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Maloofs Call Foul Over $3 Million Arena Bill

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Call it the Maloofs' missing millions.

More than $3 million the Kings owners say they will not pay in so-called "pre-development" money for a new downtown arena. This would pay for things like the environmental impact report.

As outlined in this non-binding agreement, the city says the Maloofs will fork over $3.25 million and the city will pay $6.5 million.

But the Kings owners say there was never a finalized agreement and they shouldn't have to pay these up-front costs.

"It's part of the negotiations," George Maloof said. "We've always maintained that this is a negotiation."

Their Los Angeles-based attorney issued this statement:

"The long-standing position has been that the Sacramento Kings would be a tenant in an arena owned by the city and managed by an outside company. Pre-development costs are not the responsibility of the tenant."

And faster than a follow-up dunk, this thing has gone from tears of joy, to fears and skepticism.

Mayor Kevin Johnson issued this statement:

"The Maloof family looked an entire room in the eye and promised their commitment to Sacramento. In light of the Maloof's promise, we fully expect all parties to live up to their commitments."

Cue the NBA, David Stern stepping in again to give this deal a nudge. Just hours ago, the NBA confirmed to CBS13 the league will front the first installment of the $3.25 million to keep this deal from dying.

Brought back to life in all of this? Talk of a possible move to Anaheim is still in the mix, according to multiple sources. And many fear this so-called king-sized deal has turned into one royal pain.

But George Maloof says the family is still committed to Sacramento.

"The way we look at things, nothing's ever a deal breaker if you have the desire and the intent, which we do," he said.

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