed me off. I have spend thousands of dollars, yes thousands to all the naysayers, on being a Sacramento Monarchs fan. I have been a season ticket holder since day 1. I attended almost every game from the lowliest time in the late 90's, to the absolutely exhilarating 2005 championship, to this last season. As the song says, I've had the time of my life.

Ya know, I understand the whole "it's a business decision" thing, but please, is this really going to help the Kings......Dumping the Monarchs is going to help them make freethrows, play defense, and stop being whiny, rich cry babies???? If they start winning more people will come. Just come straight out and say it was truly the money thing.

I can't believe that this hasn't been discussed before now. With it being this late in the year, unless there's a miracle in the Bay, these players will have to be dispersed through the league. It's a shame anytime a positive women's group is tossed. These professional athletes put their all out on the floor, and work like hell to be the best they can. And make crappy money just so they can play here.

Sorry this sounds so disjointed, I am emotional and I don't freaking care what the non-fans have to say about it. Although, if the Monarchs can get tossed, there's the possibility they will do it to the Kings. Sorry folks, it was a business decision. At least the Monarchs did win a championship.

On attempting a positive note here, I'll save a bunch of money and try to choose some other fun summer activity that's empowering to women - oh wait, there isn't anything else.......

 

[Superman]

This has really pissed me off. I have spend thousands of dollars, yes thousands to all the naysayers, on being a Sacramento Monarchs fan. I have been a season ticket holder since day 1. I attended almost every game from the lowliest time in the late 90's, to the absolutely exhilarating 2005 championship, to this last season. As the song says, I've had the time of my life.

Ya know, I understand the whole "it's a business decision" thing, but please, is this really going to help the Kings......Dumping the Monarchs is going to help them make freethrows, play defense, and stop being whiny, rich cry babies???? If they start winning more people will come. Just come straight out and say it was truly the money thing.

I can't believe that this hasn't been discussed before now. With it being this late in the year, unless there's a miracle in the Bay, these players will have to be dispersed through the league. It's a shame anytime a positive women's group is tossed. These professional athletes put their all out on the floor, and work like hell to be the best they can. And make crappy money just so they can play here.

Sorry this sounds so disjointed, I am emotional and I don't freaking care what the non-fans have to say about it. Although, if the Monarchs can get tossed, there's the possibility they will do it to the Kings. Sorry folks, it was a business decision. At least the Monarchs did win a championship.

On attempting a positive note here, I'll save a bunch of money and try to choose some other fun summer activity that's empowering to women - oh wait, there isn't anything else.......

I'm not going to go into the other stuff, even though I could, but this just jumps out at me. And please, don't misconstrue my comments as meaning that the WNBA has no value or anything like that.

But to claim that making $50,000 a year (average WNBA salary) to play a game for four months is "crappy money" is kind of unrealistic. There's no sense in comparing WNBA salaries to NBA salaries; the NBA makes more money, ergo, the players get paid more. In fact, the NBA subsidizes the WNBA about $12 million a year. The WNBA, according to all indications, is a profitless business (otherwise, why the subsidy?). Most businesses that don't make money close down.

It's great that the WNBA is trying to hang on, with the support of the NBA, to provide a positive and empowering activity for women and young girls in this country. I have a young daughter, a wife, a mom, a sister; I am sensitive to the plight that young women -- especially minorities -- face, not just here, but everywhere. But if a franchise is not financially viable, why should the owners continue to lose money on it? I mean, it's their choice if they want to do that, but can anyone seriously fault them for discontinuing operation of an unsuccessful business?

I'm only even saying anything about this because I think those same questions are going to be asked about every WNBA franchise, and the league as an entity, over the next couple of years. It's been 13 years since the WNBA was created. It's still not making any money. It's contracting, which might be a good thing, but the league's media footprint is still dangerously small (you can blame any number of factors for this, but the truth is that it's just not popular). I have been quietly wondering for a long time how long the league will last. I can't imagine that the fans of the WNBA haven't wondered that themselves.

