Will Chris Hansen screw Sacramento bondholders out of $77 million loan payoff?

If the sale of the Kings is consummated and the team moves to Seattle, there are concerns that Chris Hansen will default on the $64 million loan to the city and simply forfeit a stake in the team and Sleep Train Arena.

By Str Archive | 0 Comments | Feb 22, 2019

Here's the issue: when Hansen buys the Kings, he likely buys Sleep Train Arena. If not, Maloof Sports and Entertainment would still own Sleep Train Arena. Selling that after the Kings move to Seattle would be a very tricky proposition, particularly if Kevin Johnson begins work on a downtown arena quickly. It'd be of extremely low value. Certainly not worth $52 million (the difference between the $77 million payoff and a $25 million stake in the team).

If it comes to this, the only saving grace would be Hansen and Steve Ballmer's desire to not look like pirates (of which I'm skeptical) or the NBA's insistence that the Hansen-Ballmer group do the right thing.

Regardless, the lesson has been learned by the city. One of the sticking points in the Maloofs' ridiculous refusal to take the arena deal in 2012 was that the city demanded stronger collateral on the loan in question.

****

The Kings Herald Newsletter

← Nuggets 121, Kings 93: Insert Recap from Last 10 Blowout Losses to Denver Here Kings vs. Wizards Fan Predictions →

To prevent spam, our system flags comments that include too many hyperlinks. If you would like to share a comment with multiple links, make sure you email editorial@kingsherald.com for it to be approved.