Calif. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said that the Maloof family "seem to be looking for every reason not to proceed" with plans for a downtown Sacramento arena for the Kings, according to Lillis & Bizjak of the SACRAMENTO BEE. The "dispute over who should cut the first checks for the arena intensified" during yesterday's Sacramento city council meeting, with Mayor Kevin Johnson "accusing the Maloof family of 'tactics and antics.'" Several city council members "questioned whether the Kings' owners were serious about partnering with the city" after the Maloof family said that they do not intend to pay a share of pre-development costs on the $391M project. The council "eventually approved moving forward with the crucial pre-development work required for the arena by a 7-2 vote." Council member Angelique Ashby said, "I need to know we have partners willing to go the distance with us." City officials said that the NBA's "financial lifeline will allow the process to move ahead for two weeks." The NBA BOG is scheduled to meet in N.Y. next week, and Commissioner David Stern is "expected to address the dispute over the pre-development funding with the league's owners -- including the Maloofs." City officials said that they were "hopeful that meeting would provide them with clarity over whether the Maloofs will contribute to the pre-development process." A Monday statement from the Maloof family saying pre-development costs are not their responsibility "drew rebuttals" yesterday from Johnson and Steinberg. The mayor "lashed out at the Maloofs and accused the family of making 'disingenuous' statements regarding their contributions to the pre-development work." Johnson: "We as a city can't be jerked around." Steinberg also "questioned the family's commitment" to the project. Steinberg said, "The Maloofs seem to be looking for every reason not to proceed as opposed to looking for ways to make it work. Do we need to look at contingency plans? Absolutely" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 4/4). In Sacramento, Marcos Breton writes under the header: "Maloofs Are Road Block To A New Arena." The city is "going to be hard-pressed to build a downtown arena to house the Kings as long as the Maloof brothers are the Kings owners." He adds the Maloofs "have always found a reason not to pay up when it was their turn," and that they have "always thrown up roadblocks when everyone else was ready to take on the monumental task" of building the arena. Breton: "So if there are delays, who is causing them? The Maloofs." They "obviously don't want to be here" and Sacramento "deserves much better" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 4/4).
STAYING IN THE GAME: In California, Eric Carpenter reports the Anaheim City Council yesterday “continued to pave the way for an NBA team to move to the Honda Center, approving a plan that allows for up to 60 more events at the arena each year.” This would allow the Honda Center to hold “222 events per year, up from the current 162” (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 4/4).
