Milwaukee Alderman Bob Bauman said that Bucks co-Owners Marc Lasry and Wes Edens "hope to identify a site for a new multipurpose arena in the next three or four months," according to Don Walker of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. Bauman and Common Council President Michael Murphy "met Friday at City Hall" with Edens, who also "had a separate private meeting with Mayor Tom Barrett" and a meeting with county exec Chris Abele. Bauman: "They have a very tight timetable. They want to have a site identified in three or four months. Then they want to do the engineering and design. Then they will focus on the financials." Edens said that the meetings "were the first prolonged sessions he has had with elected leaders about the arena process." Barrett in recent days has said that the downtown area east of the Milwaukee River "has become a hot spot for development and housing." He hopes that he will "accomplish the same thing west of the river and has hopes a new arena and ancillary development will provide that spark." Barrett said that he told Edens the city "would assist the Bucks owners in locating the best site for the arena." Murphy said that Edens told him the estimated $400-500M financing package "needed to build an arena ... would require some form of public support." Murphy said that with this in mind, he "told Edens the city could not bear the burden of providing some kind of tax support alone" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 8/2).
SHOVELS IN THE GROUND: In Sacramento, Dale Kasler noted work "finally began" on Friday for the Kings’ new $477M arena. Mayor Kevin Johnson and Kings President Chris Granger "made brief speeches to a crowd of about 100 construction workers outside the south end of the mall, and a few minutes later the project got underway." Before getting to work, demolition crews "donned purple hard hats and posed for pictures with the Kings’ mascot Slamson, outfitted in a tool belt" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 8/1).
