SACRAMENTO, CA - The Seattle Times is reporting officials in Seattle have been working behind the scenes on a deal to build a new arena and are holding discussions with a Bay Area hedge-fund manager about possibly moving a team to Seattle.
Seattle hasn't had an NBA team since the Seattle Supersonics moved to Oklahoma City in 2008.
Hedge fund manager, Christopher Hansen, reportedly approached Seattle, saying he hoped to buy a team and build a new arena there for them to play. In one email, Hansen updates officials in Seattle about the efforts to build a new arena for the Kings in Sacramento.
Arena backers in Sacramento said they are not very concerned about the Seattle effort and that, for now, Sacramento is in the driver's seat.
Jeremiah Jackson, with Think Big Sacramento, said the Maloof family has repeatedly said they will not sell the team, and that even if financial pressure forced the Kings to sell, that would not force the team out of Sacramento.
"There's other people that have been interested from the very beginning in purchasing the team and keeping them here in Sacramento. So if the Maloof's are no longer viable or if they are interested in selling the team, I think there's a number of entities that would want to actually buy the team and keep them here in Sacramento," said Jackson.
Jackson said plans to monetize Sacramento's parking meters and parking structures is going well, with 13 responses to the city's request for qualifications.
That could bring in between 170 and 240-million dollars up front to go toward the 400-million dollar arena.
Potential bidders include several major U.S. companies and even the largest public pension fund in Canada.
According to Jackson, the biggest hurdle now could be getting the NBA and Maloofs to chip in a share of the money needed to build an arena in Sacramento's railyards.
"It may come down to whether or not the NBA is able to put forward their portion of the deal and so that's what we'll see in the coming weeks," Jackson said.
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