City Beat

At the very least, the collapse of the city's arena plan has delayed the potential opening of a new facility.

As the city explores a "Plan B" to build a downtown arena without the Sacramento Kings, Mayor Kevin Johnson acknowledged today "we're not going to make 2015."

City officials had hoped to open a planned $391 million arena in the downtown railyard in time for the 2015/16 NBA season. That plan fell apart after the Kings' owners pulled out of a handshake agreement to help finance the project. As a result, pre-development work on the arena has been halted, making the city's target date unrealistic.

Leonard Padilla now seems convinced he'll be Sacramento's next mayor. But he graciously offers to reserve a job for Kevin Johnson.

The well-known bounty hunter and five-time mayoral candidate said as much in an email exchange with an NBA fan relations rep. Padilla sent out a copy of the email exchange today.

Padilla has objected to the public financing of a new downtown sports arena, a thought he shared with NBA Commissioner David Stern in a recent note. The NBA thanked him for his response - touching off the following statement from Padilla:

Mayor Kevin Johnson and Kings co-owner George Maloof spoke again this morning and have decided to meet in person within the next few days in what will likely be a make-or-break session.

The mayor told reporters this morning that the next sit down will probably determine whether the city's collapsed arena deal is back on, or if "we don't have the makings of a deal." Asked how confident he was that a deal would be resurrected between the city and its NBA team, Johnson said he was "hopeful rather than confident."

A Maloof spokesman told The Bee's Tony Bizjak that the meeting would take place in Sacramento on Thursday morning. But aides to the mayor said they had not confirmed their schedule.

The paper battle surrounding the Sacramento Kings' future continues.

Former Councilman Robbie Waters has filed a rather large Public Records Act request - WatersAnaheimPRA.pdf - with the city of Anaheim, seeking communications between that city and the Kings; the company that runs Anaheim's Honda Center; the economist hired by the Maloofs to dissect the collapsed Sacramento arena plan; and several other parties.

Waters' record request follows a massive request filed by Maloof family attorneys back in March that sought communications between the city of Sacramento and 53 other parties. City officials criticized that request as a sign of a fracturing relationship between the city and the Kings' owners.

Mayor Kevin Johnson isn't breaking all ties with the Sacramento Kings franchise.

Johnson will present basketball hall of famer Oscar Robertson with a key to the city at City Hall on Friday. The public event is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in the first floor foyer.

Robertson played 12 seasons, including from 1960 to 1970 for the Cincinnati Royals (the Royals would later move to Kansas City and then Sacramento). His No. 14 jersey has been retired by the Sacramento Kings.

NBA Commissioner David Stern said today that it might be best for the city and the Maloofs to go through a "cooling off period" in the arena saga.

In a meeting with the Associated Press Sports editors, Stern added it was "unfortunate to not be able to deliver on what was a very promising situation." He had nothing more to add on the arena situation, according to AP reports.

City Manager John Shirey said that just because the city's arena deal has collapsed, it doesn't mean City Hall will ignore other key projects linked to the deal.

Shirey told the City Council tonight the death of the latest arena plan "doesn't end everything," especially in regard to the city's ongoing development of the downtown railyard and developing 100 acres of city-owned property around Power Balance Pavilion.

On the railyard, where the arena would have been built, Shirey said "this setback does not mean we're giving up on" that site. He called it the "largest and maybe the best infill (development) opportunity anywhere in the country."

City officials said this week that a massive records request submitted by the Maloof family has created a perception that the Kings' owners are trying to derail the arena process.

In a letter from the city attorney's office, the Maloofs' attorneys were told the records request created a "perception that this is an attempt to undermine the good faith efforts of so many people and organizations, including the Kings' fans."

The Maloof family filed a seven-page records request, asking for correspondence between the city and the NBA, arena operator AEG, the arena development team and several other groups. City officials said they are still working on their response, but are asking that the Maloofs withdraw their request.

The Maloof family said this morning they were "saddened and disappointed" by criticism launched their way by local business leaders who are asking the NBA to find new ownership for the Sacramento Kings.

Minutes after a dozen business leaders released a letter urging the NBA to force the Maloofs to sell the Kings, the family sent out a statement saying they "share in the community's frustration on forging a workable agreement on what it is ultimately a $400 million transaction that will impact the region for many years to come."

The statement, issued by family spokesman Eric Rose, said "the goal of the Sacramento Kings' organization remains to open the 2015 NBA season in a new arena in Sacramento, and we look forward to working with the city on making that goal a reality."

Now we know what Leonard Padilla thinks of this arena deal. And so does the NBA.

Padilla, the famed bounty hunter who is running for mayor this spring for a fifth time, sent a note to NBA Commissioner David Stern saying that he "will make every effort as a candidate for mayor and as mayor to prevent any public funding for the arena."

"I sincerely believe that if the NBA, the Kings, AEG want an arena in Sacramento, be my guest and build it without any public funding," Padilla wrote.

City officials have planned a public workshop to discuss the arena project on what will likely be a pivotal day in the process.

The public event is scheduled for Thursday, April 12, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the first floor lobby of City Hall. City staffers plan to discuss the proposed arena site in the downtown railyard, integrating the arena with the planned intermodal transit hub and linking the project to historic features of the railyard.

That same day, the owners of the Kings will be in New York at the NBA's Board of Governors meeting, where a dispute over who should pay pre-development costs for the arena project will be discussed.

The Public Records Act request filed by attorneys for the Sacramento Kings is as big as they come. And that isn't a good thing when it comes to the brittle relationship between the team and city officials.

Attorneys made a whopping 53 requests last month. A full copy of the request can be found here: KingsPRA4-5.pdf

Among other things, the team wants emails, letters, notes, phone conversation transcripts, contracts and memos. They want those communications related to talks between the city and several other parties, including the NBA, arena operator AEG, the owner of the downtown railyard, Goldman Sachs, the city's sports and parking consultants, and the arena development team.

NBA Commissioner David Stern cast a somewhat cautious tone today when discussing Sacramento's arena situation with reporters in Salt Lake City.

According to a report by The Salt Lake Tribune, Stern said he was "more hopeful than I am confident right now" on Sacramento's arena effort. He also made it clear how important next week is to that effort, when the league's owners will meet in New York.

"We'll be having the Maloofs in to talk with some group of them and we'll see where it's going," he said. "Very, very hopeful that it gets on track, because the owners have a respect for the Maloofs. And I think the owners also have an enormous respect for what Sacramento has done over the years in supporting an NBA franchise. And it's always been our first preference -- particularly when government agencies or states are helpful -- to keep a team where a team is if they're playing in a good facility."

Amid an acrimonious backdrop at City Hall, the Sacramento City Council has begun a meeting at which it will decide whether to move ahead with crucial pre-development work needed for a new downtown sports arena.

Live Twitter updates from The Bee's arena team: City Council arena vote

While the council is expected to approve the work, members of the council are also expected to voice frustration with the family that owns the Sacramento Kings over a dispute regarding who will cover the pre-development costs.

Mayor Kevin Johnson voiced his own anger earlier today, when he lashed out at the Maloof family during a press conference, calling their statements that the family never agreed to pay for pre-development costs of a new arena "disingenuous." The mayor also accused the Maloofs of "tactics and antics that are not becoming of a true partnership."

By Ryan Lillis and Tony Bizjak
rlillis@sacbee.com

Mayor Kevin Johnson lashed out at the Maloof family today, calling their statements that the family never agreed to pay for pre-development costs of a new arena "disingenuous."

Hours before the City Council is expected to approve the start of crucial pre-development work on the $391 million arena, the mayor accused the Maloofs of "tactics and antics that are not becoming of a true partnership."

"We as a city can't be jerked around," he said. "We can't keep having this issue flare up."