The women in the WNBA make more money than the average worker in the United States, to play a game for four months out of the year. They're certainly not getting rich or living in the lap of luxury like their male counterparts, but I think most fans of the game would jump at the opportunity to play basketball and get paid a decent wage for it. I don't in any way feel sorry for WNBA players because of how much they don't get paid. If the league/owners were pocketing all the profits and not paying the players, that would be one thing, and it would be outrageous. But there are no profits. The NBA is paying the WNBA salaries.

(Another note: I don't agree that there is no other fun summer activity that's empowering to women.)

 

[Section 101]

This has really pissed me off. I have spend thousands of dollars, yes thousands to all the naysayers, on being a Sacramento Monarchs fan. I have been a season ticket holder since day 1. I attended almost every game from the lowliest time in the late 90's, to the absolutely exhilarating 2005 championship, to this last season. As the song says, I've had the time of my life.

Ya know, I understand the whole "it's a business decision" thing, but please, is this really going to help the Kings......Dumping the Monarchs is going to help them make freethrows, play defense, and stop being whiny, rich cry babies???? If they start winning more people will come. Just come straight out and say it was truly the money thing.

I can't believe that this hasn't been discussed before now. With it being this late in the year, unless there's a miracle in the Bay, these players will have to be dispersed through the league. It's a shame anytime a positive women's group is tossed. These professional athletes put their all out on the floor, and work like hell to be the best they can. And make crappy money just so they can play here.

Sorry this sounds so disjointed, I am emotional and I don't freaking care what the non-fans have to say about it. Although, if the Monarchs can get tossed, there's the possibility they will do it to the Kings. Sorry folks, it was a business decision. At least the Monarchs did win a championship.

On attempting a positive note here, I'll save a bunch of money and try to choose some other fun summer activity that's empowering to women - oh wait, there isn't anything else.......

Is it really that surprising? Last year it was the comets in a bigger market and was the team for the start of the league. I give the league 2 more years before its folded or has a transition to a new name/league.

Of course it was about money, just like the other teams that folded or moved.

 

[VF21]

I can see where people get the idea that the Kings are hemorrhaging money, but it is a fallacy:

http://www.sacbee.com/kings/story/2245748.html



Now, if they said MSE was operating in the black I would give more credence to the belief that the Kings were the anchor tied to the Monarch's foot. But the article specifically stated that the Kings were fine. I just think we should re-direct the blame to where it rightfully belongs: The other business endeavors of the Maloof's that are hemorrhaging money.

Edit: that article may sting a little, it's about the Maloofs keeping their word.

Actually, the article is misleading in several areas. Actions speak louder than words. If you look at what the Maloofs have been doing recently, it's apparent they're cutting costs anywhere they can so that they can focus their efforts on keeping the Kings as a viable product. You cannot ignore things like pulling the plug on House Party Live, jettisoning Jim Kozimor, and not televising pre-season games as indicative of anything other than economic distress.

I may not agree with how the Maloofs did this, but I think it's pretty apparent why ... And, as indicated in other articles, etc. it's not just the Monarchs franchise in trouble. A good portion of the WNBA is suffering.

 

[hrdboild]

This is really sad. As a fan of basketball it's always a sad day when an established franchise moves or closes for good. That puts a lot of fans out in the cold. Especially the dedicated ones (like nancgo) who give so much to their favorite team. I hope they at least get to play somewhere, even if that's not much consolation to the fans. I've only recently started watching women's basketball -- the last 3 years or so -- and it's really a shame that the WNBA is still having a hard time establishing itself financially because there's a whole lot of good basketball being played there.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

I'm not sure it's even established why they did this.

Again, it's not about the financial frailty of the WNBA because the owners who are in are either in or they're not. This is not a novelty thing to own, it costs money and most know they may or may not get a return until the future unless they are smart about how they're running their franchise.

And by all accounts the Monarchs were run as the model franchise for the rest of the league and they had been touting the fact that they were turning a profit with their WNBA team.

