Click here to listen to our interview with Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. (Note: He's on a cell phone from the Orlando airport, so please forgive the poor sound quality.)

 

 

 

In just under a year, Sacramento has gone from this ...

Fans Chanting: "Here we stay! Here we stay!"
Bachmann: "Here we're staying, yep, kinda savoring the moment right now.  I guess we'll come back for the rodeo or the truck pull or something like that, but no more Kings."

... to this:

Johnson: "I don't even have the words to articulate how happy I am for Sacramento."

Mayor Kevin Johnson's words must be music to the ears of fans like Rich Bachmann, who wouldn't leave his seat last April after what everyone thought would be the Kings final game in Sacramento.  Commissioner David Stern gave the city a year to come up with a financing plan.  And that's what this agreement is all about.  Details will come out later this week.  The biggest chunk of cash would come from the city privatizing its parking operations.  But the mayor says the key was the Kings owners - the Maloof family - increasing its up-front payment.

Johnson: "The city had already stretched with its parking.  And I think the Maloofs and everybody else did their part to make sure that this was a win-win.  And I think Sacramento should be extremely proud."

The deal comes after three days of talks at the NBA's All-Star Weekend in Orlando.  The city council will vote on it next week.

Check out some of our previous coverage on the latest effort to reach an arena deal by clicking the links at the right.