King Check Is (Nearly) in the Mail : Hockey: Fans due playoff ticket refunds can expect them soon after financing agreement with team is worked out.

King season-ticket holders, who have been waiting more than two months for playoff refunds, could receive their money as early as next week after a more than $6-million financing agreement was reached Wednesday.

An 11-hour meeting in New York resulted in an arrangement for interim financing for the Kings from Bank of America, guaranteed by prospective buyers Philip F. Anschutz and Edward P. Roski Jr. The final amount of financing has not been determined but could be as much as $10.5 million, based upon the team’s most pressing financial obligations.

Last month, the NHL’s board of governors approved the proposed financing in principle, but the deal had stalled. Wednesday’s transaction differs in that it does not involve any change in ownership.

Taking care of angry fans--owed $1.5 million in all--was a priority at the meeting. For the last few weeks, fans have been calling and sending irate letters and faxes to the Kings as well as The Times, pointing out that there was at least a six-week delay in refunds last summer as well. The unprecedented postponement has angered league officials.

The NHL does not have a specific policy regarding postseason refunds, nor does the NBA or NFL. But teams typically return money within a couple of weeks after the season. The Kings played their final game on May 3.

“This was a very constructive meeting, largely due to the personal involvement of [NHL Commissioner] Gary Bettman,” said Rick Wynne of Wynne Spiegel Itkin, bankruptcy counsel for L.A. Kings, Ltd. and Bruce McNall.

“He is determined that the situation be positively resolved and that no more Band-Aids be applied.”

Said King chairman Joseph Cohen: “It was the first time all the parties were in the same room, believe it or not.”

Also at the meeting were NHL legal counsel Jeffrey Pash, representatives for Anschutz and Roski, lawyers for Bank of America and bankruptcy trustee R. Todd Neilson, who controls 28% of the Kings.

Those attending the meeting said Bettman was adept at getting the disparate interests on the same page--a framework at getting 100% of the Kings sold as soon as possible.

“It was what was needed,” a source said. “They [Bank of America] have a large stake in the asset. They’re going to want it to be as healthy as possible. And MAV [Anschutz and Roski] get first dibs on the deal. They get to structure the deal where other people would have to overbid them to get it.”

There are different estimates of how long it will take to sell the team. Some range from as little as two weeks to anywhere from 45 to 60 days.

“The goal is to get it sold now,” said a source familiar with the negotiations. “Everyone wants to put an end to it now. If there is to be a reorganization, let’s work to do it now--not during the season in February.”

But the list of potential buyers was described by one source as “not an exhaustive one,” because of the massive debt load on the team. That debt is said to be in excess of $100 million, possibly as high as $120 million.

Laker and Forum owner Jerry Buss, who once owned the Kings, holds the team in a long-term lease and has escalated his effort to purchase the faltering franchise. He has been linked to an investment group including Hollywood Park Chairman R.D. Hubbard and Vice Chairman Harry Ornest and Magic Johnson.

Another potential ownership group includes former Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman Peter Guber and Los Angeles investment banker Gary Winnick.