ESPN- SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Mayor Kevin Johnson says Sacramento is back in the ballgame after announcing that two investors want to buy the NBA's Kings and build a downtown arena to stop the proposed move of the city's only major league sports team to Seattle. Mark Mastrov, founder of 24 Hour Fitness, will submit a bid for the team to the NBA on Friday, Johnson said in a speech Thursday night. Mastrov was among the final bidders for the Golden State Warriors before Joe Lacob and Peter Guber bought the team for an NBA-record $450 million in 2010. "I've been assured by the commissioner of the NBA that we will be given full consideration," said Johnson, Sacramento's two-term mayor and a former NBA All-Star. It had been rumored for weeks that Mastrov would partner with Ron Burkle, the billionaire co-owner of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, to buy the team. Instead Johnson said that Burkle will lead the effort to build a new downtown arena that he also hopes will lure back to Sacramento another WNBA franchise. The city is hoping to revitalize downtown with an arena at the Downtown Plaza shopping mall owned by JMA Ventures, whose officers have said they are eager to participate. Johnson has been scrambling to organize local ownership for the Kings after the Maloof family announced in January that it had an agreement to sell its 65 percent stake for $341 million to a group led by Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer and hedge fund manager Chris Hansen. To show local support for the Kings, Johnson also lined up 20 local investors who each committed $1 million. They hope to buy the 7 percent share of the team now under control of a federal bankruptcy court. One of those investors is former Sacramento Kings star Mitch Richmond, who was a 2013 Basketball Hall of Fame finalist. "He will undoubtedly bring credibility to our efforts," Johnson said. The NBA board of governors will make a decision on the sale by mid-April. "With all due respect to Seattle, I do hope they get a team someday, but let me be perfectly clear it is not going to be this team," Johnson said. "Not our team. No way." Earlier this month, commissioner David Stern said it was acceptable to think that the Kings could stay in Sacramento despite Seattle's strong bid. "Oh, certainly it's plausible to me, but I don't have a vote," Stern said. "But I expect the owners to have a very open mind on this. And it isn't plausible yet to talk about it until the predicates have been fulfilled."
This team MIGHT not be moving to Seattle guys...... http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--s...bid-to-challenge-seattle-group-042956900.html
This is the first time we've heard that there is an actual bid from Sac-area investors and that's it's LESS than the Seattle offer.
I remember when there was talk about bringing the Penguins to Portland. That was the only pro-sports addition to Portland that I would have liked to see.
Why didn't these 'local' investors step up anytime in the past 3 years. Everyone knew the Maloofs were going to sell and/or move the team. I don't think it'll work though. Steve Balmer is worth 16B. If he wants the team, he'll get it.
Not entirely. I believe that the other owners have to approve the sale. Or some governing body in the NBA has some sort of say.
Well, going off what you quoted, they already did. I have a feeling these guys just want to look good. "See, we tried to save the Kings".
I could go either way about it. Living in Seattle it would be cool to see the Blazers play a couple times a year and it would be good to have the Sonics back, but I would feel bad for any city getting its team taken.
I kind of feel that Seattle just dropped the ball, along with Bennet and Co. being a douchebag...and if Sac wants to keep their team with the support of local government and fans and investors, they should. Watching sonicsgate, I felt a lot of the blame for the loss of the Sonics fell with the shitty government they had up there.
That's fair. But, the blame was also on Howard Schultz who essentially did the same thing that the Maloofs are doing. However, Hansen's group is transparent that their goal is to relocate the team. Whereas Clay Bennett claimed he wasn't going to move the team unless he had to move the team.
Yeah, they were dicks about it too. But the way Sonicsgate went, it seems to me local politicians in Seattle were probably paid off to lay down and take it. I like Kevin Johnson's effort. If he is able to save Sacramento, they should retire HIS number in the rafters. hah.
In general I agree that if there is an owner that wants to buy them and keep the team in Sac, then that is ideal. But I still dont get why no one stepped up until now. For 2 or 3 years it's been known that the Maloofs were either moving or selling the team. LV, Virginina Beach and Seattle were all possible destinations. Yet no one from the area (or anyone who wanted to keep them there) makes any offer to keep them in Sac. Now that the move to Seattle is basically a done deal, these guys pop up. And they offer less money. It doesn't seem like a legitimate offer to me. Just something to make them look good and make it seem like KJ had a deal in place to keep them around. I could be wrong about all that though.
similar events happened when Paul Allen was going to 'sell' the team a few years back. No one thought he was serious, or figured the team would just be moving (maybe). I assume thats the same scenario in Sacramento.
