As first reported by News 10’s Ryan Yamamoto, the NBA will be back in Sacramento tomorrow, they want to meet the 30+ new sponsors that Mayor Kevin Johnson has lined up … and they want them to bring their check books. Members from the NBA’s “team marketing and business operations department” (thanks, Sam Amick) are looking to secure the sponsors with deposits followed by a 30-day window to complete sponsorship deals. It is unclear who will be working with these new sponsors, but it seems safe to say that if these folks put their money where their mouth is, this is a positive step for Sacramento, who is trying to keep the Kings in town.
Interesting is pretty much all I can muster. What does this mean? I’m not sure, but our friend Tom Ziller over at Sactown Royalty is taking a stab at it. I’m not ready to jump into this discussion quite yet, but I have some serious questions swirling around in my head.
The news is coming in small bites today, but here is some of the news that is trickling in:
SI.com’s Sam Amick is still reporting that there is no meeting scheduled between the City of Anaheim and the NBA.
Mayor Kevin Johnson had an extremely positive message to share with the people of Sacramento on Easter Sunday, here is an excerpt:
When the NBA came to Sacramento to see the support first hand, the region stepped up like never before – from everyday residents to leaders and opinion-makers, all dressed in purple.
The NBA fact-finders – a franchise owner from Oklahoma City and two attorneys from New York – were visibly amazed by the support they found in Sacramento.
The NBA didn’t expect that. They hadn’t seen anything like it before.
That’s the fighting spirit that makes Sacramento unique.
Today, we are hopeful that we will soon be celebrating our resurrection as an NBA city. We’re not there yet — but we’re close.
Perhaps the biggest news of the day comes from Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee, who is reporting that a new six-county, regional authority panel is being formed to begin work on the public side of the public/private financing that will be needed to build a new sports and entertainment facility in Sacramento. The panel will be run by Yuba City Mayor John Dukes, with invitations going out to Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer, Yolo, Yuba and Sutter counties.
And the Sacramento Bee’s Ryan Lillis continues to track the relocation story from every angle.
According to Lillis, there will be a news conference tomorrow following the NBA meetings with local businesses. Where this story goes from here is anyone’s guess, but the question has to be asked – if the NBA is willing to take corporate sponsorship dollars from Sacramento businesses, what does that mean for the Maloof family’s relocation plans?
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