Hamilton County officials sold $273M in bonds on
Tuesday, the "final financing instruments for the Bengals'
new stadium," according to Lucy May of the CINCINNATI
ENQUIRER. The county received an "average" 5.16% interest
rate on the bonds. Earlier this year, the county issued
$71.6M in bonds at a 4.87% interest rate, and in all, the
county has sold $344.6M in bonds to pay for the stadium.
May wrote that is "considerably more" than the original
estimate of $322.7M, but officials cite the rising land cost
as one reason for the increase. The bonds will be paid off
by a half-cent county sales tax increase (CINCINNATI
ENQUIRER, 5/20). May reported yesterday that "even with the
favorable interest rates," documents show that interest
payments will total more than $353M over the 30-year debt.
Combined interest for the $273M in bonds sold Tuesday and
the $71.6M bond issue in January "brings the total cost of
the project," including the stadium complex plus financing
costs, to more than $753M. Hamilton County Commissioner Bob
Bedinghaus "stressed" that the cost of the $400.3M football
complex hasn't changed and said that county officials "plan
to pay off the debt early" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 5/21).
