Thousands of Sacramento Kings fans are turning out this evening to celebrate the team’s future here. Follow updates about the Long Live the Kings rally, with photos, here in this live blog. The rally is 5-9 p.m. at Cesar Chavez Plaza. Watch live streaming video at 5 p.m. at sacbee.com/live
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Thousands of Kings fans – plus a few former team legends and the core of the franchise’s new ownership group – are expected to converge on downtown’s Cesar Chavez Plaza Thursday afternoon for a rally celebrating the team’s future in Sacramento.

Robert Hidalgo photographs a Kings logo before the Sacramento Kings rally at Cesar Chavez Park on May 23, 2013, in Sacramento, Calif.

Garret Stickel and Brian Essad of bill Pursell Production hang scrim on the stage for the Sacramento Kings rally at Cesar Chavez Park on May 23, 2013, in Sacramento, Calif.

A crowd of supporters react to Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson during a new conference announcing the purchase of the Maloof’s ownership of the Sacramento Kings at City Hall in Sacramento on Friday, May 17, 2013.

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Kings assistant coach Bobby Jackson is one of the few links between the team’s best years and the recent lean times, so it makes sense that he will participate in Thursday’s rally at Cesar Chavez Plaza in downtown Sacramento.

Assistant coach Bobby Jackson, left, walking off the court with center DeMarcus Cousins after a Kings game, is a link to the team’s most successful era, having filled a key role as one of the best sixth-man guards in the league during his playing days.

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If you are one of the thousands of purple bleeders expected to descend upon Cesar Chavez Park tonight to celebrate the Kings staying in Sacramento, here’s some essential information that will help you navigate the closed streets and crowds:

Sacramento Kings fans support their team in a NBA basketball game at Sleep Train Arena on March 24, 2013 in Sacramento, Calif.

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There had been so much goodwill surrounding the Kings leading up to the NBA draft lottery Tuesday.

Paul Kitagaki Jr. pkitagaki@sacbee.com
Kashir Ali, 19, of Sacramento waits for the revealing of the Kings’ pick during a draft lottery party at Buffalo Wild Wings in Natomas. With the franchise in ownership transition, no officials from the Kings’ basketball operations attended the festivities.

Nick Gilbert, 16, son of Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert,brought home the No. 1 pick for the second time in the last three years.

Coach Keith Smart represented the Kings at the draft lottery in New York.

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If the thought of having their team renamed the SuperSonics and watching them play in Seattle wasn’t upsetting enough for Kings fans, it could have been worse.

Phil Jackson said he would have worked for Chris Hansen if Hansen had been allowed to purchase the Kings and move them to Seattle.

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The lineup is set for Thursday’s fan rally to celebrate the Kings’ future in Sacramento.

POWER FORWARD Chris Webber

Kings fans Dominique Adams, wearing a Chris Webber jersey, and Brianna James, right, wait with George John, left, wearing a Seattle SuperSonics Shawn Kemp jersey, at the Dallas hotel where the NBA board of governors met Wednesday.

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With coach Keith Smart representing the team at the NBA lottery selection tonight in New York City, the Kings drew the seventh pick for next month’s draft.

NBA basketball team representatives sit onstage at the start of the NBA draft lottery, Tuesday, May 21, 2013 in New York.

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The prospective owners of the Sacramento Kings are buying not only the team but also Downtown Plaza, where they and the city plan to build a new arena.

Fulcrum Property President Mark Friedman at the Downtown Plaza shopping mall in Sacramento on Tuesday, May 21, 2013. Mark Friedman, the son of the man who built Arden Fair Mall a generation ago, is poised to outdo his famous dad. Developer some of the region’s most urbane downtown lofts and midtown town homes, including the governor’s loft, Friedman has been chosen for what would be the biggest assignment of his life: Design and build a downtown sports and entertainment arena. Friedman is a minority member of the group that owns the Kings. He also long has been an urban life lover. He is excited, he says, about getting community members and design experts together to create a massive urban space, centered at 6th and K streets, to attract people from around the region for events both inside and outside the building

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Why are so many so angry over the Kings staying in Sacramento? Judging by online reaction of Bee readers, you would think someone had stolen their firstborn.

Bruce Maiman is a former radio show host who lives in Rocklin. Reach him at brucemaiman@gmail.com.

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