Louisville Arena In Need Of Financing Plan To Stay On Schedule
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Lack Of Financing Plan Could Delay
Construction On Downtown Louisville Arena |
Less than two months before construction needs to begin to keep the new $249M downtown Louisville arena on schedule, there "still is no financing plan in place to pay for the venture," according to Karman & Green of BUSINESS FIRST OF LOUISVILLE. After plans to sell construction bonds unraveled last week, Louisville Arena Authority (LAA) Chair Jim Host said that he "has been in discussions throughout the week with officials from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and representatives of nine banks with local operations to try to hammer out a new deal." Host added that "abandoning the project is 'not an alternative.'" Host "wouldn't rule out the sale of bonds to finance the arena," and said that "other options also are being weighed." Host said that a financing plan "must be in place by the end of September so that construction can begin and the arena project can stay on track in what is a tight, 26-month building schedule." Host added that if the arena is not completed by November 2010, "agreements are in place that would allow" the Univ. of Louisville (UL) to play one more season in its current home, Freedom Hall. The LAA would have to inform UL and the Kentucky State Fair Board (KSFB), which manages Freedom Hall and will manage the new arena, by November '09 if the new venue "will not be finished as scheduled" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 7/31). In Louisville, Marcus Green reports the LAA "could consider a new financing plan" by mid-August. Host said that of the nine banks, there is "some involvement from banks either based or operating in Louisville," and he "confirmed the participation of Pittsburgh-based PNC" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 8/1).
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