When sports-wristband maker Power Balance LLC filed for bankruptcy protection last month, the company insisted it would keep its name on the Sacramento Kings' arena.

Now it looks like the name could be coming down less than a year after it went up.

Cash-starved Power Balance expects to be sold soon, and court papers say the likely buyer doesn't plan to maintain the marketing deal that turned the former Arco Arena into Power Balance Pavilion.

That could change between now and Dec. 20, when Power Balance's business is scheduled to be auctioned off. Hanyang LLC, the Southern California company in line to buy Power Balance, could choose to retain the contract with the Kings after all. Someone could outbid Hanyang and decide to keep the Kings' deal.

"Don't jump to any conclusions," said Denny Barge, a principal in Hanyang. He indicated Hanyang didn't have all the data it needed on the Kings deal when it made its bid for Power Balance.

The majority owner of Hanyang is married to a woman who owns the Hong Kong firm that supplies Power Balance with its wristbands, according to court records.

Kings spokesman Chris Clark said, "Power Balance has assured us that their commitment to the Sacramento Kings is a priority, and we expect to work with them through this process."

Still, the Power Balance bankruptcy filing adds to the uncertainty about the Kings' future. As the team gears up for an abbreviated NBA season starting Dec. 26, its owners are waiting to see if the city can assemble financing for a new arena. The Kings have vowed to leave town if financing isn't in place by spring.

If the Kings lose the Power Balance contract, "they're not going to have that revenue stream they were counting on," said E.J. Narcise of Team Services LLC, a Maryland company that negotiates arena naming-rights deals.

Finding a new sponsor wouldn't be easy, given the economy and the possibility the Kings would leave. "There aren't going to be a lot of companies that will step up and jump on this," Narcise said.

The exact terms of the Kings' deal with Power Balance were never disclosed, but team co-owner Joe Maloof told The Bee in January that the deal eventually would pay more than the prior contract with Arco. That deal paid $750,000 a year, according to a survey by Marquette University.

Power Balance already owes the Kings $100,000, according to court records.

Those records also show that Power Balance is on the verge of folding and has been losing money since shortly after signing on with the Kings. In a document filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles in November, Power Balance said it incurred "significant operating losses beginning in February 2011."

That was just a month after the firm signed a five-year deal to convert Arco Arena into Power Balance Pavilion.

It was a coup for the upstart Orange County company, which was founded in 2009 and made a splash selling silicone wristbands to athletes, celebrities and others. Among those wearing the bracelets: Mayor Kevin Johnson.

But even as the Kings were announcing the deal, Power Balance was facing government scrutiny in Australia and consumer lawsuits in the United States over its claims that the wristbands enhanced sports performance. Marketing experts said the team took a big risk partnering with an untested company.

But the Kings' owners were undeterred.

"It's a fine young company and they're on their way," co-owner Joe Maloof said at the time.

Negative publicity from the lawsuits and the Australian government quickly sank Power Balance's business. After earning $11.4 million on sales of $52.4 million in 2010, the company plummeted this year. It lost $9 million on sales of $20 million through October, according to court papers.

The company is nearly broke and is facing millions in damages under the tentative settlement of one of the consumer lawsuits.

"It is projected that it will run out of cash on or about December 30, 2011, in which case the (company) would be forced to shut down and liquidate its assets," the company said in its court filing.

Power Balance said its only real hope is a sale. Hanyang has made a "stalking horse" bid of $5.8 million, according to court records. The stalking horse status gives Hanyang the inside track, but others could jump into the auction.

Under bankruptcy laws, the buyer would have the right to walk away from the Kings deal or any other contract. Power Balance's $100,000 debt to the Kings would still be in effect, and would have to be resolved from the proceeds of the sale of the company. It's not clear if the sale would generate enough cash to pay the Kings in full.

In its court filing, Power Balance said it has more than 150 contracts, including the Kings' arena deal and endorsements with multiple athletes, including the Kings' Tyreke Evans.

The company's filing said it expects Hanyang to sever more than 60 of its contracts, including the Kings' arena deal and the endorsement contract with Evans. Marketing agreements with Lakers star Kobe Bryant and hockey's Los Angeles Kings also would be dropped.

But Power Balance lawyer Marc Winthrop said it's not clear what ultimately will happen. "That's not the final word," he said of the court filing.

Power Balance is urging all potential buyers to "stick with the Sacramento program," said company spokesman Jason Damata. "This is a good asset."

Once the company is sold, however, it'll be up to the buyer to decide the fate of the contracts, Winthrop said. "It's not what we want, it's what they want (that matters)," he said.

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