The Sacramento Bee is reporting that multiple sources now say the Maloofs contributions to a new Sacramento arena would need to total $85 million to get the deal done; $60 million of that would have to be in cash, the other $25 million would come from the donation of land the family owns around Power Balance Pavilion. A spokesman for the Maloofs refused to comment on the report, saying instead that the family was still “anxiously awaiting a detailed financing plan from the city.”
This report confirms what the Orange County register said in a February 3rd article about movements in Anaheim to lure a NBA franchise to the Honda Center. That article stated that the Maloofs contribution to a new arena in Sacramento would fall in the $80 to $110 million dollar range and that the family, hard hit by the global recession and overspent in its Las Vegas casino operation, doesn’t have that kind of cash at this time.
Not discussed in the Bee article is how the Maloofs $70 million loan would come into play in the deal should the team remain in Sacramento. The Maloofs have never missed a loan payment on the bonds held by the city, but they are also far away from full restitution as well. For the most part, payments to the debt have only covered the interest on the loan to this point. You can see 10-years of the debt service schedule on page 11 of this report by clicking here.
On Sunday, Ailene Voisin reported that a rift between Joe and Gavin Maloof and their brother, George, has intensified after coming to a heed last summer. George reportedly hasn’t been to a Kings home game all season, while Joe and Gavin have become “more entrenched in Sacramento and even less inclined to leave.”
Last April, Anaheim billionaire Henry Samueli offered to loan the Maloofs as much as $75 million and to also buy a minority stake in the Kings should they move the franchise to Southern California. Two weeks ago, Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait said that “there is no doubt that Anaheim is NBA ready (and that he is) confident (they) will get a team.”
Also adding pressure to officials in Sacramento are developments in Seattle. Chris Hansen, a wealthy San Francisco hedge fund manager with roots in the Washington city, will provide Mayor Mike McGinn with his plan for a new arena to lure NBA and NHL to the Pacific Northwest later today. McGinn is then expected to share that information at a news conference by this afternoon. Hansen has already acquired the property where a new Seattle arena would be built in a Sodo neighborhood south of an existing sporting event parking garage. He has also reportedly been in talks with NBA Commissioner David Stern, who says that he is open to putting a team in Seattle but that no new teams would be added to the league.
Southern California billionaire Ron Burkle, who last year proposed buying the Kings and keeping them in Sacramento, is reportedly also still interested in acquiring the franchise. The Maloof family has repeatedly insisted that the team is not for sale.
With 15 days left to go before the NBA imposed March 1st deadline for Sacramento to have a financing deal in place towards a new arena or else risk losing the Kings to another city willing to pony up the dough, the only things that remain certain; it’s going to be an interesting rush to the finish over the next two weeks, and no one can say for sure at this point what the future has in store for the Kings.
Sources: Sacbee, OC Register, Seattle Times
Related posts:
Comments
Powered by Facebook Comments