Sacramento Kings' potential buyers to be revealed Thursday, according to report

The identities of local investors interested in purchasing the Sacramento Kings franchise in keeping the team in Sacramento will be revealed Thursday in Mayor Kevin Johnson's "State of the City" address, according to Steve Large of CBS-13.

As Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty notes, billionaire grocery mogul Ron Burkle and 24-Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov are expected to be the "whales" Johnson has referred to as potential local bidders in past weeks.

The Seattle-based investment group headed by Chris Hansen officially filed papers to the league earlier this month as part of a proposal to move the franchise from Sacramento to Seattle, but Mayor Johnson has fought hard to line up a group of investors willing to match the offer and prevent the Kings from being uprooted.

For more on this story, visit Sactown Royalty

Johnson's State of the City is scheduled for Thursday, 5:30 p.m. local time in Sacramento at the Memorial Auditorium, and live webcasts will be available. Sactown Royalty will have complete coverage of the event, and all the latest developments are covered here.

Johnson and the city of Sacramento are preparing to present their plan to keep the Kings in Sacramento in April, and on Tuesday the city council authorized staff to negotiate an arena deal with the local prospective buyers.

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