Sacramento Kings Deny They Are Trying to Move to Virginia

Owners of the Sacramento Kings have refuted a report that the team is in talks to move to Virginia Beach, Va. The Hampton Roads Business Journal reported yesterday the Kings and officials from Comcast were discussing a new stadium and relocation of the NBA franchise. Via ESPN.com: “‘We haven’t talked to Virginia Beach,’ Joe Maloof told CBS13 in Sacramento. Kings owners Joe, Gavin and George Maloof pulled out of a plan to help finance an arena in Sacramento earlier this year, saying it didn’t make financial sense for the franchise. The team has been tied to discussion in Anaheim, Calif., as well as other cities. ‘The Kings have been approached by numerous cities interested (in) buying the team and relocating it,’ Kings spokesman Eric Rose said to CBS13 in an email. ‘We are not going to discuss which cities have approached the team and are not going to comment on every rumor. I can tell you that the Kings are 100 percent focused on putting a winning team on the court.’ Virginia Beach mayor Will Sessoms would not comment on the Kings but did say some meetings will take place. ‘Comcast, Live Nation and Global Spectrum (a Comcast-owned stadium operator) have come to the city,’ he told the Business Journal. ‘They would guarantee us a professional sports team (if a deal goes through).'”