Here We Stayed (Updated)

The Sacramento Bee and the Orange County Register are both reporting that the Sacramento Kings will not file for relocation and will in fact stay in Sacramento. Fist the report from the OC Register.

Despite months of negotiations with Anaheim arena officials that pushed the Sacramento Kings to the brink of relocating in Anaheim, the Maloof family has at least temporarily abandoned its plans to move to Orange County because of opposition to the move by the NBA.

Officials from Anaheim Arena Management, which had been in relocation negotiations with the Maloofs since September, were told of the family's decision early Monday morning.

The NBA is expected to issue a statement Monday morning announcing that the franchise will remain in Sacramento and not submit an application to move by Monday's twice-delayed relocation deadline. A statement from the Kings is expected to follow.

From the Sacramento Bee:

It's official. The Kings are staying.

After weeks of political drama and speculation, team officials said this morning they are dropping plans to move to Anaheim this year, co-owner George Maloof told The Bee.

"We are heading back to Sacramento. It was a tough decision. Ticket holders were reaching out to us, and it was the right thing to do to give it a shot at one more season," Maloof said.

The move comes just six hours before a league-imposed 2 p.m. deadline for the team to file a formal request to the league to relocation the team for the coming season.

Update: The Maloofs have confirmed they are staying but they're also saying Sacramento will go down this road again if an arena plan isn't approved by 2012.

"Out of respect to Kings fans and the regional business community, we have decided to remain in Sacramento for the 2011-12 season. The fans’ spirit and energy, specifically our season ticket holders, has been remarkable and we are truly thankful for their loyalty. We also are greatly appreciative of the support from our corporate sponsors as well as other local businesses that have come forward in recent weeks.

Additionally, we would like to take this opportunity to send a heartfelt thank you to the loyal and hardworking team members within our organization. From the game night staff to the front office, coaches, and players, we are grateful for their professionalism and devotion.

During this process, Mayor Johnson has strongly indicated to both the community and the NBA that he is capable of getting the support to build a state-of-the-art entertainment and sports facility that the Sacramento Region and the tremendous Kings fans so rightly deserve. We look forward to seeing Mayor Johnson bring his vision to reality. However, if an arena plan cannot be finalized in a timely fashion, the NBA¹s relocation committee has assured Maloof Sports and Entertainment that it will support an application to move the franchise to another market starting in 2012-13."

Nice of the Maloofs to still be jackasses. I can't really expect them to be classy in this moment when they haven't been classy with Sacramento through this entire process. Sacramento does need an arena though and now more than ever it needs to be built. 

For more updates follow Sactown Royalty. I'll update this blog after the announcement at 10AM PT.