The man who seeks to operate Sacramento's proposed sports arena was introduced today to the public.

Tim Leiweke, the president of international arena operator AEG, told reporters at City Hall that his firm is making "a huge commitment" to the project, but that he feels strongly "Sacramento is a good bet." AEG has committed $58.75 million in upfront costs to the $391 million project.

"We'll have one of the great arenas not just in the US, but in the world, and Sacramento will be a different community," he said.

The Sacramento Kings are apparently trying to capitalize off Tuesday night's historic City Council vote.

The team announced this morning it was launching a season ticket campaign for the 2012-13 season. Prices will remain the same as this year, according to a news release.

That announcement came just hours after the City Council voted 7-2 to approve a non-binding "term sheet" that lays out the financing plan for a new $391 million sports arena in the downtown railyard.

With the City Council expected to approve a non-binding financial plan for a new downtown sports arena tonight, Mayor Kevin Johnson told reporters this morning that "we're on the verge of doing something very special."

"We're finally at the point where we have one single vote, one moment in time to totally transform the downtown community and Sacramento for generations," he said.

The council is expected to approve a "term sheet" for a $391 million arena. The city has proposed contributing 65 percent of the project cost, mostly through either leasing or borrowing against downtown parking.

As the city prepares to release the financial term sheet of a new downtown sports arena, Kings co-owner George Maloof said today there are "some things we still have to negotiate," but that he is confident a deal will get done.

"Term sheets are not final deals, but there's enough in there that there's a road map to getting it done and that's our intention," Maloof told me. "It is our intention to get this done and stay in Sacramento."

Maloof would not say which parts of the term sheet still need negotiating.

By Tony Bizjak, Ryan Lillis and Dale Kasler
tbizjak@sacbee.com

Sacramento city officials will release details tomorrow of the arena deal reached earlier this week with the Kings, including this notable number: $255,530,000.

That's the amount Mayor Kevin Johnson and his negotiators agreed the city officially will contribute to building an arena in the downtown railyard by 2015.

The official price tag of the arena was also bumped up from $387 million to $391 million.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A third day of negotiations are underway over a plan to finance a new downtown sports arena in Sacramento.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said this morning "people are going to work as long as it takes" today. Still, the sides have until Thursday to finalize a deal and most indications are that the talks will extend beyond today even if the sides leave Orlando.

"Everyone has a good mindset and is ready to problem solve today," the mayor said.

ORLANDO, Fla. - So far, the headline from the ongoing arena talks might be that the Maloof family, who own the Kings, have expressed a desire to stay in Sacramento.

"They said they want to be in Sacramento," Mayor Kevin Johnson said, emerging for a quick break from the talks. "That was a question I just had to ask for our community because I don't want us to be just coming up with excuses of why this deal won't work if somebody doesn't want to be here. They said clearly they want to be in Sacramento.

Negotiations over a new downtown sports arena could go late into the night.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Negotiations today between city officials and the National Basketball Association over the funding of a new sports arena were "constructive," the head of the mayor's arena task force said. Talks will continue Sunday.

Chris Lehane, who leads the Think Big task force, said the talks were "positive, we made progress on a number of items."

Lehane said the focus of the talks was on "whether (the Kings) are in a position to provide the level of support we deem necessary."

ORLANDO, Fla. - As negotiations get underway over how to fund a new downtown sports arena, the focus of today's talks is the contribution to the project by the Maloof family, which owns the Sacramento Kings. Those talks had been scheduled to end at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, but had extended past 4 p.m.

City officials have asked the Maloofs to contribute between $70 million and $90 million toward the project, according to a source briefed on the negotiations who was not authorized to speak because the talks are ongoing. The source indicated that all other major issues with the arena financing plan have been addressed.

It is not clear how far apart - if at all - the Maloofs and the city are in terms of the Kings' contribution to the $387 million project. But sources expressed confidence that the sides were within a "solvable" distance.

ORLANDO - As the city enters the most important weekend in its years-long arena effort, State Senators Darrell Steinberg and Ted Gaines have a message for the NBA: the city has done its part and it's time for you to step up.

In phone interviews this morning, both Gaines (R-Roseville) and Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said city officials had crafted a solid financing plan for the $387 million downtown arena.

"Our message is that Sacramento has always done right by the Kings and the NBA and it's time for the NBA to do the right thing and make a long-term commitment to Sacramento," Steinberg told me. "Fundamentally, the NBA asked the community a year ago to put forward a serious proposal to build a downtown sports and entertainment complex and the community has done just that. This needs to end with success."

ORLANDO - Mayor Kevin Johnson and other city officials are on their way here for the most important weekend in the city's years-long fight to build a new arena.

Johnson, City Manager John Shirey and Assistant City Manager John Dangberg are scheduled to arrive around 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time. They are expected to be joined in Orlando by Dan Barrett, the sports consultant assisting the city in its negotiations with the NBA and Sacramento Kings, and members of the mayor's Think Big arena committee. Negotiations with the NBA are scheduled for Sunday.

Meanwhile, state Sen. Ted Gaines (R-Roseville) told me this morning that he feels "the city of Sacramento has done their part in terms of laying the table for what should be a successful agreement" on the arena. Gaines is the co-chair of the Think Big committee, which has explored the financing options for the arena.

Seattle officials released the outline Thursday of a proposal to build a new NBA arena in the city.

The arena would be funded with $300 million in money from San Francisco hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and a group of investors, along with $200 million in bonds issued by the city of Seattle and King County. Those bonds would be paid back by rental payments from arena tenants and tax revenue generated by the facility, said Mayor Mike McGinn.

As for which NBA team is in Seattle's sights, McGinn said he was not speaking with the league and was leaving that up to Hansen. Officials said the arena would not be built without an NBA tenant.

Fellow Bee reporter Tony Bizjak and I will be hosting a live online chat at 6:30 tonight, fielding your questions on the city's ongoing push for a new arena.

Bizjak and I will be at City Hall, where the City Council will debate whether to have city staff continue talking to private companies interested in leasing downtown parking, a key peg in the city's proposed financing deal for a new arena.

Tonight's chat will be followed by another forum tomorrow at noon, when I'll be wrapping up the council's vote and the next steps in the arena process.

Join the chats here on the City Beat blog or at sacbee.com/live to share you comments and questions.

The City Council appears ready to overwhelmingly support moving forward with the arena process tonight - with one councilman predicting the vote could be unanimous.

City staff is asking for permission from the council to dive into deeper talks with the 10 private firms interested in leasing downtown parking, the key piece of the financing plan for a new sports and entertainment complex. Tonight's vote is seen as an incremental step in the arena process, setting up a pivotal Feb. 28 meeting at which the council would vote to approve or reject the facility's full financing plan if one is cobbled together by then.

While four council members voted last week to place the parking element on the June ballot - a move that likely would have killed the arena deal - at least one of those council members said he will vote in favor of moving forward tonight.

In what would likely be the make-or-break moment of the city's work toward building a new downtown sports arena, city officials are hoping to seek City Council approval of a financing plan for the facility at the Feb. 28 council meeting.

That meeting will come two days before an NBA-imposed deadline for Sacramento to have a funding plan or risk losing the Sacramento Kings. While all sides have been working on the financing "term sheet" for weeks, City Council approval of the plan on Feb. 28 is likely the step the NBA is looking for to be convinced an arena plan is a reality here, officials said.

That term sheet will not only include the city's contribution to the $387 million project, but would also involve contributions from the NBA and/or the Kings, private arena operator AEG and the facility's development team.

To say Joe and Gavin Maloof appeared upbeat before tonight's Kings game would be an understatement. We just don't know yet if they're upbeat about the arena situation.

The Maloof brothers were happy to field a few questions from me on the atmosphere leading up to tonight's nationally-televised game with Oklahoma City. But a team spokesman said they wouldn't respond to questions about the arena situation because there isn't a plan to talk about yet.

