Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson recently met with NBA Commissioner David Stern and other executives regarding his city's efforts to finance a new arena, and classified the talks as "productive conversation."
The meeting, which took place in New York, also involved Tim Leiweke, the AEG President who has expressed interest in operating a Sacramento-owned arena to house the Kings.
Mayor Johnson said in a statement he "made clear Sacramento's seriousness of purpose when it comes to developing a true public-private partnership" for a new arena.
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Stern has said the Kings will again explore relocation if there is no arena plan by March 1.
The Sacramento City Council has approved several preliminary measures to finance a new arena. Details of the final plan - and a vote - are not expected until at least February.
This offseason was a hectic one for the Kings. Owners Joe and Gavin Maloof, who have been pushing for a new downtown basketball arena for years, negotiated with the city of Anaheim in an effort to relocate the team south.
The news spurred a grassroots effort to keep the Kings in Sacramento that raised 800K towards a new arena. In concert with the city's response, Mayor Kevin Johnson presented to the NBA Board of Governors, convincing them to delay the relocation process.
NBA
The Board agreed to delay any relocation authorization one year, which will be up in March of 2012.
If the City Council is able to pass a plan to finance the new stadium in February, as expected, there will only be one month before the NBA Board's official delay is lifted.
The Associated Press contributed to this report