SACRAMENTO, CA - Thursday could be do or die for Sacramento's effort to keep the Kings.
On Tuesday night, City Manager John Shirey told the Sacramento City Council, "we're still on track" to release the arena financing plan on Thursday and, "it will take every minute between now and then to achieve that."
Two weeks ago, Shirey told the council he wanted to move up the release deadline, allowing the public to see it sooner and giving city leaders five days to review it before the vote takes place.
At Tuesday's meeting, Shirey said if a deal cannot be reached or if they need more time, he'll alert the council by the end of the day Wednesday.
"I'm still feeling good about our ability to get a deal done," Shirey said. "But it's complicated, there are a lot of issues, and it's just a matter of doing all the work between now and Thursday."
With a very short time period, Shirey and other Sacramento leaders have been negotiating with billionaire Ron Burkle to finance and construct a new arena to replace the Downtown Plaza Mall.
A new arena is key in the city's fight to keep the Kings, as the NBA has made it clear it will not consider Sacramento over Seattle if a new arena is not built.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson will present the counter-offer to the one in Seattle, led by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer. Both cities will pitch to NBA subcommittees on April 3 in New York City.
The NBA's Board of Governors will decide where the Kings will stay during its meetings on April 18 and 19.
By Nick Monacelli, nick@news10.net
News10/KXTV