"The interest in the arena bond offering was beyond our expectations," says Bruce Ratner, CEO of FCRC, in a statement issued after the bond sale closed Tuesday afternoon. He notes that orders from institutional investors across the board were almost four times the supply of bonds, which generated $511 million at a 6.48% interest rate. "Even more importantly, the overwhelming support from investors is a good sign of confidence in this project and in the city." Co-lead underwriters for the deal were Goldman Sachs and Barclays Capital.

Earlier this month, the bond offering, issued through the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corp., received investment-grade ratings of BBB- and Baa3 from Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investor Service, respectively. The agencies cited the poor performance this season of the Nets, which will be housed at the 18,000-seat arena, as one of several factors in their relatively low ratings. On the positive side, New York City's status as a media market was expected to provide a favorable climate for sponsorship sales for the NBA franchise, according to Moody's.

For much of the fall, it was an open question as to whether the bond sale could proceed in time to make the year-end deadline for tax-exempt status. At issue was the timing of the New York State Court of Appeals' decision on whether or not to uphold a lower court ruling that okay'd the Empire State Development Corp.'s use of eminent domain for Atlantic Yards. Oral arguments were not presented before the state's highest court until mid-October.