AEG President: We Remain Committed To Sacramento Arena Project

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - The president of NBA arena operator AEG told CBS13 on Tuesday his company still wants to build in Sacramento and is talking to possible local bidders for the Kings.

The president of the entertainment venue giant, which operates seven NBA arenas, says Commissioner David Stern wants Sacramento to get a shot at keeping the kings

"To the commissioner's credit, I dont think he ever forgot about Sacramento," Tim Leiweke said. "I think this has always been on his mind."

Leiweke was at the Capitol to show off the NHL's Stanley Cup. AEG owns the reigning champion Los Angles Kings.

Leiweke echoed what Mayor Kevin Johnson told the crowd at state of downtown Sacramento address earlier Tuesday.

"We want this to be the final act of a saga that's gone on for far too long," the mayor said. "The commissioner said that our community has every right to present a counter offer that's fair and competitive and to talk about what this team means to our city and our region."

Leiweke's AEG was on board to contribute $59 million toward the proposed railyards arena when the Maloofs walked away from the financial framework last year. Leiweke seemed to choose his words carefully when referring to the owners Tuesday.

"It was not our idea to discontinue the conversation or to, to stop the momentum that we thought had been created here," he said.

The Maloofs still aren't talking publicly about the future of their team in Sacramento, but AEG is now on record saying it's still ready to build.

"We haven't changed our opinion about Sacramento or the arena," Leiweke said.