In what may be another clue that the Sacramento Kings are headed to Anaheim, the Orange County city is considering issuing bonds for improvements to its Honda Center arena, according to city notices published Thursday and Friday.
Kings officials are said to be in negotiations with Honda Center representatives to move the team next season. The Kings have until April 18 to request permission from the National Basketball Association to make a move this year.
Those negotiations are progressing well, state Sen. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, said Friday evening at his district office.
"Everything I hear is this is coming together," Correa said. "My sources are pretty good. It sounds good. Folks feel they are under obligation not to discuss details."
A discussion of financing a Honda Center upgrade is scheduled for Tuesday's Anaheim City Council meeting, but city staff has requested that it be postponed to the next regularly scheduled meeting, April 12, the day before the Kings' season ends.
City spokeswoman Ruth Ruiz declined to say if the item is linked to the Kings. Ruiz said the request for continuation of the item is being made because "city staff was not ready," she said.
A city notice published in a local newspaper Thursday said the discussion involves "financing of costs of certain improvements to the Honda Center … by the issuance and sale of bonds of the Anaheim Public Financing Authority."
The Orange County Register reported Friday that an unnamed city official has said the Anaheim facility needs improved locker rooms and a practice facility in order to meet NBA standards.
Honda Center officials Friday declined to comment on the upcoming hearing or what arena improvements are being sought.
Earlier this month, the Maloofs, the Kings' owners, went to Anaheim to meet with City Manager Tom Wood, Ruiz said. She characterized the get-together as informal.
"It was not an official negotiation … It was more like a meet-and-greet," she said.
The city owns Honda Center, but any negotiations with potential new teams are handled not by the city but by Anaheim Arena Management, a private firm that operates the arena, Ruiz said.
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