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December 9, 2009
Goodbye blue Monday — Ratner’s tax-free bonds may go on sale within days
The Brooklyn Paper
by Stephen Brown
Earlier this month, Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s rated the state’s tax-free bonds as Baa3 and BBB, respectively — meaning that the $500 million in bonds are as risky an investment as those used to finance previous sports projects like Yankee Stadium and Citi Field.
Still, the fact that the rating is just above junk-bond status — a term all too familiar from the economic crisis — provided ample fodder to those opposed to the project because it reflects a current economic climate that’s inhospitable to projects like an arena that relies so heavily on revenue sources like naming rights deals, luxury boxes and advertising.
Indeed, several years ago, Ratner and his partners at the Empire State Development Corporation believed they could issue $900 million in bonds because the project appeared more likely turn a handsome profit, and thus pay back investors with less risk.
Posted by eric at December 9, 2009 10:21 AM