TIME FOR A
ROYAL BEATDOWN
ROYAL BEATDOWN
-VS-
Game Time Start: 10:00 PM EST
Where: Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento, CA
Officials: J. Phillips, J. Orr, S. Wall
Media Notes: Indiana Notes, Sacramento Notes
Television: FOX Sports Indiana / Comcast SportsNet California
Radio: WFNI 1070 AM / KHTK 1140 AM
NBA Feeds:
*NBA Audio League Pass (available free to NBA All-Access members)
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*NBA League Pass Broadband (subscription req'd)
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PACERS Danny Granger - left knee tendinosis (out) KINGS None Reported |
Tom Ziller: Virginia Beach reportedly reaches deal with Comcast, Kings Sacramento's worsening relocation nightmare continues: Virginia Beach's mayor reportedly has a deal with the Kings and Comcast to build a new facility in the city. They just need $150 million from the state of Virginia to make it pencil out. Welp City. According to WAVY-TV's Bruce Rader, Virginia Beach mayor Will Sessoms has reached a deal with Comcast-Spectacor and apparently the Maloofs to build a city -owned arena in that fair burg, with the cable company as the operator and the Kings as the primary tenant. Next Tuesday, Rader reports, Sessoms will ask the Virginia Beach City Council to approve a request to the State of Virginia for $150 million to help build the arena and finance the team's relocation. The apparent angle will be that doing the deal gives Virginia its first professional major league team since ... the ABA's Squires? Rader says $80 million of that money will go toward relocation costs for the Kings. The Maloofs owe the city of Sacramento just less than that amount, and the standard recent relocation fees from the NBA have been $30 million. The Maloofs could also default on their loan with the city and fork over a $25 million stake of the team, per the loan agreement. Famously, the Maloofs bristled at providing collateral for a restructured city loan in the most recent arena negotiations. The Virginia Beach deal, as proposed, would apparently let Virginian taxpayers handle...CONTINUE READING AT SACTOWN ROYALTY |
Curtis Harris: The Welfare Kings After months of negotiations it appears the details have been worked out to build an arena in Virginia Beach, and bring a major league sports team with it. But the deal is far from being done. A plan to build a $350 million arena on the Virginia Beach oceanfront, with an NBA team as its anchor tenant, moved forward tonight. - Via Va Beach/Kings/Arena Details worked out Oh things are “moving forward”, alright. Yet another reach into the public pocket by private sports franchises. The Maloofs of Sacramento Kings infamy are continuing their quest to shore up their own finances at the expense of some public, somewhere. The plan for this stadium boondoggle is staggering. Of the $300 million plan I’ve been able to find and scrutinize, here’s what’s been reported: The city would contribute $195 million. The state will be asked for $150 million, of which $70 million would be for the arena, and Comcast- Spectacor, the Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment company that would lease and operate the arena and is working to recruit the pro sports team, would put in $35 million. So, out of a $300 million stadium, the city of Virginia Beach will provide $195 million. The Commonwealth of Virginia will spend $70 million. That leaves just $35 million of private dollars to be spent by Comcast to finance construction. Also keep in mind Virginia is also being asked to spend $80 million to cover relocation expenses for the Maloofs and to make up for so-called “lost revenue” should the Kings relocate and be forced to play in “substandard” arenas. Leaving aside the entitled notion of “lost revenue”, this is patently absurd. For those of you looking for more confirmation on the lunacy of stadium construction read Sports, Jobs and Taxes, which has case study after case study on failed arena promises. And what exactly are the promises? Well let’s take a look at the two consulting projections I’ve been able to find so far. The Koch study estimated an arena, starting in 2015, would host nearly 200 events a year with 1.3 million attendees. It would also create 1,230 jobs and generate $98 million in revenue in 2015, including $66 million in Virginia Beach. And then there’s the study by Conventions, Sports & Leisure International whose name ought to be a sign they are going to swing for the fences in their estimates: The study presented Tuesday, done by Texas-based Conventions, Sports & Leisure International, showed the annual revenue for southeastern Virginia generated by an arena would be $152 million, including $92 million in Virginia Beach. It would create 1,900 jobs and $8.9 million in city tax revenue. Both studies worryingly use data from pro-stadium Comcast in their formulations, but yet we have a huge discrepancy in benefits. Koch says about 1200 jobs and $100 million in revenue. Conventions, Sports & Leisure International says 1900 jobs and $150 million in revenue. I’d go with the conservative estimate here based on past stadium failures, but also upsetting is that it benefits Conventions, Sports & Leisure International to put out attractive numbers to sweet talk cities and states to finance stadiums. That firm was founded in the late 1980s in Minnesota, an era that began extreme stadium construction in the Twin Cities, and as we look at the list of associations and consultations made by Conventions, Sports & Leisure it becomes apparent they’re living on the gravy train...CONTINUE READING AT HARDWOOD PAROXYSM |
Jonathan Santiago: The Kings have improved with their new starting lineup After a disappointing start, the Sacramento Kings have begun to stabilize thanks to changes to their starters. With the additions of Aaron Brooks and John Salmons, their defense has stayed the course while the offense has finally caught up. At Sactown Royalty, our friend Tom Ziller broke down the plus/minus numbers of the Kings’ new starting five and found some positive results.
The Kings are 2-2 with this starting lineup, and that five-man unit has been
Sacramento’s best by no small margin. The unit — Salmons, Brooks, Evans, Jason Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins — is +31 in 68 minutes,per NBA.com. The next best five-man unit — Salmons, Brooks, Travis Outlaw, Jimmer Fredette and Chuck Hayes (?!) — is +10 in six minutes. Clearly, the new starting five is working better than anything else Smart has tossed out there. veteran small forward leads the Kings in plus/minus at+50 in 192 minutes. I’ll add another startling statistic about Salmons’ contributions this season that I actually tweeted last night. Through four games as a starter, the veteran swingman leads the Kings in offensive rating at 117.6. Paired with a defensive rating of 100.9, Salmons has posted a net rating of 16.7, which tops the Kings in their last four games. Below is a table breaking down where the Kings have improved statistically since Keith Smart‘s shakeup to his starting five. As noted above, with the exception of blowout losses to the Lakers, Trail Blazers and Hawks, the Kings defense has remained steady. In their first nine games, they were allowing opponents to score 97.8 points per contest, while limiting them to 44.5 percent from the field. In their last four games, they’ve allowed opponents to score roughly the same amount of points (99.4) and shoot a similar percentage from the floor (44 percent). Now, for those of you who are visually oriented, here’s a chart comparing the Kings’ shooting performance over their first 13 games. It’s just like the graph on Brooks found in my piece on the Kings’ new backcourt. The offense has seen massive...CONTINUE READING AT COWBELL KINGDOM |
Pacers Mike Wells @MikeWellsNBA Jared Wade @8pts9secs Tim Donahue @TimDonahue8p9s Tom Lewis @indycornrows |
Kings Jason Jones @mr_jasonjones Tom Ziller @teamziller Jonathan Santiago @itsjonsantiago James Ham @james_ham |
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