My understanding also is that the Maloofs had green lighted 2010, (which should suggest that 2010 was in question).

This evidenced by them continuing to let their front office people do their things, their sales people do their thing etc. As STHs know, they had been steadily planning offseason events for Monarchs STHs.

Now somehow and for whatever reason at probably the worst possible time for the sustenance of the franchise elsewhere, they pulled the plug and used the Kings as the reason. Not the Monarchs' failings, they used the Kings.

It's not just the WNBA, it's not a good time to be any business right now, so the WNBA isn't what the problem was. The fact that the league can continue to find people with money who are taking over franchises being thrown overboard by their current owners is a testiment about the attractiveness of the investment.

According to their communique to the fans on Friday, I have the suspicion that once the fate of the team is finally decided (whether the players land in Oakland or they are dispersed around the league), they are going to trot out their Veep of Bus Ops to take the heat from the fans. I didn't get the sense from my read of it that Joe or Gavin or even John Thomas for that matter are going to be the ones to take the heat and face the fans and answer question (or whatever the real purpose of this face-to-face) is meant to be.

If they send her out to do this, to fall on their sword when all she's done is put the best spin on their commitment the last 10 years, that will almost be as dastardly as the 180 last minute turn they reportedly have done which have put us in this situation we're in right now.

 

[Emma]

According to their communique to the fans on Friday, I have the suspicion that once the fate of the team is finally decided (whether the players land in Oakland or they are dispersed around the league), they are going to trot out their Veep of Bus Ops to take the heat from the fans. I didn't get the sense from my read of it that Joe or Gavin or even John Thomas for that matter are going to be the ones to take the heat and face the fans and answer question (or whatever the real purpose of this face-to-face) is meant to be.

This would be rather cowardly, and I would lose some respect for the Maloofs as business professionals if it were to occur.

 

[Purple Reign]

I'm not sure it's even established why they did this.

According to their communique to the fans on Friday, I have the suspicion that once the fate of the team is finally decided (whether the players land in Oakland or they are dispersed around the league), they are going to trot out their Veep of Bus Ops to take the heat from the fans. I didn't get the sense from my read of it that Joe or Gavin or even John Thomas for that matter are going to be the ones to take the heat and face the fans and answer question (or whatever the real purpose of this face-to-face) is meant to be.

If they send her out to do this, to fall on their sword when all she's done is put the best spin on their commitment the last 10 years, that will almost be as dastardly as the 180 last minute turn they reportedly have done which have put us in this situation we're in right now.

I don't know about anybody else, but I smell a big arse rat in the room!! Mayor K.J. was on the Rise Guys this morning. And the question was asked of him how the recent Monarchs transaction would effect the Kings Arena efforts. And he said that the Mayor's Office was not informed about this decision until one hour before the press release.

Then he went on to say that he only speaks to the Maloofs like once per month. The Rise Guys considered all of that red flags as far as the Maloofs and their engagement with others outside of MS and E.

To me, it sounds like the Maloofs are becoming weary of this whole project. Kings, Monarchs, Arena, losing games, losing money, empty seats, etc.... This may be a big stretch, but I hope this is not the beginning of the end of the Sacramento Kings as well.

 

[uncommonclay]

I don't know about anybody else, but I smell a big arse rat in the room!! Mayor K.J. was on the Rise Guys this morning. And the question was asked of him how the recent Monarchs transaction would effect the Kings Arena efforts. And he said that the Mayor's Office was not informed about this decision until one hour before the press release.

Then he went on to say that he only speaks to the Maloofs like once per month. The Rise Guys considered all of that red flags as far as the Maloofs and their engagement with others outside of MS and E.

To me, it sounds like the Maloofs are becoming weary of this whole project. Kings, Monarchs, Arena, losing games, losing money, empty seats, etc.... This may be a big stretch, but I hope this is not the beginning of the end of the Sacramento Kings as well.

a rat named las vegas ...