Sacramento Kings failed relocation attempts

Last updated

From 2006 to 2013, the Sacramento Kings organization was under constant threat of the team moving. It is widely believed that the team's owners throughout this period (the Maloof family) lost much of their fortune and were no longer able to run a National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise. The Maloofs courted Anaheim, Virginia Beach, and Seattle as potential suitors for the team. Sacramento Mayor and former NBA All-Star Kevin Johnson, with the help of local business owners and a rabid fan base, was successful in saving the franchise and persuading the NBA to force the Maloofs to sell the team to the Vivek Ranadivé group.

Contents

Anaheim

On February 19, 2011, NBA commissioner David Stern admitted that the Kings and officials in Anaheim, California had discussions about relocation. It was later found that the organization went as far as to file for a trademark of the name Anaheim Royals, among others. [1] The Maloofs prepared to make their case for relocation at the NBA Board of Governors meeting in New York, in what many expected to simply be a formality.

In a surprise announcement, Mayor Johnson announced during a presentation to the NBA that Ron Burkle, a billionaire associate of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Democratic Party fundraiser, wanted to buy the Kings and keep them in Sacramento. Johnson also pledged some $10 million from local businesses as a show of support from Sacramento. This, in addition to support from Sacramento citizens, may have swayed Stern and the relocation committee to tell the Maloofs to withdraw their relocation plans.

The Kings huddling prior to the tip of the 2011-12 exhibition opener against the Golden State Warriors. Sacramento Kings at Golden State Warriors 2011-12-17 01.jpg
The Kings huddling prior to the tip of the 2011–12 exhibition opener against the Golden State Warriors.

Sacramento rail yards

On February 27, 2012, the Kings' owners, the city, and the NBA came to a tentative deal on the construction of a $387 million facility in the rail yards in downtown Sacramento. The city would pay more than $250 million up front, raised by leasing city-owned parking lots to a private company. The Maloofs would contribute $75 million up front as well as the money from the sale of the current Sleep Train Arena. In addition they would pay a 5% surcharge on ticket sales to generate another $75 million through the span of the deal. Arena operator AEG was to contribute another $60 million up front for the right to operate the arena. With this agreement, it was expected that the Kings would play in the new arena as early as 2015.

Amid great fanfare, the outline of the deal was approved by the city council on March 7, 2012. [2] On April 13, 2012, the Maloof family announced that they had backed out of their deal with Sacramento. [3]

Virginia Beach

Although there had not been as much progress in these negotiations as there has been with Anaheim, another market trying to lure the Kings to move there was the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. Virginia Beach said it was willing to build an 18,000 seat arena with Comcast Spectacor managing it in the hopes of luring a team to the area. Both parties could not formalize an agreement and the deal was soon dead.

Seattle

On January 9, 2013, the National Basketball Association's official website reported that the Maloofs, majority owners of the Sacramento Kings, were in discussions with a Seattle-based ownership group led by Chris Hansen, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and Eric Nordstrom and Peter Nordstrom from Nordstrom, to sell and relocate the team. [4] Chris Hansen had recently purchased $6.8 million of parking spaces for Seattle's new arena. On January 20, USA Today reported that a deal had been reached where the Maloof family would sell their majority ownership in the Kings to the Seattle ownership group, although Stern affirmed he would allow Mayor Johnson to address either the Board of Governors, or the Relocation Committee, prior to the approval of the sale or relocation if he desired to do so. [5] The next day, Yahoo! Sports reported that the sale to the Seattle group had been finalized, and that the league would shortly approve the sale and relocation to Seattle, with an official announcement to come later in that week. [6] According to this report, efforts by potential Sacramento ownership groups were too late. [6]

DeMarcus Cousins looks on to Golden State's Andrew Bogut, 2013 DeMarcus Cousins Andrew Bogut.jpg
DeMarcus Cousins looks on to Golden State's Andrew Bogut, 2013

On January 21, 2013 it was confirmed that a deal to sell the team to the Seattle-based ownership group was reached, with the contingency that the NBA Board of Governors approve the deal. [7] The Maloof family said in a statement that they had agreed to sell the team to a Seattle group led by investor Chris Hansen, but the deal was pending approval by the NBA Board of Governors. The sale would have been for 65% of the franchise and based upon a $525 million valuation, with the new owners expected to relocate the franchise to Seattle and utilize the SuperSonics name. The Maloofs would have had no ongoing stake in the team.

