The Long Road West: How the Kings Found Their Home in Sacramento

The story of the Sacramento Kings is not merely a tale of a basketball team relocating from one city to another; it is a narrative of perseverance, community ambition, and the often-complicated relationship between professional sports franchises and the cities they call home. When the team officially moved to Sacramento in 1985, it was the culmination of a decade-long struggle for survival, a last-minute rescue by local business leaders, and the beginning of one of the most passionate fan bases in the NBA. To understand the significance of that move, one must first trace the franchise’s winding path through multiple cities, ownership changes, and near-certain extinction.

Origins of a Wandering Franchise: From Rochester to Kansas City

The franchise that would become the Sacramento Kings began life as the Rochester Royals, founded in 1945 as a charter member of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which later merged with the National Basketball League to form the NBA. The Royals won the NBA championship in 1951 behind the play of stars like Bob Davies and Arnie Risen. However, Rochester was a small market, and attendance was never robust. In 1957, the team moved to Cincinnati, where they became the Cincinnati Royals. Despite the presence of future Hall of Famers such as Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas, the team continued to struggle financially. In 1972, the franchise was sold and moved again, this time to Kansas City, Missouri, where they were renamed the Kansas City-Omaha Kings (playing a handful of games in Omaha before settling fully in Kansas City). The team’s name, “Kings,” was a nod to the city’s agricultural and monarchial nickname, but the franchise’s fortunes did not improve.

In Kansas City, the Kings played in Municipal Auditorium and later Kemper Arena, but they never consistently drew large crowds. Despite a promising young roster in the late 1970s and early 1980s—featuring players like Otis Birdsong, Phil Ford, and Scott Wedman—the team failed to capture the city’s heart in the way the Chiefs or Royals had. The confluence of the team’s mediocre performance, a struggling economy in the region, and an arena that was already outdated by NBA standards (Capacities under 17,000 and poor sightlines) led to declining attendance. By the 1982-83 season, the Kings were averaging fewer than 8,000 fans per game, among the lowest in the league. The franchise was hemorrhaging money, and the specter of relocation—or worse, contraction—loomed large.

The Financial Crisis and the Search for a New Home

By 1983, Kings ownership was actively exploring options to move the team. The primary owner at the time was a group led by Seymour “Red” Auerbach’s former partner, but the most vocal figure was a local businessman named Myron “Mickey” Schulhof. Schulhof had been part of the ownership group that bought the team in 1982, hoping to turn things around in Kansas City. However, when attendance and revenue continued to decline, Schulhof and his partners began looking elsewhere. Several cities expressed interest, including Minneapolis (where the Lakers had once played), Dallas (which would eventually get an expansion team), and even Toronto (though the NBA was not yet ready to expand to Canada). But one city stood out as an unlikely suitor: Sacramento, California.

Sacramento at the time was not considered a major sports market. The city was best known as the state capital, a government town with a population of just over 300,000 within the city limits and about 1.5 million in the greater metropolitan area. It had no major league sports franchises and little history of professional basketball beyond a few minor league teams. However, a group of prominent local business leaders and politicians saw the Kings as an opportunity to elevate the city’s profile and stimulate economic growth. Led by Sacramento developer and entrepreneur Greg Lukenbill, the group formed a coalition called “Sacramento Sports Association” and began a concerted effort to lure the Kings away from Kansas City.

Lukenbill, who had previously tried to bring a major league baseball team to Sacramento, understood that a professional sports franchise could serve as a catalyst for urban development. He worked closely with then-Mayor Anne Rudin and other city officials to put together a compelling package of incentives. The city offered a favorable lease arrangement at the existing Arco Arena (which had been built in 1983 for minor league hockey and concerts, and was expandable to 16,517 seats), as well as tax breaks and marketing support. Crucially, Sacramento promised to build a new arena within a few years if the Kings would commit to the city.

The Final Straw: The Sale and the Court Battle

The Kings’ ownership group in Kansas City was divided. Some wanted to stay and try to make it work, while others, particularly Schulhof, were eager to sell. In early 1985, the NBA Board of Governors approved the sale of the Kings to a group of investors from Sacramento, led by Greg Lukenbill, for a reported $32.5 million—a record price for an NBA franchise at the time. However, the deal nearly fell apart when a group of Kansas City investors, backed by the city’s political establishment, filed a lawsuit to block the move. They argued that the Kings had a contractual obligation to remain in Kansas City, and that the NBA had violated antitrust laws by approving the relocation without giving local investors a fair chance to keep the team.

