(Mobile users, click
here to listen to Mayor Johnson's press
conference.)
Update 5:30 p.m.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson says he will now make every
effort to find new owners for the Sacramento Kings. Johnson
says he had previously preferred to keep the team in Sacramento
with the Maloof Family as owners. But a series of online and
social media postings have convinced him the Kings are for
sale,
"Any ownership group who's interested has to has some local
ownership," said Johnson. "Number two, they have to keep
the team in Sacramento. Number three, a new arena, a new
entertainment complex has to be part of the
conversation."
A tweet Tuesday night from a Sacramento blogger said the team
had been sold. A Yahoo Sports story Wednesday said the team
was being sold to a Seattle ownership group for 500 million
dollars.
Seattle's Mayor held a press conference too….to announce his
re-election campaign. But, Mayor Mike McGinn told reporters
he had no knowledge of any deal, saying only, "If it's true, ain't
it cool?"
(CLICK LISTEN FOR 4:30 UPDATE)
Update 4:20 p.m.: Sacramento Mayor Kevin
Johnson said today's reports of a possible deal for the Maloof
family to sell the Sacramento Kings to a group of Seattle investors
is the first indication that the team is indeed for sale, and that
he will do everything he can to keep the team from moving.
We'll have audio from the press conference on the site
shortly.
Update: 3:35 p.m.: There is no confirmation
from any of the parites involved the rumors of a pending deal to
sell the Sacramento Kings NBA franchise to a group of Seattle
businessmen, including Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson is holding a press briefing at
this hour to give an update on what he knows.
Update: 1:35 p.m.: Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn
says he knows "as much as you do about the Sonics. But if it's
true, ain't it cool?"
Original story:
The Yahoo Sports story said the deal is for $500 million to a
group led by businessman Chris Hansen and Microsoft chairman Steve
Ballmer.
The group is hoping to move the team to Seattle to begin play
two season in the Key Arena, starting in the 2013-2014 season,
before moving into a new arena, according to sources.
Read the full Yahoo Sports story:
Meanwhile, Sacramento officials say they have not heard
anything regarding a potential sale of the Kings to the Seattle
group.
The Sacramento Bee reported that mayor Kevin Johnson couldn't
be reached for comment, but he did tweet at 12:40pm: "Bottom line
Sacramento: it's not over..."
Sacramento assistant city manager John Dangberg told the
Sacramento Bee:"We've heard nothing from the NBA and nothing from
the Kings organization and so for us, it wouldn't be appropriate
for us to be commenting on rumors."
Read the full Sacramento Bee story:
The Seattle Times is also reporting the rumors of the
sale.
Read the Seattle Times story:
Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn is expected to answer questions
about the possible sale of the Kings during a press conference
scheduled for 1:15 p.m. Sources said the main purpose of the press
conference is for McGinn to announce he will be running for
re-election.
