NBA Kings co-Owner Joe Maloof said yesterday that his family "will 'always have flexibility' when working with the NBA and the city to come up with a plan to build a new Kings arena and keep the team" in Sacramento, according to Ailene Voisin of the SACRAMENTO BEE. Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson is "scheduled to meet with NBA commissioner David Stern today in New York." Maloof said that the team's owners are "encouraged by brisk tickets sales, corporate sponsorships and the progress made so far on crafting a workable financing proposal for a new sports and entertainment facility downtown." Maloof: "I don't know about that (a firm deadline). There are a lot of people working in a positive vein this time, where before, there was a lot of negativity. But everybody is on board. So we're optimistic guys. We want to get it done here in Sacramento." City officials have said that they "don't expect to have a financial package nailed down by March anyway." Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said recently that the "key funding source -- privatization of thousands of city-owned parking spaces, designed to bring in tens of millions of dollars -- will take several more months to complete" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 12/16). Team co-Owner Gavin Maloof said yesterday that the Kings are "pleased with the progress of the city's latest arena project." He said, "We're encouraged that something can be done. Obviously, we're leaving that up to the mayor and the city and the NBA" (AP, 12/15).