Joe and Gavin watched as their team finished its pre-game warm-ups. They sat in their luxury box, with Joe eating a steak and Gavin sipping a soda. Their mother, Colleen, sat by their side.

Three of the 13 private firms that had expressed interest in leasing city-owned parking to help fund a new arena have been eliminated from the process.

Teams needed to "demonstrate strong financial resources and have a parking operator that has substantial experience managing both on and off-street parking assets," according to a city staff report released today.

Among the teams eliminated were local firm Revitalizing Sacramento LLC, made up of local parking operator Aaron Zeff and developer Larry Kelley. Bainbridge ZKS and CMB Export LLC were also crossed off the list.

A lot of attention has been paid the past few days to Seattle's interest in the Kings. But there's news out of Anaheim this morning that shows Orange County still wants the Kings, too.

Lance Pugmire of The Los Angeles Times reports Anaheim officials and owners of that city's Honda Center arena broke ground Wednesday on a $20 million upgrade of the facility.

Honda Center owner Henry Samueli said he is "just waiting and standing on the sidelines" as Sacramento's arena work unfolds. Last year, in an attempt to lure the Kings to Anaheim, Samueli offered millions in upgrades to the arena, plus financial assistance to the Maloof family, owners of the Kings.

Mayor Kevin Johnson expects negotiations on the funding plan for a new downtown Kings arena to intensify, now that 13 firms have expressed interest in leasing the city's parking operations.

The mayor told reporters this morning that the city is "on track and in striking distance" of developing a financing plan for the $387 million arena. City officials are hoping to raise as much as $200 million for the project from the leasing of downtown parking garages, spaces and enforcement.

With more than a dozen firms expressing interest in those parking assets, the mayor said "it's going to be constant negotiations with (arena operator) AEG, the Kings and the NBA and all the interested parties" as the sides work on a funding plan before a March 1 deadline. If a plan does not materialize before then, the NBA has told the Maloofs - the family that owns the Kings - that they can explore moving the franchise.

The City Council is scheduled Tuesday to consider Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy's request to place a measure on the June ballot asking voters if they want to use public parking assets to help finance a new sports arena.

Sheedy pulled the item from the agenda last month when Councilman Rob Fong was unable to attend that council meeting. While Fong is not expected to support Sheedy's request, he has played an integral role in the city's ongoing arena fight and Sheedy wanted her colleague present for the ballot measure debate.

There still appears to be limited support on the council for a June vote on the arena. Besides Sheedy, only Councilman Darrell Fong has expressed support for the vote.

The news out of Seattle this weekend that city officials are discussing a plan for a new arena in that city - and that they're monitoring the situation here - is so far having no impact on Sacramento's own arena work.

"We are focused on one thing and one thing only: what is in the best interest of the people of Sacramento," Mayor Kevin Johnson told me in an email. "And to that end we have put in place a plan that we believe is good for the League (the NBA), good for the team (the Kings) and, most importantly, good for the City when it comes to jobs and protecting the taxpayers."

At the very least, news that Seattle has a new arena plan in the works tells us one thing: there's potentially a new suitor for the Kings, should Sacramento's own arena deal fail.

The 13 companies that responded to a request for firms interested in leasing city-owned parking operations includes several large companies specializing in parking assets, two partnerships with local ties and the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada.

City staff is examining the qualifications of each firm and is scheduled to go to the City Council on Feb. 14 to narrow down the list to the most qualified companies. After that, city staffers will ask the council to approve a formal request for proposals (RFP) that would lead to bids on the city's parking assets.

City officials are hoping to raise as much as $200 million from the leasing of downtown parking spaces, garages and enforcement. Officials have proposed using that upfront cash to help finance a new $387 million Kings arena in the downtown railyard.

After the Kings beat the Lakers on opening night, Mayor Kevin Johnson said, "If there is basketball and the team is doing good, that can only help our efforts" toward building a new arena.

So what happens when the team isn't doing so good? The Kings have fallen to 6-13 and are coming off a 29-point home loss to Denver on Wednesday.

Does the play on the court hurt public support for an arena? Or does it not matter at all? Weigh in.

The city's powerful police union supports the plan to build a new Kings arena downtown. But this isn't simply an issue of public safety.

Mark Tyndale, the head of the Sacramento Police Officers Association, said his organization has been told city police officers would handle arena security during Kings games should the facility be built.

Since 1999, those duties have fallen to the Sacramento Sheriff's Department in a deal worked out between the team and former Sheriff Lou Blanas. It's an arrangement that has "always been a little bit of a thorn in our side," said Tyndale.

Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy will ask tonight to postpone a council discussion of her request to place a measure on the June ballot regarding an arena financing plan. It's unclear when that talk will now take place.

Sheedy told me she is postponing because Councilman Rob Fong is expected to miss tonight's council meeting and she wants the entire council to weigh in on her proposal.

Sheedy is pushing for a June ballot measure to ask voters if they want to spend public assets on building a new downtown Kings arena. City officials are banking on generating as much as $200 million from the leasing of city-owned parking operations. It's the biggest chunk of money anticipated for the $387 million arena.

While City Council support for the move appears limited, Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy's request for a June ballot measure asking voters if they approve of using public parking assets to help fund an arena is scheduled to be debated by the council on Tuesday.

Only Sheedy and Councilman Darrell Fong have expressed support for a public vote on the arena funding package. The council has until next month to place a measure on the ballot.

Sheedy has emerged as the most vocal opponent of a plan to lease city-owned parking facilities and enforcement operations to help finance a new downtown sports and entertainment center.

San Francisco Giants president and CEO Larry Baer has this message for those trying to build a new downtown sports arena in Sacramento: "Don't give up."

Baer, the keynote speaker at this morning's State of Downtown breakfast at Memorial Auditorium, noted that the Giants organization tried multiple times to build its new ballpark before opening AT&T Park in 2000. Throughout those attempts, the franchise threatened to move twice and voters turned down four funding proposals.

"It can be done, don't give up," Baer said. "You must persevere, you must exercise patience, you must have strong leadership in the private and public sector."

If there's one message to take away from the (very unscientific) poll I posted Thursday about the leasing of city-owned parking, it's that readers are incredibly passionate in both their support and opposition of a new downtown sports arena.

As of 1 p.m. Friday, when I closed voting, those who want to lease downtown parking operations to help fund an arena had out-voted those who want the city to hold onto its parking assets. I suspect some people voted numerous times on all sides, which speaks to the emotions swirling around this issue.

In all, 4,116 votes were tallied - by far the largest response to a poll on this blog. Of those, 2,251 supported leasing parking operations to help fund an arena. City officials said that such an agreement could generate up to $200 million toward the $387 million project.

As the private sector begins to examine how much downtown's parking spaces, garages and enforcement operations are worth, I thought it might be worth gauging support for leasing those facilities to help build an arena.

You'll find a poll to the right with a couple of answers. But if you'd like to expand on your thoughts, please email me at rlillis@sacbee.com.

There are a few options.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said today he was concerned that a decision by city officials to delay soliciting interest from the private sector in taking over downtown parking operations could "send a message to the NBA that something is not quite on track" with the city's bid to finance a new downtown sports arena.

Johnson told The Bee's editorial board that he was not consulted by City Manager John Shirey's office before the decision was made a few weeks ago to push back the release of a request for qualifications from Dec. 22 until Monday. And he said he disagreed with the decision.

City officials are counting on generating as much as $200 million in upfront cash for the $387 million arena by leasing downtown parking spaces, garages and enforcement to a private company.

Perhaps it was the euphoria of the Kings' victory over the L.A. Lakers on Monday. Or maybe it's the holiday spirit. Either way, Mayor Kevin Johnson seems more and more confident about Sacramento's chances of building a new downtown sports arena.

