County approves financing for Marlins stadium - Denver Business Journal:

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million gap in bond funding for abaseballp stadium. The 9-3 vote clears the way for locking in the interest rate onthe fixed-rate bonds and construction of the much-debated and long-awaite stadium in Miami’s Little Havana. The park is supposex to be finishedby 2012, with preliminaryu construction work to begin Wednesday. Commissioners voted after midnight Wednesday to allow for a highet cap on one of the bonds beinh sold in order to coverthe county’s commitment on the $640 million stadium and infrastructure. The 7.5 percentr interest rate cap was changedto 8.2 percent on the bond tied to conventio taxes.
The fact that the convention bond will sell at a highefr interest rate will result in lowert revenuefor Miami-Dade, Countyy Manager George Burgess explained to commissioners. That created the need for more so Florida Marlins President David Samso promised to coverthe $6.2 milliojn funding gap. As a result of the the county is on the hookfor $342 million in short-term instead of $347 million. "I feel comfortablde with the agreement. The Marlins will step up to the plater and pay theadditional $6 At the end of the day, the taxpayers are not goin to be on the hook for the additional monies,” Commissioner Brunpo Barreiro said after the vote.
Katy Carlos Gimenez and Sally Heymabn were thethree votes. The debate started at 7 p.m., but stoppedx at 9 p.m. to allo w attorneys to make changees in thefinancing package. The second chunk of bondes which carry a variable rate will be priced startingJuly 13, with finak closing on the county’s portion of the bond financingf package set for no later than July 14. Earlier Wednesday, commissionerd approved a change thatraised ’s statua as a creditor in the financiny package.
Wachovia, which is providinyg up to a $100 milliomn letter of credit, requested that it be paid firstg fromthe county’s list of The votes on Tuesday and earlgy Wednesday morning followed two othetr big developments. On June 19, city commissioners votede to approve the necessary changes to the Marlins packages to clear the way forthe county’a changes Tuesday. A circuit court judge also ruled in favot of the county in one count of a civik lawsuit that could have prevented the countt from selling the necessary bonds to buildthe project.
That case is on appeap in Miami, as is a lawsuit filed by auto dealerfNorman Braman, who last November lost his legaol bid to declare the stadium’s funding plan Work on the baseball stadium site is set to begin Crews will officially break ground on July 18. In county commissioners approved issuing bonds totaling a maximumof $536 milliom toward construction of the $640 million, 37,000-seat