City of Atlanta could pitch in $100-150 million in Philips Arena remodel

The Atlanta Hawks and the City of Atlanta continue to eye a significant remodel of Philips Arena and Mayor Kasim Reed says that a substantial amount of public money could be contributed to the project.

Mayor Reed recently told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the specific amount hasn't been determined but he is expecting $100-150 million to be dedicated to the process. Reed also indicated that he expected the deal to be in place during the first quarter of 2016.

"We have not settled on the number, but what we have looked at is our own capacity of what we can comfortably finance," he said in an hour-long meeting with AJC reporters and the newspaper’s editorial board. "We think that number is between 100 million and 150 million (dollars)."

Complete details of the planned renovation haven't been released but they are said to include the removal of the bank of luxury boxes that occupy one side of the arena. The entire project is expected to cost in the neighborhood of $250 million to $300 million.