Johnson told reporters this morning, "I think we're going to get it done." City officials are trying to finalize a financing plan for the latest proposal, a $406 million facility in the downtown railyard.

Still, the mayor said the city is "at a critical juncture."

There is a renewed push among some Sacramento City Council members to get other local governments involved financially in the building of a new downtown sports arena. But is it too late?

Councilman Rob Fong has been particularly vocal in saying the city of Sacramento shouldn't go at the arena deal alone, a stance he repeated Tuesday night during a pivotal council vote to gauge interest from the private sector in the city's parking operations.

"I think we need to make a real effort to see what the other cities - and frankly the counties - in the region who would kind of be our partners in this venture could contribute in a real way so that they're having these sorts of discussions in their chambers as well," said Fong, who voted to approve moving forward with a request for qualifications from parking companies.

It appears the Sacramento City Council will approve tonight issuing a request for qualifications from companies interested in leasing the city's downtown parking operations, the key peg in the financing of a new arena.

• Tony Bizjak tweets from the City Council meeting

Mayor Kevin Johnson and four council members have told The Bee in recent days they support issuing an RFQ. In addition to the mayor, Council members Steve Cohn, Rob Fong, Jay Schenirer and Kevin McCarty have all said they are open to the RFQ. Five votes are enough to pass the proposal.

The RFQ is a key step in the arena financing model, but it isn't the biggest step. That will come early next year, when the City Council - armed with a complete financing package that also includes contributions from the NBA, Sacramento Kings and arena operator AEG - will decide whether to issue a request for proposals seeking formal bids for the parking assets.

Power Balance, the Southern California wristband company that purchased the naming rights of the Sacramento Kings' arena earlier this year, filed for bankruptcy protection last week, documents show.

The company's filing for Chapter 11 reorganization comes after it settled a $57.4 million class action lawsuit in September filed by customers who charged the company with false advertising. Power Balance officials denied a report on TMZ that the company would close.

Kevin Boyle, an attorney with Panish, Shea & Boyle and the lead counsel on the case against Power Balance, confirmed the settlement for The Bee. There is a 1:30 p.m. court hearing scheduled for today on Power Balance's bankruptcy filing.

Proponents of a new downtown Sacramento sports arena think they have a pretty good model to follow in Kansas City.

That Midwestern city - which is comparable in size to Sacramento - opened the Sprint Center in 2007. The $276 million downtown arena was financed through both private and public sources and, even without a professional sports team as an anchor tenant, has exceeded city officials' expectations.

The public contribution to the project comes in the form of a tax on rental cars and hotels that was passed by voters. That revenue covers the annual $14 million bond payments on the project and - so far anyway - enough tax has been collected to cover those payments, keeping the city off the hook, Dennis Gagnon, a spokesman for the city of Kansas City told me today.

The mayoral task force charged with coming up with a workable proposal for a new downtown sports arena is holding a forum today with a mayor who helped oversee the construction of an arena in her city.

Former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes will speak at Think Big Sacramento's event today at the Hart Senior Center, 915 27th St. The forum is scheduled from 11 a.m. to noon and I will update the blog after her presentation.

Barnes was mayor from 1999 to 2007. Kansas City's Sprint Center was opened in 2007.

The ongoing NBA lockout may not have slowed Sacramento's push to build a new downtown sports arena. But does it hurt public support for the project?

Mayor Kevin Johnson doesn't think so, even as the City Council prepares to make a critical vote in the coming weeks on the project's financing plan.

Johnson told reporters once again today that the project is about more than basketball. Still, the Kings would act as the anchor tenant of a new arena and many still view the proposed facility as a basketball arena.

That didn't take long.

The Fair Political Practices Commission said today it won't open an investigation into Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy in response to a complaint that she improperly used campaign funds to conduct a poll showing city residents want to vote on any plan for a new sports arena involving public assets.

In a letter sent to Sheedy today, Gary Winuk, chief of the FPPC's enforcement division, wrote that "the use of campaign funds to conduct a poll is an appropriate use of campaign funds" and that "since the telephone calls were not for the purpose of advocating for a candidate or ballot measure, no identification by the Sheedy campaign was required."

We should start to get a pretty clear idea Thursday of how city officials intend to lease city-owned parking facilities to help finance a new downtown sports arena.

City officials and the task force charged with developing a financing plan for a new arena will hold a public meeting Thursday to discuss that potential revenue stream. The meeting is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. in the City Council Chambers of Historic City Hall, 915 I St.

At the meeting, the arena task force - Think Big Sacramento - will present a recommendation for how that parking agreement could work. If approved, development officials say a parking agreement could generate millions of dollars for the construction of the $387 million arena.

There are a lot more questions than answers in the ongoing political tiff over the poll commissioned by Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy's that showed city residents want to vote on any proposal for a new sports arena that involves public assets.

It has been reported that Sheedy is the focus of a complaint made to the Fair Political Practices Commission last week. Copies of the alleged complaint were circulated to the media over the weekend, but there's a problem: the FPPC hasn't received the complaint, according to Gary Winuk, chief of the commission's enforcement division.

There's something else that doesn't make sense. The name on the document is Robert Langdon, a Rosemont resident who wasn't even surveyed by Sheedy's pollsters. And, based on an email exchange I've had with Langdon, it's not clear he knew he was filing a complaint.

The political tiff continues over the poll paid for by Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy's re-election campaign that showed city residents want to vote on any proposal for a new sports arena that involves public assets.

Sheedy is now the focus of a complaint made to the Fair Political Practices Commission. The charge: Sheedy didn't tell those who were called that the poll was paid for by her campaign.

But there's something about that complaint that doesn't quite make sense: it was made by a guy who doesn't live in the city and wasn't surveyed by Sheedy's pollsters.

Officials with the city of Sacramento, the NBA, arena development group ICON/Taylor and arena operator AEG will hold their first key meeting in Dallas on Wednesday to discuss the construction of a new sports arena in the downtown railyard.

According to a memo written by City Manager John Shirey, the sides will have a "preliminary technical discussion."

"Following this discussion, we will lay out the process and timeline that formal discussions and negotiations will take place," Shirey wrote. "Our collective goal is to reach a definitive financing plan by the end of the year."

The Sacramento City Council will take a pivotal vote tonight on whether to hire a team of consultants to lead the city through the early stages of constructing a new sports arena downtown. But with just a few hours remaining before the debate, it was unclear if the plan had unanimous support from the council.

City Manager John Shirey has recommended hiring a team of lawyers, investment bankers and other consultants to help the city look at potential funding sources, plan for the project's construction and help represent the city in negotiations with the Sacramento Kings and the National Basketball Association.

The total cost of the consultant team would be $555,000.

We now know when and where the proposed financing plan for a new downtown sports arena will be unveiled.

Rich Ehisen, president of the Sacramento Press Club, announced during Tuesday's luncheon that the menu of funding options for the proposed $387 million facility would be revealed during the Press Club's Sept. 8 event.

While precise details of the financing plan are still unknown, Chris Lehane, the chair of the task force, said in a new release this morning that it will include "contributions from both the public and private sectors, including the Kings ownership group, arena developers and operators."

A report by the Urban Land Institute has found that both a new sports arena and the city's planned transit hub could fit in land in the downtown railyard.

When designs for the proposed arena were unveiled in May, transit advocates quickly noticed that the plans called for the facility to be placed directly on the site of the planned $300 million transit hub, known by some as the intermodal facility. City planners hope to one day construct a hub for high-speed rail, light rail and buses.

But the ULI report says the two facilities not only could fit in the railyard - they could work well together.

Members of Mayor Kevin Johnson's arena team hopped on a bus in El Dorado Hills this morning to begin a four-county sales pitch of building a new facility.

