Facility Notes
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Yankees Ordered To Vacate Old Yankee
Stadium By End Of February |
A request for bidders on the $27M contract to demolish Yankee Stadium indicated that the city of N.Y. "has given the Yankees until Feb. 28 to vacate" the ballpark, with the facility being "slowly smashed to pieces" over the following year. In N.Y., Jeremy Olshan notes parts of the ballpark that can be "resold to collectors or reused will be yanked out by the end of May." The rest of the demolition will be "completed in the spring of 2010" (N.Y. POST, 9/3). On Long Island, Wallace Matthews noted next season, "even operating at 79[%] capacity, ticket and suite sales alone at the new Yankee Stadium will generate $253[M] in revenue, which should just about cover next year's payroll." Since the ballpark will be "closer to 99[%] full, you can adjust that figure to upward of $300[M]." There is "no excuse for anything less than an obscene, offensive, utterly appalling -- and ultimately rewarding -- spending spree before the start of the 2009 season" (NEWSDAY, 9/3).
SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED: In Louisville, Sheldon Shafer reports the Louisville Arena Authority (LAA) yesterday announced that it had "completed a deal to sell $349.2[M] in bonds to pay for" the new downtown arena. LAA Chair Jim Host said that the "financing keeps the arena ... on track to open in fall 2010." Goldman Sachs "handled the bond sale, and 34 entities -- mostly funds and syndicates -- bought the debt." The "average interest rate on the bonds is 6.45[%]." The deal, "as finally structured, included $30[M] of bonds that are taxable," and of that, "$20.1[M] worth of bonds were sold at a fixed rate and $9.9[M] were sold in the form of uninsured bonds" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 9/4).
SALES-TAX BOON: Miller Park stadium district officials said that the sales-tax distribution the district received in August "totaled $2,763,533, about 16% higher than last August." The August distribution "also exceeded the district's own forecast by more than $427,000." To date in '08, "collections are 3.49% over last year's collections in the first eight months." Earlier this year, district financial consultants said that because of "declines in sales-tax revenue, the stadium sales tax might have to be extended beyond 2014" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 9/4).
WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD: In San Jose, Ann Killion reports Women's Professional Soccer "will return to the Bay Area next spring, with a new team owned by" Nancy and Brian NeSmith. The NeSmiths are "in negotiations for a home field," but Nancy NeSmith said that the team "will probably play in the South Bay." She added that the team is "looking at venues in the 5,000- to 6,000-seat range" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 9/4).
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