On February 6, 2013, David Stern stated the Seattle ownership group had filed with the NBA for franchise relocation from Sacramento to Seattle. [8] Kevin Johnson announced a counteroffer and framework towards an arena deal in a city address. The arena would be funded by Ron Burkle, while 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov would provide backing for franchise bid. [9] On March 1, 2013, it was announced that Kings minority owner John Kehriotis, who owns 12% of the team, would attempt to exercise his right of first refusal and submit a bid to purchase the Maloof's share of the team.[ citation needed ]

David Stern revealed that the bid made by Sacramento would not even be considered unless it was as large as the Seattle group. Additionally, Sacramento's investors needed to provide a different bid by April 3, so the NBA Board of Governors could make a final decision. [10]

On March 21, it was announced that Vivek Ranadivé had joined Ron Burkle and Mark Mastrov to be the 3rd major investor in the attempt to purchase the Kings. In order for Ranadivé to purchase the Kings, he would be required to sell his minority share of the Golden State Warriors. [11] Paul E. Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm, joined the team of Sacramento investors. [12] Later, Burkle would cease all financial involvement as an investor towards the potential Sacramento ownership group or a proposed Sacramento arena due to a conflict of interest that concerned the NBA. [13]

Chris Hansen submitted a bid for an additional 7% minority stake in the Sacramento Kings franchise on March 27. Pending approval by the NBA and a California bankruptcy court, Hansen was set to own 72% of the Sacramento Kings franchise before he would have relocated the Kings to Seattle for the 2013–14 NBA season. [14]

The Maloof family gave Sacramento's potential ownership group an ultimatum to match the Seattle ownership group's $341 million offer, by 5 PM on April 12, 2013, as a backup option in the event that the Seattle ownership group's purchase agreement was denied by the NBA Board of Governors. Otherwise, Sacramento's potential ownership group would not receive any consideration to purchase the team, even if the NBA Board of Governors were to reject the Seattle bid. [15] Chris Hansen announced that his Seattle-based ownership group had increased their purchase price for the Sacramento Kings from $525 million to $550 million. Hansen's 65% share was estimated at $357.5 million and was expected to further increase the values of all NBA franchises. [16]

On April 29, 2013, the NBA Board of Governors Relocation Committee that studied the situation unanimously voted 7–0 against relocating the Kings to Seattle, with the official vote of the 30 NBA owners scheduled for May 13. [17] [18] [19] On May 10, Chris Hansen announced that his ownership group increased the price on their purchase of the Maloofs' share of the Sacramento Kings, from a $550 million to a $625 million franchise valuation. [20] On May 11, reports indicated the Maloofs would decline to sell to any Sacramento owners, instead opting to sell 20% of the franchise to Hansen's group for $125 million as a contingency. [21]

After the meeting in Dallas, Texas, the NBA owners voted 22–8 to reject the Kings' relocation to Seattle. The vote effectively ended the Hansen group's efforts to buy the Kings and relocate them. [22]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacramento Kings</span> National Basketball Association team in Sacramento, California

The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Kings are the oldest team in the NBA, and the first team in the major professional North American sports leagues located in Sacramento. The team plays its home games at the Golden 1 Center. Their best seasons to date in the city were in the early 2000s, including a very successful 2001–02 season when they had the best record in the NBA at 61–21.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate Pledge Arena</span> Multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of Downtown Seattle in the 74-acre (30 ha) entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was originally developed. After opening in 1962, it was subsequently bought and converted by the city of Seattle for entertainment purposes. From 2018 to 2021, the arena underwent a $1.15 billion redevelopment; the renovation preserved the original exterior and roof, which was declared a Seattle Landmark in 2017 and was listed on the Washington Heritage Register as well as the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. The renovated venue has a capacity of 17,151 for ice hockey and 18,300 for basketball.