The legal battle was intense and drew national attention. U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Stevens Jr. initially issued a temporary restraining order preventing the move, but the Kings and the NBA appealed. The case ultimately went to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which ruled in favor of the Kings and the NBA, allowing the move to proceed. In a landmark decision, the court held that the NBA’s relocation rules did not violate antitrust laws, and that the league had the right to approve franchise moves as it saw fit. The ruling cleared the way for the Kings to become the Sacramento Kings in time for the 1985-86 season.

The entire ordeal took just a few months, but it was a nerve-wracking time for Sacramento fans. On July 11, 1985, the NBA Board of Governors officially voted to allow the relocation, and the Kings boarded a plane to Sacramento—almost literally fleeing the Kansas City courts. The team arrived to a hero’s welcome at Sacramento Metropolitan Airport, where thousands of fans greeted them with signs and cheers. It was a moment of pure civic joy, captured in photographs and news reports of the era.

The New Arena: Arco Arena and the Birth of “The Cowbell Kingdom”

When the Kings arrived in Sacramento, they played their home games at Arco Arena (later known as Power Balance Pavilion and then Sleep Train Arena), an arena that had been constructed hastily in 1983 as a multi-purpose venue. The arena was not ideal for basketball—its seating capacity of 10,333 was the smallest in the NBA, and the building lacked many amenities. However, the fans made up for the lack of luxury. From the very first game, Sacramento’s crowds were loud, passionate, and loyal in a way that Kansas City fans had never been. The Kings’ fan base quickly became known as the “Cowbell Kingdom,” a reference to the cowbells that fans rang incessantly during games.

The team itself was far from a contender. In their first season in Sacramento (1985-86), the Kings finished 29-53, but the city didn’t care. The atmosphere at Arco Arena was electric, with sellout crowds regularly on hand. The team’s roster included players like Reggie Theus, LaSalle Thompson, and Terry Tyler, none of whom were superstars, but they represented the new identity of a franchise reborn. The Kings became a symbol of Sacramento’s determination to be a “big league” city, and the community embraced the team with an intensity that surprised even the league.

The success of the Kings in Sacramento also spurred the construction of a new arena. In 1988, just three years after the move, a new Arco Arena was built adjacent to the old one, this time with a seating capacity of 17,317 and state-of-the-art facilities. The new arena was financed through a combination of public bonds and private investment, a controversial move at the time but one that cemented the team’s long-term viability in the market. The Kings played in that arena until 2016, when they moved to the Golden 1 Center, a state-of-the-art downtown arena that had been financed largely through the team’s ownership group.

Impact on the Community and the NBA

The Sacramento Kings’ relocation had profound effects far beyond the court. Locally, the team injected a sense of pride and identity into a city that had long been overshadowed by its larger neighbors, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Kings became a unifying force, drawing together people from diverse backgrounds across the region. The team’s success—or lack thereof—became a constant topic of conversation, and the games became social events that defined the calendar. The Kings’ community outreach programs, including youth basketball clinics and charitable initiatives, further embedded the team into the fabric of Sacramento life.

At the national level, the Kings’ move demonstrated that a smaller market could not only support but thrive with an NBA franchise. This was a crucial lesson for the league, which was still grappling with the economic challenges of many of its smaller markets. The success in Sacramento encouraged other cities—such as Orlando, Charlotte, and Memphis—to pursue NBA expansion or relocation opportunities. It also forced the league to reconsider its approach to market size and fan engagement, showing that a passionate city could compensate for a lack of sheer population.

The Kings’ relocation also highlighted the role of local ownership in franchise stability. Greg Lukenbill and his partners were deeply committed to the community, which helped weather the storms of bad seasons and financial uncertainty. When Lukenbill sold the team in 1992 to a group led by Jim Thomas and Gavin Maloof, the new owners continued that philosophy, keeping the team in Sacramento through the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Maloof family, in particular, became closely associated with the Kings, but they eventually attempted to move the team to Anaheim in the early 2010s—a move that was blocked by the NBA and ultimately led to the sale of the team to a group headed by Vivek Ranadivé, who kept the Kings in Sacramento for good.

