Sacramento has "shot" to keep Kings from moving

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The proposed bid of 24-Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov and billionaire Ron Burkle to purchase the Sacramento Kings and construct a downtown arena has a chance to challenge a Seattle ownership's group to move the franchise.

Mastrov and the local investors' bid is "slightly lower," than the $341 million that the Chris Hansen-Steve Ballmer group has agreed to pay for the available 65 percent of the Kings, a high-level source involved in the talks told Yahoo! Sports on Thursday night.

"They have a shot," the source said. "It's still a long shot, but the bid will be close enough to cause real debate."

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Burkle and the city have agreed on a deal to construct a new arena in the city's downtown. Johnson recruited $20 million in local investors to purchase 7 percent of the Kings' ownership stake available in bankruptcy court, as well as $50 million in business sponsorships over the next five years for the franchise.

Johnson and the ownership group have to convince NBA owners to vote against the ratification of the Maloof-Seattle agreement at the league's April 18 Board of Governors meeting in New York.

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