The Maloof family is a prominent American family based in Las Vegas, Nevada, who are owners of numerous business properties in the Western United States. The original spelling of the family name is Maalouf. The family is of Lebanese descent via their paternal grandfather.

Ronald Wayne Burkle is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and managing partner of The Yucaipa Companies, LLC, a private investment firm that specializes in U.S. companies in the distribution, logistics, food, retail, consumer, hospitality, entertainment, sports, and light industrial sectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seattle SuperSonics</span> American professional basketball team, 1967–2008

The Seattle SuperSonics was the name of an American professional basketball team formerly based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and later as a member of the Western Conference's Pacific (1970–2004) and Northwest (2004–2008) divisions. After the 2007–08 season ended, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, where they now play as the Oklahoma City Thunder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City</span> NBA franchise relocation

The Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City was a successful effort by the ownership group of the Seattle SuperSonics to relocate the team from Seattle, Washington to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The team began play as the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2008–09 NBA season, after becoming the third National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise to relocate in the 2000s.

Clayton Ike Bennett is an American businessman and chairman of the Professional Basketball Club LLC, the ownership group of the Oklahoma City Thunder, an NBA franchise formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics. Bennett is the chairman of Oklahoma City-based Dorchester Capital Corporation, as well as the chairman emeritus of the board of directors of the Oklahoma Heritage Association and served as chairman of the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma from 2011–2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Expansion of Major League Soccer</span>

Major League Soccer has expanded several times since the league began play in 1996. Major League Soccer was established as the top level of professional soccer in the United States in 1993 with 10 teams and began play in 1996. It has expanded several times since 1998 into new markets across the United States and, since 2006, Canada.

Vivek Yeshwant Ranadivé is an Indian-American business executive, engineer, author, speaker and philanthropist. Ranadivé is the founder and former chief executive officer (CEO) of TIBCO Software, a business intelligence software company, and of Teknekron Software Systems. Ranadivé is also a co-owner and chairman of the National Basketball Association's Sacramento Kings. In 2022, Ranadivé purchased a Minor League Baseball franchise, the Sacramento River Cats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnesota Timberwolves failed relocation to New Orleans</span> Attempt at relocating the Minnesota Timberwolves to New Orleans

In 1994, several groups were involved in an attempt to relocate the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from Minneapolis, Minnesota to New Orleans, Louisiana. The proposed relocation would have been the second involving a Minneapolis-based franchise in the span of two years, as Minneapolis had lost its National Hockey League (NHL) franchise to Dallas in 1993. Timberwolves owners Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner were considering selling the team due to problems with the mortgage on the Target Center, the team's arena that had been built only four years earlier as part of Minneapolis' 1989 entry into the NBA. The events of the attempted relocation resulted in Glen Taylor, businessman and former Minnesota State Senator, purchasing the team and keeping it in Minneapolis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011–12 Sacramento Kings season</span> NBA professional basketball team season

The 2011–12 Sacramento Kings season was the 67th season of the franchise, its 63rd season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and its 27th in Sacramento.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vancouver Grizzlies relocation to Memphis</span> Moving of an NBA team in 2001

The Vancouver Grizzlies relocation to Memphis was a successful effort by the ownership group of the Vancouver Grizzlies to move the team from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The team began play as the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2001–02 season. It was the first of three National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise moves between 2001 and 2008, and the third of four major league teams to relocate from Canada to the United States between 1995 and 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden 1 Center</span> Arena in California, United States

Golden 1 Center is an indoor arena, located in downtown Sacramento, California, United States. It sits partially on the site of the former Downtown Plaza shopping center. The publicly owned arena is part of a business and entertainment district called Downtown Commons (DoCo), which includes a $250 million 16-story mixed-use tower.

Sonics Arena was a proposed multi-purpose arena to be constructed in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. The arena would have hosted basketball, ice hockey, and concerts. The proposal called for an arena with a capacity of around 19,000 to 20,000 seats. It was part of a larger plan to return the Seattle SuperSonics (NBA) franchise, along with adding a potential National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, to the city of Seattle. The proposal was rejected in favor of redeveloping KeyArena into Climate Pledge Arena.

