Search
 

Bond Sale Complete on Atlantic Yards Arena

NEW YORK CITY-Forest City Ratner Cos. says $511 million of bonds have been sold to finance construction of the 18,000-seat Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

By Paul Bubny | Updated on December 15, 2009

NEW YORK CITY-A bond sale has raised more than $500 million toward the construction of the Barclays Center, the basketball arena that will serve as a centerpiece of the $4.9-billion Atlantic Yards project, Forest City Ratner Cos. said Tuesday. The sale had to be completed, and groundbreaking undertaken on the arena, by year’s end in order for the bonds to qualify for tax-exempt status.

“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.

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.

Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Unlimited access to GlobeSt and other free ALM publications
  • Access to 15 years of GlobeSt archives
  • Your choice of GlobeSt digital newsletters and over 70 others from popular sister publications
  • 1 free article* every 30 days across the ALM subscription network
  • Exclusive discounts on ALM events and publications

*May exclude premium content
Already have an account?

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

GlobeSt

Join GlobeSt

Don't miss crucial news and insights you need to make informed commercial real estate decisions. Join GlobeSt.com now!

  • Free unlimited access to GlobeSt.com's trusted and independent team of experts who provide commercial real estate owners, investors, developers, brokers and finance professionals with comprehensive coverage, analysis and best practices necessary to innovate and build business.
  • Exclusive discounts on ALM and GlobeSt events.
  • Access to other award-winning ALM websites including ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com.

Already have an account? Sign In Now
Join GlobeSt

Copyright © 2024 ALM Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved.