Video, thoughts on last night's quarter-million-dollar Kings rally

Say what you want about arena subsidies, the NBA-ificiation of downtown, K.J., DeMarcus Cousins, Slamson—whatever:

Last night’s Long Live The Kings rally in downtown Cesar Chavez Plaza was pretty cool.

It better had been, given that two local concert promoters insisted the price tag was north of $250,000.

Yowza.

But don’t worry, fellow taxpayers: A spokesman with the Sacramento Kings didn’t have a figure for the total cost, but said that the NBA was picking up the bill.

Fans began lining up on J Street to enter the park by 3 p.m. At five, when the show began, the queue was nearly three blocks long at one entrance.

Organizers estimated 15,000. City police said upward of 10,000. I’ll tell you this: It was the busiest I’d seen Cesar Chavez ever (the only other event that rivaled its attendance was maybe that one time Deftones played Concerts in the Park).

Chris Webber and new Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé garnered massive applause, but Mayor Kevin Johnson took first place for loudest reception.

I’d never seen K.J. so pumped—he was kind of Ryan Seacrest meets Howard Dean in Iowa last night.

Sure, there was a mad dash to sell season tickets, and a lot of political posturing. 

But there’s a time to kill the vibe—last night was not that moment.

Anyway, enough from me; here’s video and photo proof:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our content is free, but not free to produce

If you value our local news, arts and entertainment coverage, become an SN&R supporter with a one-time or recurring donation. Help us keep our reporters at work, bringing you the stories that need to be told.

Newsletter

Stay Updated

For the latest local news, arts and entertainment, sign up for our newsletter.
We'll tell you the story behind the story.