Maloof

July 3, 2004

Maloof family helps fund
Cathedral restoration

Gavin, left, and Joe Maloof, owners of the Sacramento Kings, announce a $100,000 donation to help fund the restoration of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament during a press conference June 18.
Cathy Joyce/
Herald photo

By Nancy Westlund
Herald staff

The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament’s restoration project has received a significant boost as the recipient of the $100,000 George J. Maloof Sr. Community Cup donation.

Joe and Gavin Maloof, sons of George Maloof Sr., and owners of the Sacramento Kings, presented the donation during a June 18 press conference on the steps of the Cathedral in downtown Sacramento.

“Giving back to the Sacramento community is very important to our family and our organization,” said Joe Maloof, co-owner of Maloof Sports and Entertainment. “We feel we are honoring our father’s beliefs in the importance of giving back to the community in which we live and work.”

Generated with proceeds from the Kings first home exhibition game, the Community Cup donation is the most recent of more than $1.5 million in donations the Maloofs have made to Sacramento charities since 1999.

The Maloof contribution kicks off a second phase of solicitations seeking $10 million from the business community for the Cathedral restoration. The projected cost for restoring and upgrading the Cathedral is approximately $32 million.

Of that, $10 million is coming from the capital campaign conducted throughout the diocese in 2002, $10 million is from diocesan reserves and $2 million is being paid by the Cathedral parish.

At the press conference, former Sacramento Mayor Anne Rudin, a member of the Cathedral fund-raising committee, spoke of the historic and community value of restoring the Cathedral.

“Sacramento has only a few buildings that have survived from the 1800s and the Cathedral is one of them,” she said. “Its significance goes beyond its religious value. It is an architectural jewel.”

Gavin Maloof said partnership with the Cathedral in its restoration project “symbolizes what our community can accomplish when we work together.”

Several members of the Maloof family attend Mass at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and have generously supported Catholic projects in New Mexico where they have lived.

Dave Higgins, co-chairman of the Cathedral fund-raising committee, said the Maloof donation reflects heightened interest in the project by businesses in the Sacramento region.