Maloofs Flexible on New Arena Deadline
The March 1 deadline for Sacramento to produce an an arena plan may not be so firm after all.
Sacramento Kings co-owner Joe Maloof said Thursday that his family will “always have flexibility” when working with the NBA and the city to come up with a plan to build a new Kings arena and keep the team in town.
Until now, the Maloofs have been mostly quiet while the city negotiates details of a potential arena finance plan with the NBA. Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson is scheduled to meet with NBA commissioner David Stern today in New York.
Maloof said the team’s owners are encouraged by brisk ticket sales, corporate sponsorships and the progress made so far on crafting a workable financing proposal for a new sports and entertainment facility downtown.
The Maloofs last April proposed relocating to the Honda Center in Anaheim because of Power Balance Pavilion’s age and limited revenue streams.
Urged by other owners to persist in Sacramento, the Maloofs agreed to a one-year grace period.
“I’m sure we’ll always have flexibility,” Joe Maloof told The Bee Thursday afternoon. “The league has always been flexible … so I don’t know about that (a firm deadline). There are a lot of people working in a positive vein this time, where before, there was a lot of negativity. But everybody is on board. So we’re optimistic guys. We want to get it done here in Sacramento.”
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