2:52pm: According to a Comcast-Spectator statement, "No specific team from any league has been identified as the potential tenant," Bizjak tweets.
2:27pm: Kings co-owner Joe Maloof tells CBS13 in Sacramento that he and his brothers have not spoken with Virginia Beach, while a Comcast-Spectator spokesman said the company would not comment until it is at the Virginia Beach city council meeting Tuesday. No representative from the Kings will be at that meeting, Bizjak tweets.
1:40pm: A source tells Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee that an arena will be part of discussions at Tuesday's city council meeting in Virginia Beach, but there's no word whether the Kings will part of that discussion. A Kings official would not confirm talks with Virginia Beach or other cities (Twitter links). The NBA says it's gotten no information from the Kings about Virginia Beach and the team has not applied for relocation, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
1:03pm: No announcement about a move is planned for next week, Sam Amick of SI.com hears (Sulia link).
12:49pm: A source tells Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee the Kings are not moving to Virginia, so it seems the area still has some work to do before any plans are made official. (Twitter link).
12:35pm: The Kings have been mentioned as a possible tenant for a proposed new arena in Virginia Beach, Virginia, a source tells Aaron Applegate of The Virginian-Pilot. A group of sports and entertainment companies has approached the city of Virginia Beach about forming a partnership to build an 18,000-seat arena. One of those companies, Comcast-Spectator, has guaranteed mayor Will Sessoms that it will deliver a professional sports team to the arena if it is built.
A report by Philip Newswanger and Bill Cresenzo of Inside Business, a business journal covering the Virginia coast, reports that Kings owners will be in town along with Comcast-Spectator officials for a presentation in front of city council Tuesday night, with an announcement that the team will move to Virginia Beach slated for Wednesday. It appears as though any such move would be contingent on the arena getting approval from city officials, however. A source tells Applegate that arena talks are still "very preliminary," and said assistance from the state would likely be necessary to finalize any deal.
Kings co-owner George Maloof Jr. wouldn't directly address the Virginia Beach proposal in his comments to Inside Business, saying last week that, “We have been approached by several cities over several years about moving the Kings and we will not comment other than that.”
Philadelphia-based Comcast-Spectator owns the Wells Fargo Center, the home of the Sixers. The company also owns the NHL's Flyers.
The Virginia Beach area was also considered by the Hornets back in 2001 before they moved to New Orleans. The Hornets decided against moving to Virginia because there was no suitable place to play during the two years it would have taken to construct a new building, as Applegate writes.
So the owners of the Kings want to abandon market #20 for the Hampton Roads? Market 43? Have they actually been to Norfolk?
I drool at the prospect of a return of the Squires. Business-wise it’d be a terrible move (they’re probably just posturing), but I’m just such a sentimentalist. Where’s Dr. J…?