Two members of the Sacramento Kings' original management group – architect Rann Haight and executive Greg Van Dusen – are heading the latest efforts for a sports-and-entertainment facility that would keep the franchise in town.
This latest effort was first reported Wednesday by Channel 40 (KTXL).
Sources on Thursday characterized the effort as a "below-the-radar, grass-roots effort" that has gone on for more than a year.
It would involve both the city and county of Sacramento, perhaps extending to several counties within the Kings' season-ticket base.
Though the extent of the Maloofs' interest in this latest effort remains uncertain, the Kings' owners are being updated about the ongoing developments, said sources who have been involved in the discussions but who were not authorized by leaders of the effort to publicly discuss the matter.
After repeated failed efforts over the last decade to build a new arena in Sacramento, the National Basketball Association recently acknowledged that the Maloofs have been in negotiations with Honda Center representatives to move the team next season to Anaheim.
The Kings have until April 18 to request permission from the NBA to make a move this year. The Maloofs have declined to comment on the matter.
Haight, who lives in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, constructed both Arco I and II arenas. The group also includes, among others, longtime Kings and Arco Arena official Tom Peterson.
In the late 1970s Van Dusen was the general manager of the Sacramento Sports Association, which was the partnership led by Gregg Lukenbill and Joe Benvenuti that bought the then-Kansas City Kings. Van Dusen was the lead negotiator in the purchase of the Kansas City Kings and led the marketing program for the team's arrival in Sacramento.
He became the executive vice president of the Kings and the arena, and developed the nation's first naming-rights concept for Arco.
Van Dusen, who could not be reached Thursday for comment, lives in Rocklin and is the chief executive for Placer Valley Tourism, focusing on economic development strategies in south Placer County.
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