Sacramento arena deal falls apart

SACRAMENTO, California — A non-binding deal between the Sacramento Kings and that city to build a new NBA arena has apparently fallen apart.

The Sacramento Bee, citing Mayor Kevin Johnson, called the deal "almost certainly dead" after NBA Commissioner David Stern said earlier in the day that the Kings' ownership group and the city were unable to come to terms on the deal.

“It’s not going to happen, but I can say the city has stepped up,” Stern said, according to the AP. “We have nothing further to give, to cajole, to yell, or all the various ways I’ve tried to keep the parties on track to get what we thought was a win-win in Sacramento.”

Johnson, a former NBA player himself, added that the city would not help the team renovate Power Balance Pavilion, the Kings' current home.

The Kings have frequently been mentioned as a possible candidate to relocate to Seattle and revive the SuperSonics name and franchise.

However, the apparent demise of Sacramento’s arena deal doesn’t mean the Kings are a lock to move to Seattle. The Kings almost left town for Anaheim after last season, but ultimately decided to stay while the city tried to put together terms of a new arena deal.

Seattle’s own fledgling arena deal would call for an NBA and NHL franchise to relocate to the area, meaning that even if the Kings agreed to move, the city would still need to find an available NHL team.

KIRO