Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed on Thursday said that the Hawks are "exploring three options for upgrading their home court, including renovating Philips Arena or building on the Civic Center site," according to Leslie & Tucker of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. Reed said that he "met once with the team’s new owners and repeated his willingness to consider a deal involving the use of public funds -- an option he brought up last year." Reed: "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.” Hawks CEO Steve Koonin would not comment on specific locations Thursday, but said the team’s new ownership “has looked at many sites in and around Atlanta and is working with the mayor on finding the right solution for the team in the city.” Leslie & Tucker note discussion of a new or renovated arena for the Hawks "comes at the same time that two other Atlanta pro sports franchises, the Falcons and the Braves, have new stadiums under construction." Both stadiums are being built "with the assistance of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money." New Hawks Owner Tony Ressler last month said Philips Arena “is not a top-quartile arena in America, in the NBA" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 7/24).
