I was filling up the gas tank today and was trying to figure out a way to blame the outrageous price on the Maloof's. Sure, they gave away a crap load of money on Oprah's show, sure they have donated millions in the community, but these guys also have the nerve to actually have a good time with their money from time to time. Yeah, sometimes they spend it on themselves. And sometimes they try to drive a hard bargain as businessmen, just like Intel, Hewlett Packard, SMUD, and the State of California, just to name a few businesses that have been granted local sweetheart deals over the years.

And do they do anything to help the local economy? I mean, aside from employing about 150 full time and roughly 1,000 part time employees? Aside from driving business for many local restaurants, sporting good outlets and more? These guys are a freakin' drain on society.

Now Greg Lukenbill, on the other hand, was an owner that you could relate to. He was just like us - broke! Tickets were affordable, because Lukenbill and the rest of the ownership group knew how to cut back on the luxury items, such as scouting and players with talent.

Now I am very appreciative of everything Lukenbill did to bring a team here. He really accomplished what was thought of as impossible at the time. But if not for the Maloof's the KIngs might not still be here today.

So with that, I ask you -

Three gold stars and a smiley face for rbiegler and The Ghost Of Dick Bavetta, both of whom found this story about the arena at Cal Expo on line at the Bee shortly after it broke.

This is encouraging news, in spite of the potential infrastructure issues (ask the folks in Seattle if they would have taken an arrangement like this). I will try to remember that when I am sitting on the Capital City Freeway on a Friday morning afternoon evening.

And thanks to Sam Amick, here is the official press release via his blog (no word yet on Peaches and Reggie's reaction to Sam sharing this information).

Via Kelly Dwyer, Forbes digs into the ledger of all 30 NBA teams. The report breaks down franchise value, revenues, player expenses, and earnings. You'll be... interested to note the Kings franchise has turned a profit for the Maloofs each of the past four years, and seven of the 10 years the family has owned the team.

In 2007, the Maloofs turned a $21 million profit. Forbes notes amortization, taxes and interest on debt (of which the franchise has some) are not included; it's likely the actual profit seen by Maloof Sports & Entertainment is smaller. Still... Sacramento is #8 in operating income. Above them, only Toronto records a smaller overall value while operating at a net profit -- if small market teams were supposed to struggle to stay solvent, no one told the King.

Of course, the arena issue is at the crux of this. If the Maloofs shell out anything substantial for an arena, there goes that positive net operating income until the new place opens... and possibly for a few years after. In a dollar and cents sense, it's impossible not to understand the Maloofs' stance -- they can make money at ARCO until the roof caves in, then go to a free, brand new building in some other town and keep raking in the cash. Of course, sports isn't about dollars and cents, and there are plenty of reasons the Maloofs should continue to work on a solution in Sacramento. (Namely, they'll never find a more gracious fan base. If the Maloofs get an arena in Sacramento with no taxation, they will be heroes for eternity.)

It's impossible not to feel a little slighted seeing these numbers when the Maloofs have been crying wolf a bit about finances the last few years. They've made $41 million in 10 years and the value of their investment has gone up 146% in ten years... never mind all the essentially free advertising for their casino/resort through their connection with the NBA. This team has not made them poor. But at the same time, the brightest times for this sporting town has come because they were willing to spend big to bring in the Webbers and Vlades and Bibbys, and keep them. They anted up to keep Kevin Martin. They almost habitually sit courtside; they do a ton of community work. These are not bad people; the Maloofs have made Sacramento a better place.

This sort of thing will get drudged up by the anti-arena segment, even when the proposal without public funding comes down. Make sure those squawking paint the complete picture.

A surprising bit of news on a Friday:

Great news for Kings fans who don't look forward to driving to Anaheim or Kansas City for home games: The Cal Expo governing board unanimously approved opening negotiations with the NBA. Better news: Those involved understand the public funding mood in California.

Dave Jones, though, continues to be an unabashed hater.

I apologize for yelling at usual arena opponent Steve Cohn in the past. For he was won my heart, and I think he'll win yours too.

Traffic problems? Pssh, solved.

Alright, serious update on the Cal Expo deal-io. The folks from the fairgrounds told The Bee the State Fair -- the biggest draw of the year by far for the expo -- was basically a financial disaster this year: projected attendance was 100,000 off the final tally. Revenues came in 9% lower than projected. The Fair made Cal Expo $2.3 million less in gross revenues than in 2006. And usually -- when revenues hit their marks -- the Fair barely covers its costs. Think someone's in the mood for an infusion? A Maloof-fusion even?

