The Sacramento Kings had the city council pass a vote last month that was a huge step towards keeping the team in town and to building a new arena, but with a key financing vote just days away, it appears the negotiations may have hit a snag involving upwards of $3 million dollars.
According to this report from The Sacramento Bee, owners Joe and Gavin Maloof are balking at a request to chip in $3.26 million for pre-arena development costs. The brothers have been hesitant from the start to include this money into the costs despite being willing to pay $73 million towards the cost of the facility.
A Maloof family spokesman in Los Angeles told The Bee today the team does not feel that it should share in pre-development costs because the team is only a tenant in the building, which would be owned by the city.
"The team should not be responsible for the pre-development expenses," team spokesman Eric Rose said. "That has been the position of the Kings from the start."
The two sides will likely continue to negotiate costs in the coming days before the city council and you would have to think they will come to an agreement of some kind. Should the deal fall through, the talks of potential relocation to Anaheim are certain to pop up.
Still, though, with the Maloof family willing to pledge $76.25 million dollars to the cost of a new arena, what's an extra $3.26M? That's like buying your son a Ferrari for his birthday, but refusing to pay for a new sound system.
For more on the Kings and to discuss the new arena, head on over to Sactown Royalty.