The centerpiece of the sales pitch was a report the group released showing that most people who attended events at Power Balance Pavilion during a three-year period live outside Sacramento County. The numbers for the analysis were provided by the NBA and Sacramento Kings.

Placer County residents made up 13 percent of those attending events at the arena, the highest number among those living outside Sacramento, according to the study. San Joaquin County residents made up 8 percent of event goers, and Solano and Yolo County residents each made up 6 percent.

Sacramento's arena task force will embark on a regional bus tour Thursday to advocate in the suburbs for a new facility.

The tour is scheduled to kick off at 10 a.m. in El Dorado Hills. Stops in Roseville and Davis are also planned before the tour ends up in Rancho Cordova.

The Think Big Sacramento task force will also release a study analyzing the economic impact of an arena on the region. Think Big released an economic impact report two weeks ago, but apparently the study slated to be presented Thursday will look at a larger geographic area.

Here We Draw.

Hoping to build on what they say is a groundswell of public support for a new sports arena, the task force charged with coming up with a financing plan for the facility will launch a design competition for a public space near the arena.

That competition, which will get underway in the coming weeks, is part of a broader plan dubbed the Citizen Architects initiative. That plan is seeking volunteers from the public to take a more active role in the Think Big Sacramento arena task force.

A little bit of drama broke out this week over the new name of Mayor Kevin Johnson's arena task force.

Turns out, according to the mayor's office, the team that set up a "Here We Build" website earlier this year wanted $350,000 if the task force was going to use that name. The mayor's office balked and changed the name of the group this week to "Think Big Sacramento."

"We changed the name to Think Big Sacramento to keep the focus on the incredible excitement and potential of this community-minded, not-for-profit initiative," the mayor's spokesman, Joaquin McPeek, told me this afternoon.

Would voters here support a tax on alcohol and cigarettes to help finance a new arena?

A bill introduced by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) would provide local governments a large pallet of options to raises taxes for schools, public safety and other local services. The tax increases, of course, would require voter approval.

One of those options would be an excise tax on alcohol and tobacco - commonly referred to as a "sin tax" or "public health tax." Voters in Cleveland approved similar fees in the 1990s to fund the construction of baseball, basketball and football stadiums.

A few names stuck out from the regional arena task force named this week by Mayor Kevin Johnson.

One of those names was Darius Anderson, a well-known Sacramento developer and lobbyist working with Ron Burkle, the billionaire who has expressed interest in buying the Sacramento Kings. Anderson was named to the task force's executive committee, which will take on a major role as the group investigates potential funding mechanisms for the $387 million arena project.

Burkle and Anderson's overtures earlier this year were met with outright anger from the Maloof family, who own the Kings.

The members of a regional arena commission have been named. The group, dubbed Here We Build, will spend the next three months analyzing options for how to finance a new sports arena in Sacramento.

Members of the group will hold their first public meeting on Thursday. Details for the session are still being worked out, but its focus will be on combining public and private resources for an arena project.

The 15 members of the group's executive committee are:

The members of a regional arena commission have been named. The group, dubbed Here We Build, will spend the next three months analyzing options for how to finance a new sports arena in Sacramento.

Members of the group will hold their first public meeting on Thursday. Details for the session are still being worked out, but its focus will be on combining public and private resources for an arena project.

The 15 members of the group's executive committee are:

Sacramento's latest arena plan depends on us to embrace a truly urban experience. Are we willing to do so?

Most notably, there are no plans to build large parking lots around the arena being proposed for the downtown railyard. Many callers and commenters on the City Beat blog have taken note of that.

Those behind the plan say there are 8,200 parking spaces within four blocks of the site, most of which are owned by the city and are vacant at night, when most events at the arena would be held.

With Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof and dozens of fans in attendance at City Hall, the Sacramento City Council is getting its first look at the detailed plans behind an arena proposed for the downtown railyard.

Those plans call for an arena somewhere in the mid-range of NBA facilities - not as large as some of the mega-arenas built in recent years, but much bigger than the Kings' current home, Power Balance Pavilion.

The plan does not present a funding mechanism for the project, whose cost is estimated at $387 million. Both the public and private sectors would have to make "significant contributions" to the development, the report states.

Of all the budget hearings to take place at City Hall over the next six weeks, none may be as intense as tonight's, when proposed cuts to the police department are rolled out in detail.

The police and fire unions will be there in force, scheduling a press conference before the 6 p.m. hearing to criticize proposals to lay off 80 police officers and shut down fire rigs. Cops, firefighters and neighborhood activists will also be there, as will the media.

But three key people won't be there.

We don't know what the future holds for the Kings beyond the 2011-12 season. But team co-owner Gavin Maloof is saying some things about the franchise that might give fans some optimism for the upcoming season.

After an hour-long meeting with Kings sponsors today, Maloof told reporters the team would take advantage of its available salary cap space this off-season. Also of note: Maloof said the Kings would try to re-sign guard Marcus Thornton and center Samuel Dalembert.

"We have money, we have cap space, we have the most cap space of any team in the NBA," Maloof said. "That's how you win. You need players. And we have money and we're going to spend it."

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, left, and Gavin Maloof share a laugh during a season ticket holders luncheon where the two talked about support for the Kings. Photo by Randy Pench

The Maloofs are becoming a visible part of the rebranding of the Sacramento Kings.

That effort takes another big step this afternoon, when Gavin Maloof joins Mayor Kevin Johnson at a 1 p.m. luncheon with Kings sponsors at the Sheraton Grand. Gavin and his brothers, Joe and George, already spent several hours earlier this week calling sponsors and luxury suite holders after deciding to keep the team in Sacramento another year.

Meanwhile, a team of the NBA's top marketing specialists are in town helping the Kings reconnect with season ticket holders. While not giving out numbers, Chris Granger, executive VP of the NBA's Team Marketing & Business Operations group, said the response to season ticket renewals has "exceeded even our most hopeful expectations."

We're going to hear a lot of people weigh in over the next few months on how to finance a new arena for the Kings. But one voice heard this week is having a particularly strong impact with fans.

Former Kings great Chris Webber is saying he has private investors lined up to help fund the construction of an arena. Speaking Monday on TNT, Webber said the city must prove it deserves the team and that there's a lot of work to be done.

"Within this year, we're going to make some special things happen," Webber said.

Regional leaders met again today on the Kings' future. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the meeting was the presence of developer David Taylor, who is leading a City Hall-sponsored study of what it would take to build a new arena.

The key element of that study - the cost and how it would be paid for - is still being worked out. But Taylor did provide the group with some other details.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said Taylor told the officials an arena here should be in the 650,000-square-foot range. Power Balance Pavilion is 442,000 square feet. Sacramento doesn't need something on par with arenas built in L.A. or Orlando - but it does need something bigger than its current facility, Johnson said.

After spending the past week researching Sacramento's viability as a home for the Kings, the NBA began turning its attention to Anaheim this morning.

Members of the league's relocation committee spoke with Anaheim Arena Management, officials told The Bee's Dale Kasler. The Orange County Register reported the Maloofs, who own the Kings, were expected to take part in the conversation as well.

A team of NBA staffers, led by the league's top marketing official, are still in Sacramento looking at $10 million in corporate pledges made to the Kings for next season - if there is a next season. The Maloofs have until Monday to seek relocation.

In a sign the region is moving one step closer to keeping the Kings in Sacramento for another year, Mayor Kevin Johnson is coordinating a meeting between local corporations and NBA representatives on Tuesday during which companies will agree to make deposits on their sponsorship and ticket commitments to the Sacramento Kings.

With the deposits, officials are seeking to solidify $10 million in corporate pledges gathered by the mayor and the local business community.

Details of the meeting are still being worked out, but it is expected to be held Tuesday morning and be followed by a press conference. At least 30 business representatives are expected to attend the meeting.

