The 7-2 vote also establishes guiding principles the City should follow when negotiating such a deal.  Those principles include no new city-wide taxes, but do include businesses near an arena paying more for their location.

Location and prospective investors were common talking points at the meeting.  The council heard about 40 minutes of public comment -most supporting a downtown arena built in part with City help. 

But, Councilmembers Angelique Ashby and Steve Cohn said their vote didn't eliminate any bidders or arena locations -including a site next to Sleep Train Arena in Natomas,"If somebody can do that without a public investment other than the land that we essentially jointly own with the team, to me that's a real no-brainer."

The language is vague enough to accommodate any location or investment group willing to make an offer to buy the Kings controlling shares to keep the team here.

The motion passed with additional language including the promise of more  public meetings on arena details and a pledge by the City to minimize risk to the general fund.