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NEW YORK -- Attendance is up but revenues for many teams are down, commissioner David Stern said Thursday at an NBA Board of Governors meeting.

Stern declined to give specific figures but said many of the teams lost money compared with last season.

"We're still in a negative position, but obviously that's not true of every team," he said.

While some teams have reported a decline, NBA revenue has increased overall.

Attendance, however, was its highest since the 1997-98 season -- the final one before the 1998-99 lockout. Arenas were filled at 89 percent of capacity and the NBA averaged 17,050 fans per game, fourth highest in league history.

Other issues discussed were the collective bargaining agreement that expires after the 2004-05 season, the pending sale of the New Jersey Nets and the expiration of the referees' contract this spring.

The sale of the Nets has not been finalized, but Granik said the league hopes to approve real estate developer Bruce Ratner's $300 million bid by the end of June. Ratner plans to move the team to the New York borough of Brooklyn.

"It's not ready for action yet," Stern said. "But the board was generally up on the transaction."

Stern and deputy commissioner Russ Granik characterized the two-day meetings with the 30 franchise owners at a midtown hotel as "boring and routine."

In all, Stern said the lack of major news was a sign of progress. Even the mood was light, as owners discussed a game-winning shot on Wednesday by Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

"Every so often in the middle of a meeting someone would stop and say, 'Boy, did you really believe that second shot last night?' " Stern said.

Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press