As widely
reported the Maloof’s have balked at paying 3.25 million dollars towards
arena pre-development costs, an amount they had previously agreed
to pay. The Maloof’s are claiming
the agreement to pay pre-development costs was non-binding, which may be true,
but this was obviously a term they were aware of since they agreed to include
it in the language of the term sheet negotiated in Florida, a term sheet that
also allows them to fund their portion of the arena by borrowing huge amounts
of money with the only collateral being future
arena profits.
With this move it has become abundantly clear the Maloofs have
serious financial problems. Given the self-avowed
wealth of the Maloofs, the 3.25 million dollar payment should not be an issue
considering the amount of money they stand to make off the arena. But now the Maloof’s are telling Fox 40’s Jim
Crandell, one of the loudest arena supporters, that,
“’[n]obody can afford [the arena] in its present form’” and when “[a]sked about
the family finances in general, [George] Maloof politely answered, "’Those
questions are unfair.’"
I’m not sure what makes George Maloof believe those
questions are unfair when the city and AEG are agreeing to build them a brand
new arena for their team to play in. I
think the family finances are of utmost importance and with this move it is now
clear the Maloofs have serious financial problems that need to be thoroughly
examined before the City Council agrees to spend any more money on the Arena.
[Update]
The latest
news is that the NBA has agreed to pay $200,000 in pre-development costs on
behalf of the Kings. As I previously
posted the NBA needs to make sure this deal happens so that it can continue
to keep Anaheim in play in future arena negotiations with other cities. This is purely a business move on the part of
the NBA and shows that they are concerned about the Maloof’s finances as well.
