NBA

Russian tycoon eyes deal with Nets

The Nets have been looking for additional funding to help with their proposed arena construction in Brooklyn, and they may have found it . . . in Moscow of all places.

Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is considering a deal with Bruce Ratner’s team, just as Ratner approaches a deadline to maintain his Brooklyn efforts.

Igor Petrov, spokesman for the tycoon’s investment vehicle Onexim, told The Associated Press yesterday that “there is a possibility” Prokhorov would participate in the construction of the new arena.

Petrov declined further comment.

Russia’s leading business daily, Kommersant, reported yesterday that as part of a deal, Prokhorov would provide a loan for the Nets and receive a large stake in the club in return.

Ratner faces a crucial December deadline for his plan, which includes the arena to be built in time for the Nets to play there in 2011. The construction needs to break ground by then or lose access to the tax-free bonds financing much of the project.

Ratner unveiled a revamped plan for the arena last week, the second new one since the project’s original architect, Frank Gehry, was jettisoned because his $1 billion design was too expensive.

Prokhorov, who owns a share in the Russian basketball team CSKA, has been ranked as the country’s richest man in the Russian edition of Forbes, with an estimated fortune of $9.5 billion.

While most of his Russian peers saw their industrial empires crumble and lined up for state bailouts, Prokhorov had cashed out of some lucrative assets before the downturn battered commodity markets.

The Nets, who have been cutting costs, still play at The Meadowlands, and will open the regular season next month.