Sacramento Kings relocation a mistake

The Sacramento Kings, a team with a history of team relocation, are again considering a move, this time from their home of 35 years in Sacramento.
The owners of the NBA franchise have recently been granted a six-week extension to the deadline for relocation application.
Highest on the list of possible relocation targets is the southern Californian city of Anaheim.
According to reports, the owners have recently received a relocation loan offer of $100 million from the owner of the Anaheim Ducks (NHL) and the Honda Center, Henry Samueli.
Aside from the obvious financial incentives, a move to the area would provide almost no benefits to the owners.
The Kings (currently at a depressing 15-46 record) would have to compete with the perennial powerhouse Lakers and the up and coming Clippers, who are both located at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, less than 45 miles from the Honda Center.
There aren’t many in the area, the country or the world that would rather watch a Kings game than a Clippers or Lakers game. This dilemma begs an obvious question.
Why would the Kings management move to what would essentially be a small market?
The unfortunate answer for Kings fans in Sacramento and NBA fans from Seattle to Las Vegas and Kansas City is that the owners are in deep financial problems.
Unfortunately for diehard fans in Seattle, they will once again be robbed of a team (or at least a shot at one) because the city can’t find a reason to fund a stadium development.
For the league in general, it must be disappointing that they won’t be able to break into NBA-ready markets such as Kansas City, St. Louis, Vancouver and Pittsburgh or into a potential market such as Las Vegas.
A move to Anaheim next year would mean that the team would share the Honda Center with current tenant, the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL.
An interesting dilemma created by a possible move is that the closest and greatest rival of the Ducks, is the Los Angeles Kings.
Even more interesting is that fact that the Kings of the NBA and the Kings of the NHL both share the logo colours of purple and black.
This means that if the Kings were to move to Anaheim they would have to change names (Anaheim Royals being a likely option) and quite possibly colours, which would only further remove them from their proud history as a storied NBA franchise.
Any relocation application must be submitted to the league by mid-April, giving owners enough time to consult with the team’s board of governors in early April.
If the Kings do, in fact, move to Anaheim for season 2011-12, then it will be a disappointing result for nearly everyone involved.
All we can do is hope that the owners put off a move until after labour negotiations this summer and that, perhaps next year, the Sacramento area, or indeed areas like Pittsburgh and Kansas City, will be more economically viable.