Democrats in the Wisconsin Senate are getting involved in talks about the Milwaukee Bucks' new arena project, according to The Capital Times.

The Senate's Republican leaders have been working on a draft of the arena proposal to get the Bucks in a new building and ensure that the team remains in Milwaukee.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported in April that the Bucks must "meet an NBA-imposed deadline of having an arena in place or at least have it nearing completion by 2017," or the NBA could buy the team. To meet that timeline, Windhorst noted that funds for the project would have to be secured by June and construction must begin some time this fall. Taxpayers are expected to pay half of the projected $500 million cost to build the arena.

The Republicans and Democrats agreeing to set up a meeting appears to be a sign of progress on the project.

From Jessie Opoien of The Capital Times:

"Sens. Nikiya Harris Dodd, Chris Larson and Lena Taylor — all Democrats from Milwaukee — sent a letter on Thursday to Sens. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, and Alberta Darling, R-River Hills asking for a meeting to discuss a proposal to publicly fund part of a new Bucks arena. Larson said on Friday that the Republican leaders had responded and a meeting was being set up. Republican leaders have been in closed-door meetings this week trying to break an impasse on the Bucks deal and the state's transportation budget. Republican leaders are still finalizing a draft of the arena proposal to be released to legislators and the public, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said Wednesday, adding that he thinks a majority in his caucus supports the proposal 'to some extent.' 'I don’t expect to ask anybody for a vote until they have a document they can see,' he said. Democrats this week have been critical of the intra-party gridlock and the private meetings taking place to solve it, noting that their party hasn't been at the table for contentious issues like the Bucks proposal. Some Republican lawmakers have called for the proposal to be taken out of the budget and debated separately."