Forget bailing out the banks - does the government want to bail out the New Jersey Nets? The NEWARK STAR-LEDGER reports that the team’s ambitious $950 million new arena in Brooklyn is in serious jeopardy, as Goldman Sachs appears to be unable to guarantee the funds needed to finance the $4 billion Atlantic Yards entertainment complex that will house the new arena.

I know it sounds like a lot of money to mere mortals, but can’t Nets part-owner Jay Z just pay the $950 million from his “walking around” money? I mean, the guy has the technology to make the plans for the freakin’ stadium magically appear out of his hands; why can’t he just make a billion dollars appear as well?

And the new arena has issues beyond financing. The NY POST says that a lawsuit filed by groups protesting the use of eminent domain to build the 22-acre Atlantic Yards project means that the earliest the team could move to Brooklyn is 2011. Even before the recent meltdown in the financial sector, the plans for the Barclays Center have been on shaky ground for quite some time - the arena was originally slated to be finished in 2006, but constant revisions and downsizing in the plans have pushed things back.

Also at risk: the $400 million naming rights to the arena. Although a Barclays official expressed confidence, the reality is that the deal was contingent on principal Nets owner Bruce Ratner having financing completed by November, which appears to be impossible.

I can totally sympathize with what Bruce Ratner is going through - it must be so difficult to watch a $4 billion project go up in flames because of how bad the economy has turned. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find a way to mix some cat food with Hamburger Helper to feed my family.

And to add even more headaches, CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS notes that the Treasury Department is going to rule soon on whether the development can use tax-exempt bonds for financing. If the ruling goes against them, the cost of financing the stadium will rise significantly.

And from what I hear, the Treasury Department’s been a little busy lately.