Seattle mayor checks in from New York for NBA pitch

Mayor Mike McGinn is hoping he can help convince the NBA to let Seattle area investors buy the Sacramento Kings and move the team north.

He’s in New York City right now, along with King County Executive Down Constantine and investor Chris Hansen. Together they’ll be making a pitch to members of the NBA Board of Governors about why the Kings should be moved.

“We’ll be making the pitch sometime in the late morning (April 3). We’ll just be there to talk to the NBA about the support Seattle has for a team,” McGinn told KIRO Radio’s Luke Burbank Show. “I’m not nervous…We’ll just go in and tell them the facts.”

The committee members will then make tentative recommendations for all of the league’s owners to consider when they ultimately decide whether to approve the sale of the Kings by the Maloof family, majority owners of the Kings, to Hansen’s group and allow the franchise to relocate. That vote is scheduled to take place at the NBA’s annual Board of Governors meeting April 18-19 in New York.

Last week, Hansen reached agreement to purchase an additional seven percent stake in the team from minority owner Bob Cook in bankruptcy court to boost his effort.

Sacramento will tout a plan of its own to buy the team and build a new arena partially funded by taxpayers, backed by billionaires Ron Burkle, Vivek Ranadive, and 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrove.

McGinn said Seattle is the perfect city for an NBA team.

“The fact of the matter is Seattle is rocking right now. Our economy is strong, the entertainment industry is strong, people want to be in Seattle,” he said.

The mayor said his schedule is tight in New York, but he may have time for a special treat.

“I’ve been thinking about the Reuben’s Deli. We’re not that far from it.”