Some downtown landmarks are showing their colors as a delegation from the NBA begins a tour of Sacramento today, trying to determine whether the city is a viable pro basketball market.

At the Sheraton Grand Hotel, soft purple lighting lit up the large windows looking out on to J Street. Inside, the bar will be serving purple sangrias on purple napkins.

A few blocks away, the pillars of the iconic Memorial Auditorium were lit in purple Wednesday night. And at the U.S. Bank Tower on Capitol Mall, the LED lights were also aglow in purple.

First there was "Here We Stay." That was followed by "Here We Build," "Here We Sit" and even "Here We Burkle."

Now, Kings fans are spreading the word about "Here We Purple." It's a movement to have Kings fans throughout the city wear purple on Thursday, the day an NBA delegation arrives in Sacramento to test the region's viability as a pro basketball market.

Like the other campaigns, this one is being spread through social media such as Twitter. The hashtag #HereWePurple had been mentioned in more than 100 tweets by 9:30 this morning.

Mayor Kevin Johnson will meet with regional political leaders on Wednesday in an attempt to show the NBA that Sacramento isn't alone in the drive to keep the Kings.

Details of the meeting are still being worked out, but it is expected to involve representatives from across the six-county region. A delegation of NBA officials in town later this week will also be introduced to some of the regional leaders.

"(The NBA) is going to want to know what's different this time than the previous times when we've tried to do a new entertainment and sports complex and failed, and I think there's a political will and leadership," the mayor told reporters this morning.

The NBA will be in town Thursday and Friday to discuss recent efforts to keep the Kings and explore Sacramento's viability as a pro basketball city.

Oklahoma City Thunder owner Clay Bennett and NBA attorney Harvey Benjamin are leading the league's examination of which city - Anaheim or Sacramento - is the best fit for the Kings. Bennett is chair of the NBA's relocation committee.

The Kings have until May 2 to ask the league's permission to move to Anaheim. The deadline was set last week following the NBA Board of Governors meetings during which officials from Sacramento and Anaheim made their cases for the Kings.

He's reviled in Seattle, beloved by hoops fans on the Great Plains. But what will Clay Bennett's legacy be in Sacramento?

Bennett, the owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder, is chairing the NBA's relocation committee as it explores which city is the best fit for the Kings - Anaheim or Sacramento. Bennett and other NBA officials are expected in California later this week to see whether Anaheim's proposal for the team needs more work and whether Sacramento's recent efforts are enough to keep the team here.

Many Kings fans are inevitably shrieking at Bennett's role in this. After all, he moved the Seattle Sonics to Oklahoma City just three years ago, a move many fans in the Pacific Northwest still consider a case of larceny.

By Ryan Lillis
rlillis@sacbee.com

Minutes before the Kings took the court for perhaps the final time in Sacramento, Mayor Kevin Johnson sounded defiant. It was a markedly different tone for a guy who just weeks ago said the process of losing the team felt "like a slow death."

"I just don't believe it's the last game here, that's the bottom line," he told me Wednesday night in a tunnel underneath Power Balance Pavilion. "I figure we're a resilient community and we're going to figure out a way to get it done."

Does he have the answer? We'll soon know. The mayor is meeting today with a group of NBA team owners to pitch Sacramento as a viable pro basketball city.

As the hours tick down on the effort to keep the Kings in Sacramento, business interests are trying to put together millions of dollars in sponsorships and partnerships for an NBA franchise in town.

Matt Mahood, the president and CEO of the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, sent out a plea on Tuesday asking for those willing to commit at least $100,000 to suites, blocks of season tickets, sponsorships or naming rights for an NBA team. Mahood said he had received "soft commitments" of around $5 million as of Tuesday and is hoping to raise $10 million.

Showing a corporate commitment to the NBA will be a key element of Mayor Kevin Johnson's pitch to the league on Thursday in New York. Johnson said he will try to convince the league's owners that Sacramento is a viable NBA market.

As he tries to convince the NBA this week that Sacramento is a city worthy of a pro basketball franchise, Mayor Kevin Johnson will be joined by the guy at the forefront of the latest effort to build a new arena in town.

Tim Romani, president and CEO of the ICON Venue Group, will accompany the mayor during his presentation to the NBA Board of Governors in New York on Thursday. ICON is working with Sacramento developer David Taylor on a City Hall-sponsored arena study due out next month.

"I want the NBA to know that even though we've had failed attempts in the past (at building a new arena), I think it's a new era in Sacramento," the mayor told reporters this morning. "Whether the Kings are here or not, our commitment is to go forward with a new facility in the next four years."

Kings fans may have to alter their opinions of Lakers coach Phil Jackson.

The guy who once called our city a "cow town" continues to come to the defense of Sacramento as it appears more and more likely to lose the Kings to Anaheim.

Jackson told former Bee sportswriter Sam Amick on Wednesday that he thinks having three teams in the Los Angeles market sets a bad precedent for other big-market teams. What's more, he said it would be "disheartening" to see Kings fans lose their team.

The mayor of Anaheim has a message to those trying to reverse his city's decision to issue bonds and lure the Kings to town: Don't bother.

Mayor Tom Tait told Eric Carpenter of The Orange County Register that a signature drive to get a referendum on the ballot to reverse the bond decision "is not a good use of time and resources."

"We've been very clear from the beginning that any NBA deal would be privately funded," the mayor said in an email exchange with Carpenter. "Our actions as a city council last week assured that protection to our taxpayers."

Mayor Kevin Johnson isn't too upset that the Maloofs have refused a demand for written assurance that the Kings' owners will repay a $77 million loan to the city if they bolt for Anaheim. He's certain the loan will be repaid.

Still, as the mayor told reporters this morning, "it's not in the best interest of the Maloofs to not make good on paying here in Sacramento and expect to be embraced by another city in Anaheim." And should the team decide not to pay, the mayor said he expects "lawsuit after lawsuit."

How worried are you that the loan won't be repaid?

In the quest to keep the Kings, a group of Sacramentans are about to do what this town does best: pick a political fight.

Funded by a small group of local business owners and a former Sacramento councilman, campaign workers will be on the streets of Anaheim soon collecting signatures for a ballot referendum aimed at holding up that city's decision to sell bonds to lure the Kings to town.

The Anaheim City Council voted Tuesday to issue a $75 million bond package that will be repaid by billionaire Henry Samueli, who operates the city-owned Honda Center.

Four days before the Sacramento Kings' deadline to ask the NBA for permission to leave town, Mayor Kevin Johnson will plead the city's case to the league's team owners.

Johnson said Thursday he will address the league's Board of Governors in New York on April 14. The Kings are negotiating a move to Anaheim and have until April 18 to ask for permission to relocate.

The mayor's priority is to explain the importance of the Kings to Sacramento and promote efforts to build a new arena.

The grassroots campaign urging to keep the Kings in Sacramento broke the $200,000 pledge mark this morning.

KHTK sports radio's Carmichael Dave said the pledges are flowing in through Twitter and the "Here We Build" Facebook page.

Dave - who prefers to not have his real last name printed - said the true focus of the effort is not to raise the $300 million or so needed for a new arena. Instead, some ideas being tossed around include purchasing bricks with contributors' names on them for outside a new facility and shoring up ticket sales for next season - if there is a next season.

The city of Sacramento has asked the Kings and the NBA for written promises that the team will repay a $77 million loan it owes the city before relocating to Anaheim.

Assistant City Manager John Dangberg wrote Wednesday that "the Kings have taken steps and made statements that indicate that it would be prudent and appropriate for the City to request that the Kings now put in writing the assurance" that the loan will be repaid.

Dangberg wrote the city was encouraged by comments team co-owner George Maloof made to The Bee this week that the team would pay off its debt if it decided to move.

