LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A day after visiting St. Louis, Charlotte Hornets co-owner Ray Wooldridge said Louisville is still his "primary choice" for relocating the NBA team.

Wooldridge met Thursday with members of Louisville's Board of Aldermen to take questions on a preliminary financing plan for a downtown arena, released Tuesday by Mayor Dave Armstrong.

The $250 million plan calls for the Hornets to pay more than a third of the cost. It also calls for the Hornets to not only oversee construction of the $188.5 million arena, but also be responsible for cost overruns and other liabilities.

Wooldridge called the plan "skeletal," but said it was acceptable to him at this point.

The plan was put together by the Goal Group, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm that helped Memphis, Tenn., land the Vancouver Grizzlies last summer.

The board was scheduled to vote Monday on whether to pay the firm a $50,000 contract to continue its work.

Board President Steve Magre said if the contract is defeated, the city's courtship of the Hornets will end. But at least seven members of the 12-member board said Thursday they would approve the contract.

Alderman George Unseld, the brother of former NBA player Wes Unseld, was ready to vote for the contract Tuesday, when Magre tabled it to give the board time to examine the arena plan.

"I like the idea of an NBA team in this city," Unseld said. "I like what it does to cities. We need to follow this through to the end."

The plan calls for the city to issue $259 million in taxable and tax-exempt bonds, and the bond issue would come before a merger of the city and county governments takes effect in January 2003.

On Wednesday, Wooldridge met with Bill Laurie, who owns the St. Louis Blues and the 20,000-seat Savvis Center. Wooldridge said he wanted to keep his options open but called Louisville "a perfect match" for an NBA franchise.

He said he saw little hope the team, which joined the league in 1988, would be playing in Charlotte next season. He said he's lost $40 million over the past two years because the Charlotte Coliseum lacks the luxury suites of more modern NBA arenas.

"This team came at a time when professional sports expansion when the crowd alone would support the business," he said. "The unfortunate thing is during that 10-year period, there were 23 new arenas built, the new arenas expanded, the cost of doing business got higher."

A referendum to build a new arena in Charlotte failed in June, and Wooldridge said he hasn't had talks with city or business leaders since the vote.

"Nothing's been presented, nothing's been discussed," he said. "Our efforts are directed to finding another home."