Raleigh arena's cost continues to rise

RALEIGH — The cost of Raleigh's sports and entertainment center continues to climb.

Members of the Centennial Authority have announced that the rising price of the arena is going up again, this time by about 20 million dollars. That puts the price tag at 152 (m) million dollars, and it raises the question of how the authority will raise the extra cash.

Authority Chairman Steve Stroud says the price increase reflects construction delays caused by wet weather. He says since construction began, there have been 60 bad-weather workdays.

Last June, the authority worked out a 132 (m) million-dollar package. Stroud says the authority will have to go out and find more money. Raleigh Mayor Tom Fetzer says he won't commit any more money to the project.

(Copyright 1998 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)