Louisville Authority Avoids Defaulting On KFC Yum! Center With $388M In Bond Sales

The Louisville Arena Authority has sold about $388M in bonds to "restructure" KFC Yum! Center's debt, according to Marty Finley of LOUISVILLE BUSINESS FIRST. The LAA manages the arena's finances, and the deal will "help the authority avoid default; debt payments had been expected to climb in the next few years to a point that the authority would not be able to pay them." The LAA was "able to snatch a weighted average interest rate" of a little more than 4.5% for the bonds, a reduction of nearly 2% from the "weighted average interest rate" of 6.45% for its original '08 bond issue. LAA Chair Scott Cox said that he "expects the interest rate reduction to translate to significant savings, though the exact amount has not yet been finalized." He previously has said that tens of millions in savings "were expected." With interest factored in, the LAA owed more than $800M on the debt (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/7).