Columnist: Seattle isn’t an option should Kings relocate
Feb 13, 2012, 5:55 PM | Updated: 5:57 pm
By Pete Treperinas
Special to 710Sports.com
Recent reports of new arena plans in Seattle and potential NHL and NBA teams coming to the city have many in town feeling optimistic.
Ailene Voisin, a columnist with The Sacramento Bee, told “The Kevin Calabro Show” on Monday that she doesn’t think that’s realistic.
Voisin doesn’t see the Kings relocating to Seattle largely for the same reason the SuperSonics left in 2008 — there’s no building.
“The Maloofs really have no interest in going some place where they’re going into an old building for a few years,” Voisin said of Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof. “They’re just not interested in that.”
Voisin also said that she has sources within both the Kings organization and the NBA telling her that Anaheim, Calif. would be the most likely destination for the team if Sacramento can’t get a deal done for a new arena by the March 1 deadline.
Even though the Kings heading to Anaheim would put three franchises in southern California, Voisin deems Anaheim’s Honda Center — which is about to undergo a $20 million renovation — a worthy home for an NBA team.
“If there’s a building in Anaheim that’s empty, there’s also a lot of TV money in Anaheim that’s sitting there,” Voisin said. “FOX is looking for a deal, with the Lakers signing their big deal [worth at least $3 billion]. So I think I’m just convinced that right now, Anaheim is the threat to the Kings.”
With nothing finalized for a new arena in Seattle, Voisin remains very skeptical that the Kings will be playing in the Pacific Northwest next season.
