NBA sets deadline for new Sacramento Kings owners to build arena

Sacramento has kept its Kings but is facing strict deadlines, imposed by the NBA, for building the team a fancy new arena.

Hours after Vivek Ranadive and his partners completed the record-setting purchase of the franchise from the Maloof family, NBA Commissioner David Stern revealed that the Ranadive group must meet "a series of benchmarks" for a new arena - or risk losing the Kings to another city.

If deadlines are blown, Stern told The Sacramento Bee, the NBA has the option of pulling the Kings out of Sacramento and arranging for the team's sale to new owners.

The Ranadive group agreed to the deadlines in writing, Stern said.

Stern said he doesn't expect Sacramento to miss its deadlines, but league owners insisted on the doomsday option "in the unlikely event" Sacramento can't get the arena project rolling in a "reasonable" amount of time.

The NBA is insisting that the building at Downtown Plaza open no later than 2017 - one year later than city officials forecast. The rival investors who tried unsuccessfully to move the team to Seattle agreed to similar deadlines, Stern said.

The new Kings owners - the eighth in the franchise's history - expressed certainty that they can build the arena by the deadline. Ranadive spokesman Adam Mendelsohn said the team is "absolutely confident about the timeline with the NBA and the commitments that have been made" to construct a new arena.

Ranadive's group closed escrow on the team's purchase early Friday - putting the finishing touches on a comeback that surprised Stern, the Maloof family and the rival bidders from Seattle. Back in January, when the Maloofs made their deal to sell the team to investors from Seattle, few in the league gave Sacramento much of a chance to keep the Kings.

"I thought that there was a greater likelihood that they were going to Seattle," Stern said in a lengthy phone interview.

Instead, the Ranadive group moved quickly this week to take control of the team and solidify its standing in Sacramento. By midday Friday, the Maloof Sports & Entertainment signs had all but disappeared from Sleep Train Arena.

Soon, Ranadive's group will control 72 percent of the Kings - the 65 percent purchased from the Maloofs plus a 7 percent share it will buy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The deal closes out the Maloof era - a 14-year stretch that started with great promise but evolved into crumbling fortunes, dwindling attendance and more than one threat of relocation as the family encountered financial setbacks.