NEW YORK -- Three months ago, the Sacramento Kings seemed on the verge of a move to Seattle after the team's majority owners secretly executed a deal that would land a record sale price to a deep-pocketed and respected group that promised a glittering new downtown arena.

On Monday, Sacramento overcame those long odds when an NBA ownership committee studying the situation unanimously voted against relocating the Kings. A formal vote of all 30 owners is scheduled for May 13 but sources told ESPN.com the full body is expected to ratify the recommendation of the seven owners from the relocation committee.

The move is a victory for Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson. In January, he had no competing ownership bid, no plan for a new arena after years of trying and no working relationship with the team's owners, the Maloof family.

But Johnson, who successfully staved off a bid to move the Kings to Anaheim in 2011, hastily assembled a strong counter-proposal that ended up winning over skeptical owners.

Moments after the league announced the committee's recommendation, Johnson wrote on Twitter: "That's what I'm talking about SACRAMENTO!!!!! WE DID IT!!!!!"

The decision is a loss for Seattle businessmen Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer, who had bid $365 million for 65 percent of the team and had made a separate deal with a bankruptcy court to pay $15 million for another 7 percent. They were also willing to pay millions more in relocation fees and arena development in a larger market.

Despite the recommendation, Hansen pledged to "move forward with the transaction" he signed with the Maloof family to buy and move the franchise anyway. In a post on his Seattle arena website late Monday night, Hansen said he plans to pitch the NBA Board of Governors when owners will vote on the issue.

"When we started this process everyone thought it was impossible," Hansen wrote. "While this represents yet another obstacle to achieving our goal, I just wanted to reassure all of you that we have numerous options at our disposal and have absolutely no plans to give up. Impossible is nothing but a state of mind."

Earlier, at a packed pep rally at a downtown restaurant, fans serenaded Johnson with chants of "Sac-ra-mento!" He called the recommendation a "big day for the city of Sacramento" but stopped short of declaring victory.

"We do not want to dance in the end zone. We do not want to celebrate prematurely," Johnson said.