Want to follow Kings’ final Sleep Train Arena game? Here’s how
Anyone who has tried to go one way in a Sleep Train Arena concourse when everyone else is going the other way knows what an absolute good thing it is that the place is being shut down as a major-league sports venue.
A nearly complete Golden 1 Center, waiting to help transform downtown Sacramento and give the Sacramento Kings a gleaming new home, alone is reason for the city to turn on its collective heels and shake off the Sleep Train dust.
But despite myriad reasons justifying the antiquated venue’s demise, the final NBA game ever to be played there – Saturday night between the Sacramento Kings and Oklahoma City Thunder –has rightful claim on the city’s emotions. A significant part of the community has invested hope and aspirations to greatness, receiving in return glimmers of ultimate athletic achievement, visions of great talent and effort, as well as longs stretches of disappointment, discouragement and defeat. It’s been quite a relationship.
Several options exist for watching, listening to and otherwise following the 7:30 p.m. game. Here they are:
Getting tickets
As of Friday morning, tickets remained available on the ticket sales page of the Kings website. They don’t come cheap, ranging from standing-room-only passes ($50) to prime near-court locations ($800) to a couple of resale spots next to the Thunder bench ($9,500). Some, but not many, tickets scattered throughout the arena are in the $120-to-$290 range.
Watching on TV
The game will be broadcast on Comcast Sportsnet California (CSNCA), featuring play-by-play from Grant Napear and color analysis from longtime Kings icon Jerry Reynolds. Kayte Christensen provides sideline reports.
According to the CSNCA website, pregame broadcast begins at 7 p.m., with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m.
Listening on radio
Longtime broadcaster Gary Gerould provides play-by-play for KHTK 1140.
Online
A live blog featuring reports from The Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones and Ailene Voisin, as well as other courtside sources will be launched at 6:30 p.m. and run until after postgame acitivities, providing live updates, scores, highlights, observations and opinions before, during and after the game.
In addition, on Monday, Jones will host his weekly live chat, breaking down the preceding week and touching on Saturday’s arena curtain-dropper. That live chat begins at 11 a.m.
This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 12:29 PM with the headline "Want to follow Kings’ final Sleep Train Arena game? Here’s how."