There have been rumors that the city and Ron Burkle are sprinting to get a downtown Kings arena term sheet done and in front of the Sacramento City Council by early April. Like, April 2.

Thanks to The Bee, that is a rumor no more.

City officials say they and their consultants and attorneys will begin formal negotiations this week with businessmen Mark Mastrov and Ron Burkle [...].

They must decide how much the massive redevelopment effort will cost, divvy up those expenses, come to an agreement on how to share future revenues - and get it all to the City Council in the form of a preliminary "term sheet" by early April. [...]

Shirey said an early April return to the council should give the public a couple of weeks for discussions before a council vote [...].

That's cutting it close on both ends, but it's critical that a term sheet be in place for the NBA's supercommittee as soon as possible, and it's even more important that the public be allowed to (can I use this word?) vet the deal and understand it before a vote.

I'm beginning to realize that the Maloofs could have made this more difficult by waiting to sell the team until February. So, uh, thanks?