An undisclosed offer to buy a majority interest in the Kings
was made last week by CO billionaire Philip Anschutz and Southern
CA developer Edward Roski, "but it is far from a done deal,"
according to Dillman & Reich of the L.A. TIMES. The "major
stumbling block" remaining is the 28% controlled by Bruce
McNall's bankruptcy trustee, R. Todd Neilson. According to
Neilson, the 28% is "critical and essential because it includes
an option to repurchase up to 80% of the team." If the sale goes
through, Anschutz reportedly "has no plan" to move the Kings.
Sources say he wants to build a new arena for hockey and
basketball in downtown L.A. near Dodger Stadium, on land near
Chinatown owned by his company, Southern Pacific Railroad Corp.
(L.A. TIMES, 5/13). Sources close to the negotiations say that
the deal is worth $75M (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 5/14). In Boston,
Kevin Paul Dupont notes Anschutz is the developer of Denver's new
Pepsi Center, and writes, "It's unclear right now whether
Anschutz wants to be a team owner or a key player in the building
of a new arena to replace the Great Western Forum in Inglewood"
(BOSTON GLOBE, 5/14).
