NBA: Atlanta Hawks begin renovation of Philips Arena, includes "Courtside Club and Hawks Bar"

The Atlanta Hawks franchise (NBA) began its renovation work on the Philips Arena (21,000 capacity) on 20/06/2017. The renovation will allow the franchise to offer the first "Courtside Club and Hawks Bar" in the NBA, an open bar with direct access to the arena floor, behind one of the two baskets. The future Philips Arena will also offer a hairdressing salon, "The Swag Shop", with a view of the court, new seats, a new meeting and conference centre, which will include two Topgolf simulators - "Topgolf Swing Suites".

The cost of the renovation will be $192.5m (about €169m) according to the US agency Associated Press. $110m (€96.5m) will be financed by the revenue from the vehicle rental tax collected at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta and $32.5m (€28.5m) by the proceeds from the sale of the Turner Field stadium (49,586 capacity) to the Georgia State University. The Atlanta Hawks franchise will provide the remaining $50m (€43.8m).

The Philips Arena will be closed for four months until the start of the 2017-18 NBA season, scheduled on 20/10/2017. The renovation…