With the move, the Kings would get full ownership of the defunct Sleep Train ArenaGETTY IMAGES
The Sacramento City Council yesterday "gave its OK on a procedural vote that will allow" the NBA Kings to pay off a $74M loan the city had "voted to give" them in '97, according to Tony Bizjak of the SACRAMENTO BEE. The loan, which has been a "lightning rod since then -- across three successive Kings ownership groups" -- served as an "emblem of the up and down relationship between restless team owners and city leaders." City officials said that the Kings are "expected to make the final" $30M payment "sometime in early January." That payment will "give the Kings formal title" to the now-defunct Sleep Train Arena, and "allow them to move forward with their plans to subdivide the 185-acre site for redevelopment." The Kings, who now play at Golden 1 Center, "submitted plans with the city last month to turn" their former arena and the "surrounding acreage into a mix of housing, businesses, retail and recreational amenities." The Kings have not yet finalized those plans, or focused on details." However, the team said that it "hopes to woo investors, buyers or co-developers to launch work" at the site by '20. The loan's "quiet close-out belies its historic significance," as the deal "represented the start of a two-decade-long business relationship between the team and city that has only gotten more intimate in recent years." The loan was a "precursor to a city-team deal to co-finance" Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento, which opened in '16 (SACRAMENTO BEE, 12/12).
