After years of fruitless negotiations, the Kings have reached a deal with the city of Sacramento to build a new downtown arena and remain in town for the foreseeable future, according to multiple reports on Twitter.
The Kings nearly left Sacramento for Anaheim after last season but agreed to stay in northern California for one more season and see if they could reach an agreement on a new facility. The deadline for them to do so was this coming Thursday, March 1.
In addition to Anaheim, the city of Seattle was waiting in the wings with plans for new state-of-the-art building in the works.
Sacramento insisted that the Kings contribute significanly toward the cost the new arena. The Maloof brothers, who own the Kings, have agreed to contribute $73 million toward the $387 million facility. SI.com’s Sam Amick reported. Additionally, starting in 2015, when the arena is expected to open, the Maloofs will pay a five percent surcharge on all tickets, which means an additional $60 million.
The agreement was finalized at a meeting on Monday, attended by the Maloofs, Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson and NBA commissioner David Stern.
"It's game over, so our community should be really excited," said Johnson, a former star point guard in the NBA.
Joe Maloof added, per Amick, "It's a great day for Sacramento. ... Our family is just so excited."
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