Raptors Dissolve Arena Partnership

The on-again, off-again arena partnership in Toronto between the NBA’s Raptors and the NHL’s Maple Leafs is off again as the Raptors announced that they will build a 20,000-seat arena on their own at a long-ago purchased site near the city’s waterfront. Construction is to begin Wednesday. It is scheduled to be finished in February 1999--two years later than originally proposed. The hockey club didn’t like the Raptors’ site, nor its design, which will provide better sightlines for basketball. . . . Sacramento King owner Jim Thomas, hoping to get financial assistance from the city, has offered to pledge a $20-million piece of his team as collateral for a loan. A final City Council vote on the team’s future in Sacramento is scheduled for today.