In Sacramento, Dale Kasler writes the city and the NBA Kings "are stuck in an unhappy marriage," after the collapsed deal for a new arena. Renovating Power Balance Pavilion is "unlikely without the city's help -- which the mayor ruled out." The NBA, which was "ready to help with the new arena, says it won't assist with a renovation, either." At the "heart of the impasse" are Kings Owner the Maloof family's "finances, which took a hit during the recession." Sources said that the team is $205M in debt, and has "limped along with the NBA's lowest player payroll two years in a row." The Kings' financial constraints "appear to be keeping them at Power Balance, even though they've pushed for a new arena for years." The city and NBA believe that the Maloofs "are wary of taking on the debt needed to finance their share of the downtown arena" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 5/2). Also in Sacramento, Ryan Lillis noted pre-development work on a new arena "has been halted, making the city's target date" for opening a new facility "unrealistic." Mayor Kevin Johnson acknowledged yesterday, "We're not going to make 2015" (SACBEE.com, 5/1).
SOUVENIR SHOP: The NFL Panthers recently closed the souvenir shop at Bank of America Stadium "for renovations, with a reopening expected just before the team's training camp convenes in late July." Between the team's "recent tweaks to its logo and the leaguewide apparel deal with Nike that started this month, it makes sense to put a fresh spin on the store." Charlotte-based architect David Wagner is "handling the design." Reconfiguring the space "will add about 100 square feet to the shop, boosting its footprint to 3,500 square feet" (CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/27 issue).
ON THE BIG SCREEN: The Univ. of Memphis Monday announced that Mississippi-based Capturion Network "was selected to install a 98-by-48 foot state-of-the-art video board to replace the existing JumboTron" at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The $2.5M "project also includes a 38-by-10 foot scoreboard to replace the existing scoreboard in the north end zone." FedEx is "covering the cost of the project." School officials said that the videoboard "will rank sixth nationally in terms of size among college football stadium boards" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 5/2).
