Members of Allegheny County's state legislative delegation will meet Friday with officials from a Los Angeles company proposing to build a new arena for $160 million in Pittsburgh.

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Michael Shapiro, president and chief executive officer of Sports Finance and Management Group, will brief legislators on the proposal during a meeting at the Ramada Inn Downtown.

"I'm going to be talking about what we're doing and how we're going to do it," Shapiro said yesterday.

SFMG has talked to some local and state politicians and the city-Allegheny County Sports and Exhibition Authority about privately financing a $160 million arena to replace Mellon Arena and to secure the Penguins' future in Pittsburgh.

The proposal has been greeted with skepticism by the Penguins and SEA, which advanced a plan two years ago to build a $270 million arena on the site of the former St. Francis Central Hospital across from the existing facility. The SEA plan calls for more than $150 million in private funding.

As of yesterday, the Penguins had not been invited to Friday's meeting even though they would be the building's primary tenant.

"We have not been notified other than through the media," team spokesman Tom McMillan said.

Shapiro has estimated that construction costs could range anywhere from a low of $120 million to a high of $175 million, but most likely would fall in the range of $150 million to $160 million, including land acquisition and furnishings. The SEA and Penguins have estimated construction costs at $209 million and $215 million, respectively, not including land acquisitions and furnishings.

Still unclear about the SFMG proposal is how it would be financed, what role the company would have, how it would be paid, what revenues would go to the Penguins, and how much would be used to pay off debt.

Shapiro is pushing local and state officials to undertake a utilization study to help determine the size of the new arena, estimated revenues, and whether the project is feasible.

State Rep. Don Walko, D-North Side, who has yet to be sold on the SFMG proposal, believes it is worth studying, nonetheless.

"I'd be willing to listen to it and I think anybody should be willing to listen to any proposal," he said. "At this point, given the city and county's financial situation and even at the state level, I think we have to exhaust all private possibilities."