Anaheim may have opened the door to a Sacramento Kings move to Southern California on Tuesday by approving a $75 million bond package for improvements to the Honda Center. But that doesn't mean Sacramento City Hall and Kings fans are giving up on their own arena quests.

Developer David Taylor and arena builder ICON Venue Group are still working on their arena financial feasibility study and are expected to present their results at the end of May, city officials said Tuesday night.

Meantime, KHTK sports radio's Carmichael Dave has started a "Here We Build" fundraising driving to help get a new arena built. Supporters have set the lofty goal of raising $200 million and have already set up digital billboards on the freeways. The campaign just started, but there is a website and a Twitter hashtag: #HereWeBuild.

A legal team from Sacramento thinks the Anaheim City Council would violate state law by approving a resolution tonight that would immediately allow for the issuance of bonds to fund improvements to that city's Honda Center, the presumed future home of the Sacramento Kings.

In a letter sent to Anaheim city officials, attorney Jeffrey Dorso with Diepenbrock Harrison said the Anaheim resolution "appears to directly conflict with applicable state law that provides taxpayers assurances that legislative actions to approve the issuance of bonds are subject to referendum and do not become effective for a period of 60 days."

Dorso asks that the resolution being considered by the Anaheim City Council be amended so that the resolution allowing for the selling of the bonds goes into effect in 60 days. That would allow anyone who objects to the move to collect signatures from Anaheim residents to place a referendum on the ballot repealing the City Council's approval of the bonds.

It wasn't good riddance, but Mayor Kevin Johnson told reporters today he'd be willing to accept a Sacramento Kings move to Anaheim as long as the team pays its loan to City Hall.

"I think the mindset of the city is to make sure that they fulfill their obligation," the mayor said. "And if they do that, then I don't want a messy divorce, I don't want to be a poor sport about it, it's their decision. And quite frankly, if they don't want to be here, then I'm going to be OK with (them moving) and I think our community will be OK with that."

Johnson said the Maloofs, who own the team, told him on Monday that they intend to pay off a $77 million loan they owe the city. George Maloof repeated that message to The Bee.

As the Anaheim City Council gets ready to vote in a few hours on issuing bonds to fund improvements to that city's Honda Center - the possible future home of the Sacramento Kings - there's still work being done on the home front.

State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, is considering a request by city officials to carry a bill barring Anaheim from moving forward on the bond unless Sacramento is guaranteed the Kings will pay off a loan they owe City Hall.

"At a minimum, the city needs to be protected with its $70 million investment," Steinberg spokesman Mark Hedlund told me this morning. "The pro tem wants to make sure the city is made whole."

If the Kings end up leaving, no one will ever be able to say Mayor Kevin Johnson didn't prepare us. But are Kings fans coming to terms with their team's shaky future?

In a theme that has repeated itself over and over again for the past several weeks, the mayor told reporters today that "I feel like we are dying a slow death right now, it feels like drip and dying by a thousand cuts. Every day it's a different clue the Kings are going to Anaheim."

Despite his pessimistic outlook of the situation, Johnson said he opposes boycotting the April 1 Kings game, as was suggested recently by local PR exec Doug Elmets.

Anaheim officials are staying absolutely silent on a plan being thrown around to possibly issue bonds to pay for improvements at the Honda Center, the presumed future home of the Sacramento Kings should the Kings leave town.

Bee colleague Dale Kasler and I spent a good part of Monday trying to get a comment out of someone at Anaheim City Hall about an item on tonight's City Council agenda regarding the funding of improvements to the city-owned Honda Center.

Kasler called Mayor Tom Tait at his place of business. Nothing. He also called the city finance director today, but got redirected to the city's media relations staff.

A local PR guru is urging Kings fans to boycott the April 1 game against the Nuggets at Power Balance Pavilion.

Doug Elmets told me today that several people approached him expressing their frustration over news that an attorney for the Maloofs, who own the Kings, had trademarked the "Anaheim Royals" nickname. He said those people felt that "we as a community are being sandbagged."

In response, Elmets is talking up a "There They Go" campaign. It's a reference to the "Here We Stay" group that has pushed to sell out two Kings games and keep the team in town. Kings officials declined to comment on the boycott.

In yet another sign he is operating under the assumption the Kings are leaving, Mayor Kevin Johnson told reporters today that he has arranged to speak with the former mayor of Charlotte, N.C., about how that city dealt with losing an NBA franchise - then getting a team back.

"There are things that we can do to prepare for life after the Kings, if they do in fact go to Anaheim," the mayor said.

Charlotte had the Hornets until 2002, when the team moved to New Orleans. Right after that move, the NBA promised Charlotte would get an expansion team two years later. It's hard to imagine that kind of promise being offered here until a new arena is built.

For more than two decades, the Golden State Warriors were Northern California's only NBA team. That could be the case again, as the Kings consider moving to Anaheim.

And with the Warriors at Power Balance Pavilion tonight, it got me thinking: Should the Kings leave town, will basketball fans around here adopt the Warriors as their team? Sports fans here certainly embrace other Bay Area teams, such as baseball's Giants and A's and the NFL's 49ers and Raiders.

What are your thoughts?

After helping to sell out the Kings' Feb. 28 game against the Clippers, the "Here We Stay" campaign is at it again.

The group is trying to fill Power Balance Pavilion for the Kings' April 11 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, presumably in an attempt to convince the Maloofs not to move the team. The Thunder are a fitting opponent, the Sactown Royalty blog notes, because that franchise (formerly the Sonics) is in its third season in Oklahoma after leaving Seattle.

The game against the Thunder is the Kings' second-to-last home contest of the season - and possibly in Sacramento. As I'm sure you know by now, the Kings are negotiating with an ownership group in Anaheim to move the team there.

If you've been looking for a chance to tell Mayor Kevin Johnson what you think about the Kings' possible move to Anaheim and the push to build a new arena and entertainment center in Sacramento, now's your shot.

The mayor is holding office hours Thursday evening at the Genevieve Didion School in the Pocket. The event is being packaged as "A Night of Public Safety," but it also seems like a good opportunity for city residents to let their opinions be known on all things Kings.

Those who show up at office hours typically get about five minutes of face time with the mayor.

A vocal Kings fan group wants to take their fight to City Hall.

The "Here We Stay" group, rallying to keep the Kings in town, is discussing converging on City Hall for next week's City Council meeting to tell the Sacramento's elected officials that fans need their help. That's according to the Sactown Royalty blog.

Sactown Royalty acknowledges the Kings "have one foot out the door."

Mayor Kevin Johnson's campaign to build a new sports arena in town is becoming less and less about the Kings.

That point was made even clearer this morning at the mayor's weekly press conference, when he said it is "in Sacramento's best interest to build a new entertainment and sports complex."

"We're not building it for the Kings and we're not building it for the Maloofs (the family who has a primary ownership stake in the team)," the mayor said. "We're building it for our community. It's about quality of life."

Despite television news reports to the contrary, the city-sponsored development team looking at the financial feasibility of building a new arena in town has not stopped working amid the Kings' uncertain future here.

Adam Mendelsohn, a spokesman for developer David Taylor, told my Bee colleague Tony Bizjak this weekend that the study may take "a little longer" than the original 90-day timeframe because of the Kings' relocation negotiations. But Taylor and arena giant ICON Venue Group have not stopped their work and the Kings' cloudy future "doesn't dramatically affect our ability to get this done," Mendelsohn told Bizjak.

I asked Mayor Kevin Johnson's office whether they had heard the work was being put on hold, and the response was the same. "Absoluely not," said mayoral special assistant R.E. Graswich.

Could it be that Sacramento is powerless in the fight to keep the Kings?

Mayor Kevin Johnson certainly seems to think so. At an afternoon press conference, the mayor said he does "not think Sacramento can influence the outcome" of the Maloofs' decision on whether to move the team to Anaheim.

