A consultant familiar with the Kings' finances said the team is losing about $8 million a year. The losses would be higher, except that the Kings operate with the lowest player payroll in the league – around $44 million in the just-concluded regular season.

Such a business model isn't sustainable over the long haul. With a chronically low player payroll, the organization "just withers on the vine," said this consultant.

A new arena in Sacramento would significantly improve the Kings' finances; the Maloofs told an NBA consultant in 2009 that a new building would be worth more than $13 million a year in additional revenue from luxury suites and other amenities.

In a late move to land the Kings, Orange County billionaire Henry Samueli has offered to increase his personal loan to the team from $50 million to as much as $75 million, and has offered to buy a minority stake in the organization.

Samueli, owner of the Anaheim Ducks hockey team, also has agreed to make far more costly improvements to Anaheim's Honda Center, which he manages, to bring that facility up to NBA standards.

Originally, Honda Center officials had planned to spend $25 million on upgrades. That figure has jumped in the last few days to $70 million, center officials said Thursday afternoon.

Kings co-owner Joe Maloof declined to comment when reached Thursday evening.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, business leaders and fans have done all they could in the past few months to prevent the Kings from relocating to Anaheim.

The final and perhaps most critical step came Tuesday, when the corporate community handed NBA representatives deposits on more than $10 million in sponsorship pledges for the Kings to stay at least another year, according to an ESPN.com report.

"Today is another historic day in Sacramento," Johnson said. "The NBA had said to Sacramento, 'Show me the money.' And today, we're doing just that. We're making a down payment on the future of the Sacramento Kings and this being their permanent home."

Mayor Kevin Johnson is coordinating a meeting between local corporations and NBA representatives on Tuesday during which companies will agree to make deposits on their sponsorship and ticket commitments to the Sacramento Kings.

With the deposits, officials are seeking to solidify $10 million in corporate pledges gathered by the mayor and the local business community.

Details of the meeting are still being worked out, but it is expected to be held Tuesday morning and be followed by a press conference. At least 30 business representatives are expected to attend the meeting.

NBA officials now expect the Kings to play next season in Sacramento, league executives told The Times on Friday.

Whether the team, which was about to seek permission to move to Honda Center in Anaheim, stays in Sacramento beyond next season remains to be decided.

That will depend on city and county officials and local businesses redeeming the pledges made by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson before the NBA's relocation committee last week in New York, including support for a new downtown arena.

A minority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers confirmed the team's lead owner, Jerry Buss, has been actively opposing a Kings' move.

"Dr. Buss has led the charge on this," said Tim Lieweke, president of AEG, the company that runs the Staples Center arena in Los Angeles. "We are on the same page as doc."

"I question whether or not this is the best move for the league. I am hoping they go look at other alternatives, including can they solve the problem in Sacramento."

NBA staffers will be in Sacramento on Monday to conduct in-depth research on the region's ability to financially support the Kings next season, two sources close to the negotiations told The Bee on Thursday.

NBA officials declined to comment Thursday on the visit.

The NBA has given the Kings a deadline of May 2 to file a relocation request. The league's board of governors, made up of the 30 team owners, would make the final decision by majority vote.

A pair of National Basketball Association representatives will come to Sacramento on Thursday to meet privately with the mayor, city officials, select business leaders and Kings representatives.

Oklahoma City Thunder owner Clay Bennett and NBA attorney Harvey Benjamin will be the representatives sent by David Stern.

Mayor Kevin Johnson persuaded the NBA to make a visit, claiming the city is working on developing a "clear path" toward building a new sports and entertainment facility downtown. The NBA wants more corroboration of those claims.

The United Auburn Indian Tribe has pledged $1 million to help keep the Kings in Sacramento.

The investment is part of the $7 million that Mayor Kevin Johnson is raising from businesses in the Sacramento region as he attempts to demonstrate that the area can support an NBA franchise. The Kings are contemplating a move to Anaheim.

Doug Elmets, a tribe spokesman, said Tuesday that his clients were moved to invest $1 million because they were very impressed by Johnson in a presentation the Sacramento mayor made to tribal leaders at Thunder Valley Casino Tuesday morning.

NBA Commissioner David Stern said Friday the league is extending until May 2 the deadline for the Kings to request a move to Southern California.

Sacramento is trying to save the Kings with a new arena plan.

Stern said other NBA owners still have an "incomplete" understanding of the Anaheim deal, which he said has changed within the past few days. 

"It was sort of like a timeout, this is difficult, let's take some time here to better understand it," Stern said. He later added the Honda Center, where the Kings would play, needs "substantial" upgrades to support the NBA.

Anaheim officials professed not to be bothered by the delay.

"We are very excited and confident that as they learn about Honda Center, they will see the virtues of a team in Anaheim," said Michael Schulman, chairman of the firm that runs the arena.