BROTHERLY LOVE BUILDING KINGS

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —  The Maloof family didn’t blink when it spent $240 million to buy the Sacramento Kings franchise.

It didn’t hesitate putting up $1 million to make sure the city of Sacramento didn’t lose the Gold Rush Classic--a senior PGA Tour event that has raised millions of dollars for local charities.

And when the Maloofs found out last season that children in the remote Alaskan village of Kaltag had fallen in love with the Kings--thanks to satellite dishes--the NBA team shipped hundreds of Kings’ T-shirts there.

Big or small, these millionaires love a challenge, and it’s rarely business as usual.

“We return every single phone call, every fan letter,” says Joe Maloof, who along with brother Gavin run the Kings franchise. “Not only is it morally responsible to return calls, it’s good business. You get some great ideas from the fans.”

Like making sure fans in wheelchairs have a clear view of the court at Arco Arena. Reacting to a fan’s complaint, Gavin Maloof had the ramp where wheelchairs are situated raised several inches.

“We’ve taken the attitude that this is their team, the community’s team,” Gavin said. “We just happen to be steering the ship.”

The Maloofs built a business empire in New Mexico through their dealings in banking, hotels, beer and liquor distributorships. They’ve also moved into the casino business in Las Vegas--starting out with their ownership of the Fiesta Hotel and Casino and now building a 2,000-room hotel and casino just west of the Strip that’s scheduled to open in December 2001.

But it’s the Kings that are the family’s biggest passion.

“It’s a rush,” says Joe Maloof. “When we first took over, we used to sweat every dribble.”

The Maloofs have achieved the same type of success with the Kings that they have with other business interests.

“It’s one of the great turnarounds in the history of sports,” said Joe Maloof during a recent interview in Albuquerque. “They had an article in Sports Illustrated a couple of years ago that ranked it as one of the worst franchises. Now, it’s probably one of the top three or four places in the NBA where players want to come. We’ve gone from 6,000 season ticket holders to about 14,000. Every game is sold out.”

The Kings’ stock on the court too has risen. They’ve made the playoffs the past two seasons and last season averaged 17,562 fans at home. That’s nearly 3,000 fans per game more than the season before the Maloofs took over ownership. On the road the Kings were the third best drawing team in the NBA last season, behind the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks.

“We’ve been on national TV 44 times in two years,” says Joe Maloof.

The formula, say the Maloofs, is simple. Take care of the players. Take care of the fans.

“It’s micromanagement,” said Gavin Maloof, who will often escort youngsters back to the Kings’ lockerroom after a game for autographs. “It’s person by person, fan by fan. It’s a throwback to how we were brought up to cater to people. Joe and I have been doing it all our lives.”

They spent some $5 million to renovate Arco Arena, including a new basketball floor.

“Then we went out and improved service,” Maloof said. “We got better food and of course put a better product on the floor.”

The Maloofs are trying to re-sign star forward Chris Webber, whose contract is up at the end of the season. If Webber doesn’t sign, it won’t be because of money, Maloof said.

“We’re going to pay him the max. We’re going to pay him more than any other team can pay him,” he said.

While the Maloofs’ roots remain in Albuquerque, they’re becoming increasingly involved in the Sacramento community. When the PGA considered taking the Gold Rush Classic elsewhere last year because the Senior event lost its primary sponsor, the family donated $1 million to keep it in Sacramento and have assumed ownership of the corporation that runs the tournament.

“The tournament had been here for 13 years and it was very close to being pulled,” said Neil Belknap, the tournament chairman. “We talked to the Maloofs and they made a decision to help keep the event in Sacramento. It means the continuation of a tournament that has generated in excess of $4 million for charities in and around the Sacramento area.”

John Kehriotis, a minor stockholder in the Kings, was in the small Alaskan village of Kaltag while on a hunting trip last year. He found out most of the kids in the village located about 300 miles west of Fairbanks had become fans of the Kings by watching them via satellite dishes. Kehriotis mentioned it to the Maloofs, and Joe and Gavin had hundreds of Kings T-shirts shipped to the village.

The Maloofs are no strangers to the NBA. They owned the Houston Rockets in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. The family sold the franchise in 1982, two years after the death of the family’s patriarch, George Maloof Sr.

The Maloofs say they realized soon after selling the Rockets they had made a mistake and when the opportunity to buy the Kings arrived, they jumped at it.

“After we sold the Rockets, it was heartbreaking. I never watched another NBA game until we bought the Kings,” said George’s widow, Colleen.