Dale Kasler, Ryan Lillis, and Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee report that a Seattle judge has rejected a lawsuit that would have challenged the legality of the arena plan the Chris Hansen-led ownership group has in place in the event that the Kings are sold to them and allowed to relocate. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, would have challenged the proposed arena's location, as well as the environmental regulations that it may have bypassed.
The report indicates, however, that those connected with the efforts to keep the Kings in Sacramento did not take this lawsuit seriously, and instead are relying on their own forthcoming offer to purchase the team from the Maloof family and prevent it from moving to Seattle. There has been no definitive announcement as to who is involved with the Sacramento group, but heavy speculation persisits that the primary investors are Ron Burkle and Mark Mastrov.
The Seattle group still faces a prospective lawsuit on behalf of Seattle taxpayers, questioning whether the city will make a profit on the publicly funded arena.