Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and local business leaders met with 24 Hour Fitness Founder Mark Mastrov yesterday to “discuss his interest in buying the Kings and keeping them in town,” according to a front-page piece by Lillis, Bizjak & Kasler of the SACRAMENTO BEE. The meeting “instilled renewed confidence in area investors committing $1 million each to buy the Kings that their mission would be a success.” Johnson said the meeting was “another positive step forward in our work to save the Kings.” Sacramento developer Larry Kelley, who took part in the meeting, said, “I feel much better about this than I did. Before, it was a possibility. Now there’s a person, a real person, putting his time and energy into it.” Folsom technology entrepreneur John Stone, who attended the meeting with Mastrov, said that the session "gave him ‘a lot of confidence’ that Sacramento is organizing a legitimate shot at acquiring the Kings.” He said, “Mark has been through this before. He clearly understands the landscape (of the NBA). He's committed to not just keeping the team here, but making them a title contender. You could sense a real winning spirit from him” (SACRAMENTO BEE, 1/29).
