SACRAMENTO, CA - Sacramento Kings owner George Maloof had a surprise visitor Friday: Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.
Kings spokesman Eric Rose confirmed Maloof was meeting the mayor a week after a new arena deal reached between the Maloofs and the city of Sacramento blew up over unresolved issues the Maloofs had with the non-binding term sheet.
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Late Friday afternoon, Rose offered the following statement on behalf of the Kings owners:
This afternoon Mayor Kevin Johnson had a meeting at the Palms Hotel and meet with George Maloof for nearly an hour. The meeting was cordial; however, nothing definitive resulted from the meeting. The Maloof family will not have any further comments on the meeting.
Johnson's representative Joaquin McPeek sounded slightly more positive, stating:
Today, Mayor Johnson flew to Las Vegas and had a productive meeting with George Maloof. Although the core principles of the deal weren't discussed, both sides agreed that open lines of communication would be in everyone's best interest moving ahead. In that spirit, the parties agreed to have a follow up conversation early next week.
News10/KXTV