Fleet Closes $125M Loan for Phillies Ballpark

BOSTON-FleetBoston Financial Corp. and the Philadelphia Phillies have closed on a $125-million loan for the construction of the new Phillies ballpark, which will open in April 2004. The closing was staged in Boston at the law firm of Choate, Hall & Steward, Fleet’s outside counsel.

Fleet Securities Inc. arranged the financing with the transaction co-underwritten by Fleet National Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. A syndicate of five additional banks participated in the credit. They include Commerce Bank, Sovereign Bank, US Bank, Chevy Chase Bank and Israel Discount Bank.

Total cost of the ballpark is roughly $346 million of which the Phillies are contributing nearly 50% at $172 million. In addition, the Phillies are responsible for covering construction cost overruns plus operations and maintenance costs once the facility is open. Public funding for construction costs is $174 million and the estimated cost for site work is $112 million.