Failed Relocation of the Sacramento Kings

From 2006 to 2013, the Sacramento Kings organization was under constant threat of the team moving. It is widely believed that the former owners of the team (the Maloof family) lost much of their fortune and no longer were able to run an National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise. The Maloofs courted Anaheim, Virginia Beach, and Seattle as potential suitors for the team. Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, with the help of local business owners and a rabid fan base, was successful in saving the franchise and persuading the NBA to force the Maloofs to sell the team to the Vivek Ranadivé group.

On February 19, 2011, NBA commissioner David Stern admitted that the Kings and officials in Anaheim, California had discussions about relocation. It was later found that the organization went as far as to file for a trademark of the name Anaheim Royals, among others. The Maloofs prepared to make their case for relocation at the NBA Board of Governors meeting in New York, in what many expected to simply be a formality.

In a surprise announcement, Mayor Johnson announced during a presentation to the NBA that Ron Burkle, a billionaire associate of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Democratic Party fundraiser, wanted to buy the Kings and keep them in Sacramento. Johnson also pledged some $10 million from local businesses as a show of support from Sacramento. This, in addition to support from Sacramento citizens, may have swayed Stern and the relocation committee to tell the Maloofs to withdraw their relocation plans.

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Wikipedia