Challenges and Near-Disasters: The Kings’ Two Moves That Almost Happened

While the 1985 move was a success, the Kings’ stay in Sacramento was not always secure. In the years that followed, the franchise faced several existential threats, the most serious of which came in the early 2010s, when the Maloof family, facing financial difficulties, sought to move the team to Anaheim, California, or to Seattle, Washington. The proposed move to Anaheim was particularly contentious, as it would have violated the spirit of the original relocation deal and potentially left Sacramento without an NBA team. However, a coalition of local business leaders, led by Mayor Kevin Johnson, mounted a massive campaign to keep the Kings in town. They secured a commitment from the NBA to stay, and in 2013, a new ownership group led by Vivek Ranadivé purchased the team and vowed to build a new downtown arena.

This near-loss of the Kings triggered a deep sense of déjà vu for long-time fans, who remembered the frantic 1985 summer when the team first arrived. The 2013 crisis was ultimately resolved thanks to the same community spirit that had brought the team to Sacramento in the first place. The Golden 1 Center, which opened in 2016, stands as a testament to the city’s unwavering support for the Kings. It is a far cry from the cramped Arco Arena of the 1980s, and it symbolizes the team’s permanent roots in the city.

Legacy of the 1985 Move

The Sacramento Kings’ move in 1985 remains one of the most significant franchise relocations in NBA history. It saved a franchise that was on the verge of extinction and turned it into a beloved institution in a city that had no previous major league sports tradition. The move also reshaped the NBA’s understanding of market viability and fan passion. Few teams have experienced such a profound transformation in their identity as the Kings did when they left Kansas City for Sacramento. The team that was once a struggling afterthought in the Midwest became a proud symbol of California’s capital city, earning a reputation for having one of the most loyal and loudest fan bases in the league.

Today, the Kings represent not only a successful relocation case study but also a lesson in the power of community. The move was not a done deal; it was a hard-fought battle that required political will, legal maneuvering, and a leap of faith from thousands of fans who had never seen an NBA game before. The story of the 1985 move is a reminder that professional sports are as much about the people in the stands as they are about the players on the court. For Sacramento, the Kings are more than a team; they are a part of the city’s identity, a constant presence through good times and bad.

To further explore the impact of franchise moves on professional sports, readers can examine the most impactful franchise moves in NBA history or learn about the complete history of Kings relocation attempts. For those interested in the economic aspects of sports team incentives, the Brookings Institution provides analysis on stadium subsidies. Additionally, the NBA’s expansion and relocation timeline offers context on how the Kings’ move fit into larger league trends.

The Human Element: Key Figures in the 1985 Relocation

Behind every franchise move are individuals who pushed the deal through. Besides Greg Lukenbill and Mayor Anne Rudin, several others played crucial roles. Jerry Scheer, a local attorney and sports enthusiast, provided legal counsel to the Sacramento Sports Association. Kevin Johnson, later mayor himself, was still a young player in the NBA when the Kings moved, but he would play a pivotal role in saving the team decades later. On the Kansas City side, Myron Schulhof was instrumental in selling the team, despite fierce opposition from local politicians. NBA Commissioner David Stern was also deeply involved; he understood that the Kings needed a new home and worked behind the scenes to facilitate the move, recognizing that a team in Sacramento could serve as an important anchor for the league’s future growth.

Cultural Impact: How the Kings Defined a City

Before 1985, Sacramento was culturally defined by its government institutions and agricultural roots. The arrival of the Kings gave the city a new identity—a “big league” city that could attract and support professional sports. The team’s colors (purple, black, and silver) and logos became ubiquitous in the region. Local businesses, restaurants, and schools adopted the Kings’ spirit. The “Cowbell Kingdom” became a rallying cry, and the cowbell itself became an iconic symbol of Sacramento’s fan base. The Kings’ presence also spurred further development in the downtown area, particularly with the eventual construction of the Golden 1 Center, which has become a hub for entertainment and commerce.

Conclusion: A Move That Proved the Power of Passion

The Sacramento Kings’ move to Sacramento in 1985 was a high-stakes gamble that paid off in ways few could have predicted. It transformed a struggling franchise into a beloved community institution and proved that an NBA team could thrive in a smaller market when supported by passionate fans and dedicated local leadership. The story of that move is a vital chapter in the history of the NBA and a testament to the idea that where a team plays is just as important as how it plays. For Sacramento, the Kings are not just a basketball team—they are a defining part of the city’s identity, a story that began with a frantic summer in 1985 and continues to this day.

As the Kings now play in the modern Golden 1 Center, it is worth remembering the humble beginnings at the first Arco Arena and the fight that brought them there. The 1985 relocation remains a defining moment, not just for the franchise, but for the entire city of Sacramento. It is a reminder that in the world of sports, sometimes the most important wins happen off the court.