By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek
February 13, 2012
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson says the city is on track to have a financing plan for a proposed $387 million Kings arena before a March 1 deadline. The city has at least 13 firms interested in leasing Sacramento’s parking operations, a critical component of the financing plan that could provide as much as $200 million for the project. The Kings almost relocated to Anaheim after last season, but decided to give Sacramento one last chance to finalize an arena deal.
Should Sacramento fail to get a deal by March 1, Anaheim remains the frontrunner to land the team. The Honda Center just began a $20 million renovation with hopes of luring a NBA franchise. Another wild card city for the Kings is Seattle. San Francisco hedge-fund manager Christopher Hansen has been working with Seattle officials on an arena plan of his own. If a deal is secured in the immediate future, a NBA team could relocate to Seattle as early as next season.
