Leiweke Promises Ticket Guarantee

Renewal orders for King season tickets won’t be due until about June 21, opening day of the NHL entry draft, to give fans a few weeks longer than usual to assess the club’s off-season moves, team President Tim Leiweke said.

Leiweke also said that if season-seat subscribers don’t like what they see on opening night next season, they can return their tickets for a full refund.

“We’re going to get better on the ice, we’re going to get better off the ice,” Leiweke told a group of about 400 fans before Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins pushed the Kings a step closer to elimination from the playoff chase. “We know we’ve got to prove it to you because we’ve had a disappointing year, but we will not run, we will not leave. We will step up. We will prove to you we are committed to this organization long term.”

Despite urging from several fans, however, Leiweke reiterated that the Kings were not interested in pursuing high-priced unrestricted free agents and will continue focusing on drafting, developing and trading for players.

“At some point or another, give us credit for losing $100 million,” he said, referring to the club’s financial woes, “and [investing] $400 million privately to finance [Staples Center]. We’re not cheap. We’re not trying to [cheat] you out of a great, competitive team.”

-- Jerry Crowe