Atlanta Hawks, City discussing plans to remodel Philips Arena

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and the Atlanta Hawks are working on a plan to make significant modifications to Philips Arena. The proposed plan could cost up to $250 million although the exact details of how much the city would kick in have not been finalized according to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"We will retrofit Philips. That is the agreement. The discussion is about the number," Reed said, referring to the total cost of a substantial Philips renovation, not just a public amount.

There have been rumblings that members of Tony Ressler's ownership group were not happy with Philips Arena in its current state. One part of the renovation would be the elimination of the wall of suites that occupies one side of the arena. It would also entail connecting some corridors that are disjointed and would more efficiently accommodate game day traffic.

There are already cosmetic upgrades going on at the arena currently. Many of the colors are being updated in the hallways to reflect the team's new color scheme. The player's locker room is also receiving significant upgrades to bring it more up to par with those at other NBA facilities.

The important part of these type of deals is how much public money will be kicked in as part of the project. However, it appears the city has an agreement with the Hawks to remain downtown at Philips Arena and the talk of a new facility should go away at least for now.