Former NBA Exec: Demolition almost never happened

The president of the Sacramento Kings basketball team was all smiles Friday morning as he shook hands with construction workers in the predawn hours.

Watch report:Demolition begins at Downtown Plaza to make room for arena

By 6 a.m., those workers would begin the demolition of the Downtown Plaza to make way for a new $477-million sports and entertainment complex for the Sacramento Kings.

Photos: Downtown Plaza demolition gets underway

It was a moment Friday morning that Chris Granger, current team president and former NBA executive, admitted he thought might never happen.

"I will tell you, there were weeks I didn't think it would happen when I was at the NBA," Granger said. "There were weeks I was (more) focused on how to get another market going than I was on Sacramento."

During a brief breakfast celebration for demolition crews in the moments before work began, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson recalled the ups and downs and threats of relocation and court challenges that preceded this moment.

"I think back to Orlando, during the All-Star weekend when we thought we had a done deal -- and then to have that fall apart, that was a low point," Johnson said.

And that is why Johnson said the start of demolition is "huge."

"When (Chris and I) first started working together on this, he had a full head of hair," Johnson said. "That tells you how hard we've been working.

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Former NBA Exec: Demolition almost never happened