Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed: I'm willing to spend public money on new Hawks arena

Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed is willing to contribute public funds to help ensure the Atlanta Hawks remain in his city.

The Hawks play in Philips Arena, a 16-year-old venue that opened in 1999. That's too outdated for the Hawks' new ownership group, headed up by Antony Ressler.

"There’s do-nothing. There’s remodel. Or there’s a new arena," Ressler said when his group took over in June. "Do-nothing is not an option."

Therefore, the Hawks are eyeing three potential options: they can upgrade the Philips Center, renovate the Civic Center, or break ground on a new arena at an undisclosed Atlanta location.

To that end, Reed is willing to consider a deal involving the use of public funds, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitutional's Katie Leslie.

"What I’m willing to do is come to the table with a plan that makes sense and is fair to the people of Atlanta," Reed said. "I’m not closed to participating in a reasonable plan to make sure that the Hawks remain in the city and that’s what I expressed in our meeting."

Aside from the wishes of ownership, there's no great pressure on the Hawks to address their arena situation. The current bond agreement ties the Hawks to the Philips Center for another seven years. In order to break the agreement, the Hawks would have to pay off the remainder of their bonds on the arena and an additional early termination penalty. Altogether, that would cost nearly $200 million.

Furthermore, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated in January he wants to see the Hawks stay put. Therefore, it would appear that leverage favors the city of Atlanta in this case.

- With h/t to Pro Basketball Talk