Power Balance Pavilion is likely to get renamed soon - and it could get named for the Sleep Train retail chain.
Sacramento Kings co-owner Joe Maloof said today the team is negotiating with several potential naming rights partners to replace Power Balance, the sports-wristband company that severed its contract with the team after filing for bankruptcy.
Maloof said he didn't know the names of any of the potential partners. But Dale Carlsen, founder and chief executive of Sleep Train, said the Rocklin retailer has had talks with the team.
Carlsen said "I can't say that we're close to making a deal," but his company views a naming-rights agreement as something of a community service.
"It's important for businesses to support entertainment in the community," Carlsen said. In addition, it would provide a marketing opportunity for Sleep Train "beyond the Kings - the circuses, the ice shows," he said.
Sleep Train has naming rights deals on two concert amphitheaters - one near Marysville and another in the Bay Area.
Power Balance put its name on the building in March 2011, replacing Arco, in what was supposed to be a five-year deal. But the company filed for bankruptcy last fall, and was sold to a Chinese firm that exercised its right to sever its contract with the Kings. Court records show that Power Balance paid the team just $700,000 toward the first-year contract price of $935,000.
In full, the contract was supposed to pay the team $9 million over five years.
Experts say it will be tough for the Kings to negotiate a lucrative deal because the building is aging and there's still uncertainty about the team's long-term future in Sacramento.
Nonetheless, Maloof said today's he's convinced the team can sign a good agreement. "We'll get a great deal, I'm sure, an outstanding deal," he said.
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