NBA relocation committee call reveals 'deal points' of Kings' proposed sale to Seattle group
The NBA held a conference call with members of the league's relocation committee to outline deal points on the proposed sale of majority ownership of the Sacramento Kings to a Seattle-based ownership group, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
The call detailed what NBA officials described as "a non-binding set of deal points" on a $525 million sale of majority ownership to the Chris Hansen-Steve Ballmer group, sources said.
Discussions have continued in the past week to push the purchase to toward completion and ultimately clear the way for the franchise to move to Seattle, sources told Yahoo! Sports.
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The call took place on Tuesday – one day before Yahoo! Sports reported the finalizing of a deal – and informed several league owners that the Hansen-Ballmer Seattle group would purchase 65 percent of the Kings, sources said. The league office told members of the relocation committee that the non-binding agreement would constitute 53 percent of the franchise owned by the Maloof family and an additional 12 percent from minority owner Bob Hernreich.
The sale price of $525 million is considered an overall valuation of the franchise.
The committee is comprised of several NBA owners, including committee chair Clay Bennett of Oklahoma City.
It is unclear if the selling of 53 percent of the Maloofs' share would leave them with any future stake in the franchise, but sources have told Yahoo! Sports that there's no circumstance where the Maloofs would have any real input or governance over day-to-day team operations.
Throughout the negotiations, the Maloofs had sought a way to keep a small percentage of the team in the transaction, sources said. The Seattle group has wanted the family completely out of the organization.
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The Kings have yet to file for relocation to Seattle, but will do so before the March 1 deadline to ensure that the franchise can play the 2013-14 season in Seattle's KeyArena, sources said. The Seattle group plans to use KeyArena for two seasons until the completion of a new Seattle arena could be completed.
The city of Seattle and King County has a deal with Hansen to construct a new arena once the investment group secures an NBA team. Plans to build a $500 million arena were approved by the local officials in October. The group also will change the team's name back to the Sonics. Seattle lost the Sonics when Bennett moved them to Oklahoma City in 2008.
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