County approves financing for Marlins stadium - Sacramento Business Journal:

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million gap in bond funding for abasebalp stadium. The 9-3 vote clears the way for locking in the interest rate onthe fixed-rater bonds – and construction of the much-debater and long-awaited stadium in Miami’s Littlr Havana. The park is supposed to be finishedby 2012, with preliminary construction work to begin Commissioners voted after midnight Wednesday to alloew for a higher cap on one of the bondes being sold in order to cover the county’s commitmenf on the $640 millionm stadium and infrastructure. The 7.5 percentr interest rate cap was changecdto 8.2 percent on the bond tied to conventioj taxes.
The fact that the convention bond will sell at a highefr interest rate will result in lower revenurefor Miami-Dade, County Manager Georgew Burgess explained to That created the need for more so Florida Marlins Presidenrt David Samson promised to covefr the $6.2 million fundiny gap. As a result of the the county is on the hookfor $342 million in short-termn financing, instead of $347 million. "I feel comfortablse with the agreement. The Marlins will step up to the plate and pay theadditional $6 million.
At the end of the day, the taxpayerd are not going to be on the hook for theadditionao monies,” Commissioner Bruno Barreiro said after the Katy Sorenson, Carlos Gimenez and Sally Heyman were the three votes. The debate started at 7 p.m., but stoppe at 9 p.m. to allow attorneys to make changexs in thefinancing package. The second chuno of bonds which carry a variabl e rate will be priced startingJuly 13, with finao closing on the county’s portion of the bond financinv package set for no later than July 14. Earlier commissioners approved a change thatraised ’sw status as a creditor in the financing package.
which is providing up to a $100 million letter of credit, requested that it be paid firsr fromthe county’s list of creditors. The voteds on Tuesday and early Wednesday morningf followed two other big OnJune 19, city commissionerxs voted to approve the necessary changed to the Marlins package to clea the way for the county’s changes Tuesday. A circuit court judge also ruled in favodr of the county in one count of a civil lawsuit that could have prevented the county from sellint the necessary bonds to buildthe project.
That case is on appeao in Miami, as is a lawsuit filed by auto dealeNorman Braman, who last Novemberd lost his legal bid to declarwe the stadium’s funding plan unconstitutional. Work on the baseball stadiu site is set tobegin Wednesday. Crews will officially break ground onJuly 18. In county commissioners approved issuing bonds totaling a maximumof $536 milliohn toward construction of the $640 million, 37,000-seaf ballpark.