Reno agrees to $30 million deal to refinance Aces ballpark project
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Wed, 01/30/2013 - 6:11pm
In a 5-2 decision the Reno City Council on Wednesday approved restructuring the financial agreements amounting to about $30 million related to the Reno Aces baseball stadium project. Council Members Brekhus and Schieve opposed the plan.
However, as the Reno Gazette-Journal reports, the deal is not finished. The issue moves to the Washoe County Commission where members will decide whether to continue with a subsidy deal amounting to about $15 million over 30 years.
With the restructured agreements the City of Reno is responsible for financing one-third of the $55 million debt while the developer is responsible for refinancing the remaining balance.
Below are some facts regarding the restructured agreements made available in a City of Reno news release:
— Provides a personal guaranty by the developer that was not included in the original agreement.
— The Fire Station Loan will be paid-off in 5 years rather than 10 years.
— The baseball team will remain in Reno for 30 years. In the original agreement the baseball team could leave after 15 years.
— The City will have more flexibility to hold special events at the Stadium.
— If baseball moves for any reason prior to 30 years, the City gets the stadium free and clear without any liens and the City has no obligation to make any further support payments. This means the City would get a $58 million stadium if team leaves early.
— If naming rights are sold for more than $300,000 per year the City would receive a 10% credit against the Support Payments to be made by City each year.
— The Stadium Authority, Redevelopment Agency, and City will own the stadium and land. In the original agreement, after 20 years (2027), Nevada Land would have owned both the stadium and land.
— The Developer releases any development rights or claims related to the first floor of the National Bowling Stadium (under the Retail DDA), and the RTC (under the Retail DDA).
— The capital improvement clause mandates that the developer shall operate, maintain, manage, make and pay for all necessary capital improvements ensuring that when the City of Reno gets the stadium after 30 years it will well-kept.
Because of the economic downturn affecting the incentives for the Baseball Stadium Project (Redevelopment Property Tax Increments) that were designated for financing the construction and operation of the baseball stadium, the developer and operator of the stadium, Nevada Land, LLC and SK Baseball, asked the Reno City Council, the Redevelopment Agency Board, and the Washoe County Commissioners to restructure the agreements. At a future Washoe County meeting, SK Baseball and Nevada Land, LLC will be asking Washoe County Commissioners to support the Baseball Stadium Project with funding.
According to a UNR study, if baseball left Reno the region will lose 472 direct jobs, 119 indirect jobs, 143 induced jobs, and $28.8 million in total economic impact.
