SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramentos City Council on Tuesday approved a financing plan for the Kings NBA franchise, clearing the way for construction on a $477 million downtown arena. The council voted 7-2 on the package during a meeting that caps off the citys lengthy struggle to keep the team from moving to Seattle a year ago. Mayor Kevin Johnson declared "Long live the Kings" after the final vote, and the chamber erupted in cheers along with team owners. "We had our backs against the wall, but we defied the odds. We made a comeback for the ages and in doing so, I feel like we unleashed the very best that Sacramento has to offer," said Johnson, a former three-time NBA All-Star who maintains strong connections to the league. Under the 35-year deal, the city would be responsible for a $223 million subsidy, much of it financed through a parking revenue bond. The city would pay an estimated $21.9 million a year in debt service that would be paid through lease payments from the Kings and a projected increase in parking revenue. The city also is transferring $32 million worth of land and allowing the team to operate six digital billboards. In return, the Kings would contribute $254 million to construct the arena and develop surrounding land with a hotel, office tower and shopping. Construction on the crown-shaped sports facility will break ground this summer and open in time for the 2016-17 season. At the start of the council meeting, Kings President Chris Granger called it a historic day for the team and Sacramento region, saying the arena would serve as a hub for economic development. The project would bring 11,000 construction jobs and 4,000 permanent jobs, he said. "This is certainly bigger than basketball," Granger said. "But it doesnt just end there. At the very core, this project is about community." The NBA had told the city that it must open the arena by 2017 or risk losing the Kings. Former Kings owners George, Joe and Gavin Maloof considered moving the team to Las Vegas, Anaheim and Virginia Beach, Virginia, until announcing an agreement that called for investor Chris Hansen to buy the team and move it to Seattle. Johnson led the city in a fight to keep the Kings and got the City Council to approve a plan for a new arena. The Maloofs then sold the Kings to a group led by TIBCO Software Chairman Vivek Ranadive. The council approved a financing plan that allows for construction on the new sports and entertainment complex to replace an aging shopping mall a few blocks from the Capitol. The Kings have played in Sacramento since 1985 and currently play in the 26-year-old Sleep Train Arena, in the citys north end. Scott VandenBerg, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Sacramento and chairman of the board of the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau, told the council that the arena will support new and existing businesses by expanding tourism. "Just the speculation that an entertainment and sports complex was going to be approved has already helped improve the health of our downtown core," VandenBerg said. Council members who opposed the deal said that the projects economic benefits are overstated and fear the city isnt getting enough from a public subsidy. Councilman Darrell Fong said the arena adds too much debt. "I know my vote wont stop this deal," Fong said. "Believe me, I hope Im proven wrong." A majority, however, hailed Tuesday as a pivotal moment for elevating the citys reputation. "Its not just about a venue for entertainment and sports; its about the type of life that people get to have when they choose to live in our region," said Councilwoman Angelique Ashby. Critics unsuccessfully tried to block the citys subsidy with a petition drive that failed to qualify for the ballot. Opponents including Patrick Soluri, a Sacramento attorney, vowed to continue to fight. "The mayor and City Council no longer represent the interests of ordinary citizens," Soluri told the council. "Cronyism is running rampant, subsidies for the super-wealthy are handed out at the expense of working-class people and basic municipal services." Before the vote, the team sponsored a rally outside City Hall to show support for the project, drawing hundreds of fans, many of them dressed in purple, the teams colour. Wilmer Flores Jersey . This is the final meeting of the season between these teams.? The Capitals were 5-4 winners in a shootout Oct. Zack Wheeler Jersey . Best has been bothered by concussion problems and hasnt played since Oct. 16, when the Lions lost to San Francisco. After starting 5-0, Detroit has lost four of six, beginning with that game against the 49ers. http://www.metsrookiestore.com/Customized/ . -- The Chicago Bears say they have agreed to a one-year contract with centre Roberto Garza. Lenny Dykstra Jersey . Will Venable and Ryan Ludwick drove in a run each for the Padres, who have taken six of their last seven contests and clinched their third straight series win after winning the first two in this set. Clayton Richard (4-9) allowed five hits and a pair of runs over seven innings, while fanning five. Michael Conforto Jersey .Y. -- Mark Steenhuis scored four goals and added two assists to lead the Buffalo Bandits over the Toronto Rock 12-10 in National Lacrosse League action on Saturday. Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning runs the NFLs No. 1 offence. Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman is a key cog in the NFLs No. 1 defence. (Just ask him.) That intriguing matchup will be one of the main Super Bowl story lines when the AFC champion Broncos (15-3) play the NFC champion Seahawks (15-3) on Feb. 2 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. According to STATS, its the first NFL title game since 1991 pitting the team that scored the most points in the regular season against the team that allowed the fewest. Definitely no upstarts here. Providing quite a cap to the season, this marks only the second time in the last 20 Super Bowls that the No. 1 seed in each conference reached the NFL championship game. The only other such matchup since 1994 also involved Manning: His Indianapolis Colts lost to the New Orleans Saints in 2010. Manning does own one Super Bowl title already, having led the Colts past the Chicago Bears in 2007. Already the only four-time NFL MVP -- and expected to earn a fifth such honour when awards are announced the night before the Super Bowl -- Manning can become the first starting QB to win titles with two franchises. "Hes been remarkable," said Denvers John Fox, one of six coaches to take two clubs to the leagues title game. "Its unprecedented what he did." In a 26-16 victory over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game Sunday, Manning was pretty much flawless, going 32 of 43 for 400 yards with two touchdowns. "Peyton played great today," Brady acknowledged. And now, inevitably, the two-week buildup until the Super Bowl will be mainly about Manning, just as this entire season has. He is, after all, the player who set NFL records by throwing for 55 touchdowns and 5,477 yards, helping Denver lead the league with 37.9 points and 457.3 yards per game. He is, already, an inescapable pitchman, seen Sunday after Sunday during TV commercials. Hey, there he was on the screen, selling cars, during the broadcast of the NFC title game. Expect even more face time now. Mannings oft-told tale, certain to be repeated a million times in the coming days, includes his comeback from a series of surgical procedures to his neck, attempts to cure problems that led him to sit out the entire 2011 season and led the Colts to send him packing. Against the Patriots, Mannings offence scored on six consecutive possessions, accountted for more than 500 yards, had zero turnovers and zero sacks.dddddddddddd Ol No. 18s opposite number in two weeks, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, provides a real contrast as he seeks his -- and the Seahawks -- first Super Bowl trophy. The 6-foot-5 Manning is 37, in his 16th NFL season, a prototypical pocket passer who was a No. 1 overall draft pick after a stellar college career. Wilson is 6 inches shorter, 12 years younger, a skilled scrambler in only his second pro season after slipping to the third round of the draft; hes a guy who had to transfer colleges to get playing time and thought about pursuing a baseball career instead. Clearly, Wilson picked the right sport. "Any time you get to the Super Bowl," Wilson said after Seattle beat the San Francisco 49ers 23-17 on Sunday, "its a special time." Seattles defence, led by Sherman, allowed an average of 14.4 points and 273.6 yards this season, both best in football. That unit also led the NFL in takeaways. On Sunday, the Seahawks forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter alone, including a victory-sealing interception by linebacker Malcolm Smith after Sherman stretched his left hand to tip Colin Kaepernicks pass away from receiver Michael Crabtree in the end zone. "Im the best corner in the game," said Sherman, an All-Pro. "When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, thats the result youre going to get." Seattles only other trip to the big game ended with a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006. Denver will be playing in its seventh Super Bowl and eyeing a third title, to go with those from 1998 and 1999. Manning can match his younger brother Eli with a second Super Bowl crown. Eli, a spectator on Sunday in Denver, won two trophies with the New York Giants, whose stadium hosts this years game. In addition to Wilson, other members of the Seahawks getting the chance to introduce themselves to a wide audience include rugged running back Marshawn Lynch -- some fans tossed packs of his favourite candy, Skittles, onto the field after a 40-yard TD run in the third quarter -- and coach Pete Carroll, a rah-rah sort who was a title-winning college coach at Southern California. And maybe some of Mannings less-heralded defensive teammates -- the ones who clamped down on New Englands running game Sunday and limited Brady much of the afternoon -- will get their chance to shine, too. ' ' '