Hey, that new Kings arena seems to be coming along nicely. I took a look at the web page describing it, and I bet that people can’t wait to see Bibby and Artest do their thing inside this majestic palace of a quarter billion dollar stadium. It’s going to seat just under 19,000 and Sprint signed on for the naming rights, kicking down 62 million to name it Sprint Arena. Plus, get this- the 72 luxury boxes have ALREADY been sold, and the arena’s construction is still not completed!

What? You haven’t heard about this? There’s a good reason for that, IF you live in Sacramento. The new arena is going to be built in Kansas City. Yup, the former home of the Kings, who jumped over to Sac supposedly because, among other reasons, the Kemper Arena couldn’t satisfy an NBA team any longer. And, at least for now, the local media has had little if anything to report on it. I guess that, when your local news ratings and ad revenue and whatnot are so inextricably tied into the Kings’ presence in town, you tend to become something akin to a Democrat in Congress when it comes to standing up and asking some possibly provocative questions.

So, yeah, occasionally we’ve heard about how the NHL Penguins are being wooed into moving to K.C., but only the most clueless of the Kings’ present fan base shouldn't be able to read the writing on the wall. The Maloofs made statements re: how they’re unhappy with Arco Arena and how it’s in such sad shape because of the lack of luxury suites and whatnot. I guess that those consecutive sellouts game after game can get pretty unimpressive after a while, eh?

So suck it in and face it, all ye loyal Sacramento subjects to the Kings: the moving vans have possibly already been reserved. And before you start branding me as a Chicken Little, consider the statement that Joe Maloof made to a Sacramento Bee columnist after sacking Rick Adelman as coach:

"We're pretty impulsive people. We move quick.”

Maybe you need to back up and read that quote again. If you’re a wee bit slow, let me break it down to you. The Maloofs, it is implied, are pretty impulsive people and… move… quick.

Try to remember those words when the Kings are choking in the playoffs a few (or even just a couple of) years down the line in their future home, and if you still want to support them, they’ll be a just-under 1800 mile drive to the east.

(Click here for a peek at the Kings’ future home)

http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=211649