January 09, 2008
Rays Funding
Rays of Light notes the Rays are not seeking state aid for a new stadium:
In other news yesterday, the Rays announced they won't try to get state aid in order to fund the new waterfront ballpark. (MLB.com)
I'm curious where this typically cash-strapped franchise is going to come up with over $400 million for a stadium, but that's for people smarter than me to figure out.
According to last year's Forbes valuation, the Rays are in pretty good shape financially. If they were to borrow the $400 million for 30 year period at 6% interest, their monthly payment would be $2 million. That would wipe out their profit, but at the end of the day they'd have a nice piece of property. And if it increased attendance, they'd probably earn back that profit in a short amount of time.
Posted by David Pinto at
12:25 PM
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Wow, the Devil Rays (I'm not dropping the first part of their name, just as they aren't the LA Angels) are doing something I approve of. Good for them.
Rays will kick in $150M and the balance will come from a portion of sales and tax revenue generated by the redevelopment of their current site. Very progressive, and it means no new taxes or current tax dollars fund the ballpark. More at www.majorleaguedowntown.com.
I think you missed the principal payments.. unless its a balloon loan. $2MM per month only covers interest.
$2.398M/month with principle but no fees or insurance. The $150M that Jason mentioned would run just under $900k/month.
Commercial lending market is soft, bank balance sheets tight; who is lending $400m to the Rays at 6%?
The Yankees will end up paying for the Rays' site with revenue sharing and payroll taxes.
Honestly, I don't think they need a new park, although I guess an outdoor one would be more popular. But they definitely need more parking. Tampa's not the Fens or the Bronx; you can't make money in a place like Florida if you don't have the parking to accomodate crowds in excess of 30,000 people.
