Falcons Exec VP & CFO Greg Beadles yesterday told the Georgia World Congress Center Authority BOD that team execs "plan to take out construction loans" totaling $850M to help fund the club’s portion of building the new downtown stadium, according to Stafford & Tucker of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. Beadles expects that the team will "secure the loans from a syndicate of up to eight banks within the next couple of weeks." Yesterday's meeting "marked the first time the Falcons have said publicly how much they will borrow." The city’s economic development agency, Invest Atlanta, is preparing to issue bonds in May to cover the city’s $200M commitment "toward stadium construction and to cover additional issuance costs." The bonds, and the interest on them, will "be repaid from Atlanta hotel-motel tax revenue over the next 30 years." The Falcons’ loans "will be for up to five years, by which point longer-term financing would be secured." The Falcons "would be able to reduce the loan amount at that point with revenue generated from sales of sponsorships, suites and seats." Bank of America Sports Finance & Advisory Group Managing Dir Elliott McCabe, whose company is advising the Falcons, said that the eight banks "met with Falcons officials on April 16." McCabe: "I can report the expressions of interest are very strong" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 4/29). In Atlanta, Amy Wenk reported the Falcons "expect the loan to close into escrow on May 7." All the closing documents related to the project "are expected to be final by mid-May" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/28).
CREDIT CHECK: Equifax yesterday announced that it will be one of the 14 founding partners for the Falcons' new stadium, which is set to open in '17. The 10-year deal continues a sponsor relationship between Equifax and the team that began in '11. The agreement with AMB Sports & Entertainment -- the holding company for the Falcons -- includes an Equifax-branded area at the venue, as well as joint promotions, branded radio segments, in-stadium signage, contests, digital content and other assets promoting the company's credit monitoring and identity-protection products (Equifax).
