The Nets catch a break in the middle of the East bubble battle

Memphis mayor Paul Young said this week that he hopes the city can sign a long-term lease agreement with the Memphis Grizzlies by the end of summer. A new lease agreement would almost certainly include finalized plans for a $550 million renovation of FedExForum. The Grizzlies’ current lease runs through 2029.

“We’re working toward getting to an agreement on the principals that go in a lease by the end of the summer,” Young said.

Young said he’s confident the city has secured the necessary $550 million to fund the renovations.

“Getting the dollar amount was certainly the first hurdle that we wanted to overcome, making sure that we have all of the dollars to actually execute the project,” Young said. “Then it was a matter of really working through what the lease is actually going to look like and what the terms are going to look like and our attorneys are continuing to work hard at getting all of those parameters in place.”