There's a couple of reasons Johnson is saying that about the team's owners.

By Ryan Lillis
rlillis@sacbee.com

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson finally met with the Maloofs on Wednesday.

After days of trying to arrange a meeting, Johnson sat down with the owners of the Sacramento Kings at Power Balance Pavilion before Wednesday night's game against Portland, the mayor's special assistant, R.E. Graswich, said.

The sides met for 40 minutes. In an e-mailed statement, Johnson said the sides "had a candid and productive conversation about our mutual goals and interests."

"I made clear that our community wants the Kings to stay, but we are fully aware that this is ultimately their decision," Johnson said. "The Maloofs understand that regardless of what they choose, I will join with other leaders across the region to fight for what's best for our community. This includes developing a new entertainment and sports complex, with or without the Kings. I fully expect to continue an open, direct and proactive dialogue with the Maloofs as we all move forward."

Kings ownership and city officials have done little, if any, talking in recent weeks as the team considers whether to move to Anaheim.

Team officials reiterated Wednesday they were not commenting publicly on the issue of the team's future or the effort to build a new sports arena in Sacramento.

Also Wednesday, the mayor spoke with National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern. The conversation was described as "positive" by Graswich, with Johnson updating Stern on the successful effort by Kings fans to sell out Monday's game.

No significant developments on the city's efforts to build an arena or the Kings' negotiations to move to Anaheim were discussed in the mayor's conversation with Stern.

Business and labor leaders are beginning to amp up pressure to build a new sports arena in Sacramento and to keep the Kings in town.

Three of the most powerful business groups in the city - the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, the Sacramento Metro Chamber and the Sacramento Convention and Visitors' Bureau - released a joint statement today saying a new arena would create jobs and that building a new facility here "will require a significant commitment and investment from the community."

The Metro Chamber, while opposing many other tax and fee measures, supported the failed 2006 campaign to fund a new arena in the downtown railyard through an increased sales tax.

When it comes to the Sacramento Kings' cloudy future, Mayor Kevin Johnson is talking like a guy who has turned much of his attention to Plan B.

Asked at a morning press conference how confident he was that the Kings would not strike a deal to move to Southern California, the mayor responded, "The likelihood of them leaving is probably greater than them staying, but it's not a done deal."

Meanwhile, Johnson said he has begun speaking with elected, business and labor officials around the region to see what can be done to keep the Kings in town. If that campaign is not successful, the push for a new arena will continue, he said.

I did a Q&A over email this week with Steve Mehlman, who helped launch a grassroots campaign in the 1980s to keep the NHL's Washington Capitals from leaving DC. Mehlman has lived in Sacramento since 2004 and is the communications director for the UDW Homecare Providers Union.

Here are excerpts from our conversation over email:

First, could you explain what you were able to do in Washington?

Working with the news media, political and business leaders and sports fans in DC, we were able to create a groundswell of support for the team. This resulted, among other things, in a group of new investors stepping forward to bring new resources. It also led to the business community guaranteeing sellouts for the first ten games of the 1982/83 season by purchasing any unsold tickets.

I interviewed a guy in Seattle on Wednesday who carries the label of "Seattle's Biggest Sports Fan." It was a title granted to him by a local television station and it's hard to dispute.

Lorin "Big Lo" Sandretzky said he hasn't missed a home game of the NFL's Seahawks in 25 years. In their last 20 years in town, Big Lo missed only five home games for the NBA's SuperSonics.

Our talk in front of a quiet KeyArena got me thinking. Who is Sacramento's biggest sports fan? Do you know of someone who hasn't missed a Kings game in years? If so, email me at rlillis@sacbee.com or call (916) 321-1085.

With their future here uncertain, I thought it was worth asking what the Kings mean to our region. And so we have our newest poll, found along the right side bar of the blog.

I'll keep the voting open all week.

There are a lot of nervous Kings fans this morning. That's understandable. But I wanted to provide a little context on this arena issue.

NBA Commissioner David Stern's comments this weekend that the league was taking a hands-off stance on Sacramento's arena push aren't new. Last September, Bee colleague Tony Bizjak and I reported the league would no longer take an active role in the issue after a land swap arena proposal involving Cal Expo fell through.

And then there's Stern's comments confirming the Kings have spoken to Anaheim officials about moving the team there. The Maloofs said months ago they would keep their options open and Anaheim has been mentioned several times as a suitor of the team.

I'm not saying Kings fans shouldn't be nervous. But let's remember what has already been said.

A recent article in Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal highlighted the success of lottery games around the country that display professional sports team logos. In some cases, the games have created quite a windfall (the Boston Red Sox have made $10.4 million on lotto games that bear their logo in New England).

That got me thinking: the NFL's Raiders, 49ers and Chargers all have games in California. Why not the Kings?

Alex Traverse, a spokesman for the California State Lottery, told me the commission has "had some conversations, but only preliminary talks" in the past with the Kings about a game.

NBA Commissioner David Stern had some things to say this week during his annual sit down chat with ESPN's Bill Simmons that Kings fans might find interesting - or frightening.

Perhaps most compelling was Stern's comment that the league has "been visited or contacted by three different groups that are putting up a building (arena) in Las Vegas," according to a report on ESPN.com published Wednesday. Stern added the league has also "had visits from Anaheim."

The Maloofs, who own the Kings, operate the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, so their ties to that city are well established. And there have been several reports linking the Kings to Anaheim.

The Kings are talking again about the city's quest to build a new sports arena. Well, sort of.

As I wrote yesterday, the Kings have been mostly silent on the issue for weeks, supplying only a prepared statement from team co-owner Joe Maloof.

I had asked Wednesday for a statement from the team following the City Council's decision the night before to have developer David Taylor and ICON Venue Group do a 90-day study on whether building a new facility is financially feasible. The response from the team was the e-mailed statement from Maloof.

But just before 5:30 p.m. today, the team sent out a new statement:

"The Kings organization spoke with David Taylor and will provide him with the studies, research and documents done during the course of the last 11 years on the feasibility of a new sports and entertainment facility. During that time, the organization has contributed several million dollars to pay for and support traffic and engineering studies, architectural plans and other studies as well as consultants, lawyers and architects. The organization will have no further public comment on the process at this time, and will continue to focus each day on improving the basketball team."

Taylor had said that his first phone call in this process would be the Kings, so I guess it's a good sign for him - and the city - that the team at least took his call. Now let's see if the conversation continues.

David Taylor said his first call today would be the Kings. Naturally, that would be my first call, too.

Taylor, downtown's most successful developer, was chosen by the City Council on Tuesday to take the next 90 days and study the financial feasibility of building a new arena in town. He'll work with arena giant ICON Venue Group on that task. Following the council decision, Taylor told reporters that he needs "to meet with (the Kings; first and we hope to do that right away."

So I called the Kings this morning. My two questions for a media rep at Arco Arena were: has Taylor called you and, if not, will you talk with him when he does? The response was that the team would have nothing to say about the issue beyond a prepared quote by co-owner Joe Maloof that has been circulated for weeks now.

Here's the quote: "We are focused on improving our basketball team each day and therefore will have no further comment on our arena situation at this time."

Does the team's reluctance to expand on that comment worry you?

Tonight's Sacramento City Council meeting is a pivotal moment in the city's quest to get a new sports arena built.

The council is expected to vote on working with a development team on a 90-day analysis of whether building a new complex in town is financially feasible. Four development groups are in the mix and have submitted their qualifications to the city.

Two weeks ago, the council asked the development teams to submit their resumes directly to city staffers, setting aside the recommendations of a task force appointed by Mayor Kevin Johnson.

I'll be at tonight's City Council meeting. Follow my tweets at Ryan_Lillis and look for coverage in tomorrow's Bee.