Menu
Facilities Venues

FIRM MANAGING HEAT ARENA FINANCING DEAL UNDER INVESTIGATION

     San Francisco-based Grigsby Brandford & Co., the firm
managing a $131M bond issue for the Heat's proposed new downtown
Miami arena, is at the "heart of a federal corruption probe,"
according to Dubocq & Getter of the MIAMI HERALD.  Prosecutors
have subpoenaed all Dade County records regarding the arena deal,
as well as records relating to any bond firm for which Metro-Dade
Commissioner James Burke "or anyone acting in his direction
lobbied, pressured or other wise exerted influence."  Dubocq &
Getter report that, in particular, federal officials are
investigating Burke's relationship with firm founder Calvin
Grigsby, after a "secret" FBI video tape recorded in August
showed both men discussing a $300,000 "kickback for Burke's help
in steering bond business to Grigsby" (MIAMI HERALD, 9/27).
     BONDAGE: According to Metro-Dade records, Burke "took steps"
in June and July to position Grigsby for the arena bonds,
including lobbying Dade's financial managers to put Grigsby in
the deal and sponsoring legislation to "scuttle" a potential
conflict-of-interest that would have kept Grigsby out of the
arrangement, as two of Grigsby's underwriting firms "had ties to
the financing" for the Panthers new Broward arena.  Burke, who
has since resigned from the Commission Finance Committee, claims
he intervened only when county finance managers tried to remove
Grigsby from the arena deal and replace it with a group that
included "no black firms in the most lucrative management slots."
As lead manager of the arena bond issue, Grigsby Brandford & Co.
would have earned "about $350,000" in fees.  The arena financing
deal itself is "on hold" pending a voter referendum in November
(MIAMI HERALD, 9/27).
     NEW PLAN: The Heat, trying to sell an arena proposal to
voters for a November 5 referendum, unveiled a new bayside plan
that includes on-site parking for 3,000 cars mainly on one level
and occupies 550,000 square feet, considered "relatively small by
the standards of contemporary arena design" (MIAMI HERALD, 9/28)

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/1996/09/30/Facilities-Venues/FIRM-MANAGING-HEAT-ARENA-FINANCING-DEAL-UNDER-INVESTIGATION.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/1996/09/30/Facilities-Venues/FIRM-MANAGING-HEAT-ARENA-FINANCING-DEAL-UNDER-INVESTIGATION.aspx

CLOSE