There's some debate within The Bee's story and other news accounts as to how far off we're from a detail plan. Rob Fong told The Bee it'll take all season; but the basic building blocks seem to be in place. The bulk of the funding will come from a revenue bonds (or revenue bond/s/, more accurately). It's like a big credit card with really big minimum payments. You sell bonds to investors, you use that money to rebuild Cal Expo, you use the revenues to pay off your bonds plus interest. That's the bulk of it, at least. The Maloofs should step in with a sum larger than last time; and the city might work out something with the land around current ARCO.

What's left to decide? How Cal Expo will be configured, what solutions (if any) are offered for the traffic problems, who will take in parking revenue, what's the timetable for fairgrounds-specific improvements versus the arena/entertainment district? And there's more. There's a lot more. But the basic finances -- it already makes some sense. Previous accounts even murmured the NBA already has a developer to get in on the commercial development aspect.

Two things are very clear:

1. John Moag > anyone else who has tried to work on this thing in the past, including Heather Fargo, Lou Blanas, and the Rob Fong-Roger Dickinson team.
2. Cal Expo kind-of needs this.

The Bee's Terri Hardy has a predictably in-depth look into the history of arena discussions with Cal Expo. Not a ton of new information -- that will come over the next two days as the City Council and the Cal Expo governing board hear presentations from the NBA. But what new info there is holds quite a bit of importance.

A 2004 feasibility study commissioned by Mayor Heather Fargo looked at eight possible locations for a new arena. Cal Expo was among them. That study said a downtown arena would cost nearly $600 million. A new arena at Cal Expo? $329 million. Construction costs have of course gone up since, but that's still a chunk cheaper than the downtown option.

So why did the city and county press on with downtown as Target #1?

But John Moag, the NBA's rep, says the league will be "a valuable ally" in getting traffic fixes in place. How? Who knows.

There is a little more detail into the NBA's plan. Hardy writes bonds issued by a new joint powers authority allowed under recently passed SB 282 will make up a large part of the funding, but Moag also has a big-time commercial developer in the pipeline to help fund Cal Expo improvements and an arena in exchange for development rights on part of the vacant land. (This would help solve the whole 'no restaurants in walking distance' thing.)

Next steps: the City Council will be briefed by Moag Thursday night, and the Cal Expo board will vote to open negotiations Friday morning.

Before it captures any attention, I should pre-emptively debunk CBS 13's report the NBA's plan for a Cal Expo arena will be released today. Here's what reporter Steve Large says:

When the agenda comes out today, the action item for the next meeting (Sept. 28) will authorize Cal Expo staff to negotiate with the NBA plans for a feasibility study. That feasibility study will be conducted over several months and will begin to set in motion the formation of arena plans. That is when real negotiations -- between Cal Expo, the league, the franchise, the city and county -- come into play. The NBA will fully fund the feasibility study; hell, I'm sure it's already begun. The Sept. 28 Cal Expo meeting will likely see the governing board make a few comments about how they will reserve judgment until plans are formulated and how Cal Expo needs to look at the big picture and blah blah blah. And they'll pass the item allowing them to get involved unanimously and without qualms. Plans will be public record... just as much as the railyard plans were last year (which was not really very public). Remember, the city and county were involved there. City and county = government. State = government. Amazing, huh?

I haven't seen Large's KOVR report, because well... I try not to watch KOVR's newscasts. (Call me a snob; call me Ishmael.) This overblown, inaccurate, irresponsibly BAD news story reaffirms my decision to avoid the channel, I think.

Word just came from the Capitol that Senate Bill 282 -- the legislation which would allow Cal Expo a wider range of motion in redeveloping the grounds, including possibly building an NBA arena -- passed by a 40-0 vote. (Thanks to Sen. Dave Cox's office for the updates.) The governor has until October 14 to sign or veto the bill.

This is really the first step for the Cal Expo plan. The NBA isn't even allowed to negotiate with Cal Expo yet; the Cal Expo governing board is expected to approve the start of negotiation in two weeks. But as I said this morning, this bill is very important in grand scheme -- without it, Cal Expo would have a tough time making something happen. With it, given that the governor signs the bill, things come somewhat easier. Not easy. But easier.