The proposed new Bucks arena may already be paying dividends for hundreds of Milwaukee homeowners.“This is a very, very good day for our city,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said.VIDEO: New Bucks arena could benefit struggling homeownersBarrett unveiled a deal Friday that could help hundreds of Milwaukee homeowners keep their homes, and it may be thanks to the push for a new Bucks arena.The city gets a financial commitment from Nationstar, a company chaired by Bucks co-owner Wes Edens, which services the mortgages on thousands of Milwaukee homes -- many of them in foreclosure.It happens just ahead of the first Milwaukee Common Council hearing on the arena.“You can certainly see the timing. Nobody's trying to make believe the timing isn't there, but it allowed us to focus,” Barrett said.Nationstar is pledging up to $30 million in mortgage modifications to help struggling homeowners.The company denies any connection between the housing deal and the Bucks arena plans.“No. it really wasn't involved in it,” said Dana Dillard of Nationstar Mortgage.But the group Common Ground, which has protested the Bucks-Nationstar link, sees it differently.“Our leverage really was the connection with Mr. Edens and the arena. That was our leverage,” said Keisha Krum, of Common Ground.It may take a while before the real benefits of the deal are visible in Milwaukee neighborhoods, but at City Hall, its impact on the proposed arena deal is almost immediate.Milwaukee Alderman Bob Bauman said it addresses his top concern about the arena plan.“There had to be additional public benefits, and clearly this deal is an additional public benefit,” Bauman said.The city is trying to negotiate similar deals with two other mortgage service companies.Meanwhile, the Common Council's first committee hearing for the Bucks arena is scheduled for Monday afternoon.