Christopher R. Hansen is an American hedge fund manager. In March 2008, he founded Valiant Capital Management, a San Francisco, California-based global long/short equity hedge fund that had $2.7 billion in assets in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Sacramento, California</span>

The City of Sacramento and the Sacramento metropolitan area are home to one major league professional team — the Sacramento Kings of the NBA — and numerous minor league and amateur sports teams. Sacramento also has recreational facilities.

The National Basketball Association has undergone several rounds of expansion in the league's history, since it began play in 1946, to reach 30 teams. The most recent examples are the additions of the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat in 1988; the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic in 1989; the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies in 1995 ; and the New Orleans Hornets in 2002. In July 2023, Commissioner Adam Silver stated that the NBA would explore a potential expansion of the league once they reach an agreement on a new media rights deal. Silver said in a February 2024 interview on The Pat McAfee Show that Las Vegas was an expansion team candidate.

Kevin M. Nagle is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist who was the co-founder and chief executive officer of EnvisionRx, a health care and pharmacy benefit management (PBM) company, from October 2001 to March 2014. He is the chairman and CEO of Sacramento Republic FC, a USL Championship club seeking to join Major League Soccer (MLS), and an investor in the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). On June 22, 2023 he acquired ownership of English football club Huddersfield Town A.F.C.

John Rinehart has been the President of Business Operations for the Sacramento Kings and Golden 1 Center since July 2017.

Robert Hernreich is an American businessman, professional sports team owner, and philanthropist.

References

  1. ↑ "On the move? Kings file for 'Anaheim Royals'". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Associated Press. March 16, 2011. Archived from the original on April 18, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  2. ↑ Gonzalez, Antonio (March 7, 2012). "Sacramento approves arena plan to keep Kings". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  3. ↑ Shetler, Matt (April 13, 2012). "Sacramento Kings Owners Attempting to Halt Plans for New Arena". Bleacher Report . Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  4. ↑ Aschburner, Steve (January 9, 2013). "Seattle's Return To The NBA Getting Closer?". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on October 23, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  5. ↑ Amick, Sam (January 21, 2013). "Sacramento Kings reach agreement with Seattle group". USA Today . Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  6. 1 2 Wojnarowski, Adrian (January 21, 2013). "Sources: Kings to play in Seattle next season". Yahoo! Sports . Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Mayor Now Says There's Interest In Building Arena Even Without Team". CBS 13 Sacramento. January 23, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Seattle group has filed for relocation". ESPN. Associated Press. February 6, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  9. ↑ Golliver, Ben (March 1, 2013). "Mayor Kevin Johnson announces equity partners, plans to bid for Kings". Sports Illustrated . Archived from the original on May 30, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  10. ↑ "David Stern says Sacramento bid to keep Kings 'not quite there'". ESPN. Associated Press. March 9, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  11. ↑ Lillis, Ryan (March 21, 2013). "City Beat: Third big investor emerges in bid for Sacramento Kings". The Sacramento Bee . Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  12. ↑ Aykis16 (March 25, 2013). "Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs joins Sacramento Kings Investor Group". Sactown Royalty . Retrieved November 6, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ "Ron Burkle drops out of Kings bid". ESPN. Associated Press. April 8, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  14. ↑ Condotta, Bob (March 27, 2013). "Hansen buys 7 percent of Sacramento Kings that was in bankruptcy". The Seattle Times . Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Maloofs give investors deadline". ESPN. April 11, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  16. ↑ Aldridge, David (April 13, 2013). "Seattle group raises bid of Kings to $550 million". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Committee recommends Kings stay put". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Associated Press. April 29, 2013. Archived from the original on April 30, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  18. ↑ Windhorst, Brian (April 30, 2013). "Committee wants Kings to stay put". ESPN. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  19. ↑ Freeman, Eric (April 29, 2013). "NBA relocation committee unanimously recommends the Kings stay in Sacramento". Yahoo! Sports . Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  20. ↑ Windhorst, Brian (May 10, 2013). "Seattle group raises bid to $625M". ESPN. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  21. ↑ Windhorst, Brian (May 12, 2013). "Sources: Maloofs intent on Seattle". ESPN. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Kings to stay in Sacramento as owners reject Seattle move". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Associated Press. May 15, 2013. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.