Cancellation May Cause Review Of Credit Ratings

About $500M of municipal bonds used for Staples Center, MCI Center, American Airlines Center, Pepsi Center and Air Canada Centre “may have their credit ratings reviewed by Fitch Ratings because of the canceled [NHL] season,” but downgrades “might not occur until next year,” according to Eddie Baeb of BLOOMBERG NEWS. Fitch analyst Chad Lewis said that the ratings “might hinge on whether the league could avoid having to cancel next season.” Lewis: “To the extent there’s no season next year, that’s when you start looking at a downgrade” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 2/18).