BRADENTON, Fla. – Palm Beach County, Fla., plans to issue up to $133 million of revenue bonds to help finance a new spring training stadium for the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals.
County Commissioners unanimously approved the financing at their Oct. 20 meeting along with documents providing for a land swap with the city of West Palm Beach that allow the joint-use facility to be constructed on a former landfill.
“I think this is the first baseball game where everybody wins,” Arthur Fuccillo, a minority partner for the Nationals, told commissioners after the vote.
Several board members urged the teams to ensure that the facility is completed in time for the 2017 spring Grapefruit League schedule.
Bond proceeds will go toward building a Major League Baseball-approved stadium that is now estimated to cost $144 million.
Palm Beach County’s contribution to the project is capped at $135 million, which includes $5 million in cash. The teams will pay all other costs.
The debt will be backed by non-ad valorem revenues of the county, which will include some designated tourist tax collections.
The county also expects to receive final certification of the facility by Oct. 30 to qualify for an additional $50 million over 25 years from the state of Florida, county assistant budget director Sherry Brown said in an interview with The Bond Buyer.
The par amount of the deal is expected to be $130 million, plus issuance costs. The taxable and tax exempt bonds are scheduled to price in mid-November, she said.
Brown said she expects the bonds will be rated in the high double-A category.
The county’s financial advisors for the ballpark project are Public Financial Management Inc. and Spectrum Municipal Services.
Bond counsel is Locke Lord LLP. Disclosure counsel is Nabors, Giblin & Nickerson PA.
