Kings Fans Rallying To Sell Out Arco Arena, Keep Team In Sacramento

With NBA Kings Owner the Maloof family considering applying to the NBA for relocation to Anaheim, fans in Sacramento are “massing for a last assault on the Maloofs' heartstrings,” according to Mark Heisler of the L.A. TIMES. The Kings will play one home game at Arco Arena before the March 1 deadline to file for relocation -- Monday against the Clippers -- and fans have “organized a drive to sell the place out, with only 2,000 tickets remaining.” An organization called "Here We Stay" is “trying to make up T-shirts.” The group also is "urging fans to spread the word" via social networks, so "it's possible a crowd of 50,000 will turn out, if only to line the roads.” Heisler: “Not that it may mean anything in the cold scheme of things” (L.A. TIMES, 2/22). YAHOO SPORTS’ Kelly Dwyer wrote though the Kings “have been lacking in the attendance department, sadly, this isn’t the answer.” A “new arena, replete with skyboxes and suites as far as the eye can see, is” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/21).

SIGNS OF AFFECTION: Eight Sacramento-area billboards were “made over during the overnight hours to be part of a new campaign to save” the Kings. Glass Agency President Amber Williams said that the campaign is “designed to show community support for keeping the Kings in Sacramento.” She “declined to say how much the campaign will cost but said it is being paid for entirely through private donations.” Williams said that the effort “will utilize four traditional billboards, four electronic billboards and online social media” (KCRA.com, 2/21).