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Although Sacramento now appears likely to hold on to the KIngs, it’s far from a done deal. Chris Hansen, the San Francisco hedge fund manager whose $290 million pledge is at the heart of Seattle’s new plan to build an arena, should keep Sacramento on speed dial.
That’s the assessment of Neil de Mause, editor of the website Field of Schemes, which tracks arena and relocation issues:
“….so much is up in the air there about the financing. No one really knows if the parking revenues (slated to account for up to $250 million of the cost of Sacramento’s arena) are going to come through. There are a lot of moving pieces and even with (council approval) of the term sheet, the whole thing could still fall apart.”
New Orleans seems like a possible candidate, but NBA commissioner David Stern really wants to keep the team in New Orleans, not wanting to let the team walk and add to the woes the city has experienced since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Milwaukee might be the most likely candidate.
Their lease situation makes the Bucks maybe the easiest team to actually relocate quickly, and the team has an aging arena (built in 1988) and recently was judged by Forbes to be the least valuable team in the NBA.
Then again, owner Herb Kohl, a Milwaukee native who has owned the team since 1985 and bought it to ensure it would stay put, says he won’t sell to anyone who would move the team.
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Peyton Manning was on the private plane of Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams on Wednesday, flying to Nashville as the courting of the NFL free agent superstar continued.
You’d think the Titans are well-stocked at quarterback, with Matt Hasselbeck having two years left on his contract and Jake Locker waiting as his understudy.
Titans general manager Ruston Webster said as much once it became obvious Manning and the Colts would be parting company.
But Webster needed to check with his boss.
The 89-year-old Adams on Sunday told a Tennessee newspaper he would do whatever was necessary to convince the four-time NFL MVP to come to Tennessee, even offering up a job in the front office once his playing career ends.
