That eternally in-the-works-but-never-actually-under-construction Virginia Beach arena, which was once upon a time intended to lure an NBA team (I think the Sacramento Kings) but now only lives in the “NBA” section of this site through my own inertia, unbelievably still doesn’t have its private financing lined up, despite having $206 million in public subsidies approved for building that’s only supposed to cost $220 million. And if the arena developers can’t figure it out by midnight tonight, the arena deal will be off:
To close on a $150 million dollar loan with JP Morgan Chase, Mid-Atlantic Arena needs to move $70 million in equity into an escrow account. The money has to be wired and the loan must close by midnight Tuesday. That’s a 60 day extension from a previous August deadline. There are no more extensions allowed per the developer’s agreement with the city.
“I’m not going to have the attitude that they’re not going to make it,” [Mayor Will] Sessoms said.
Positive thinking! That’ll totally work!
Seriously, it’s truly incredible that even given several years to figure this out, Mid-Atlantic Arena (the new name for original developers United States Management, because wearing a fake nose and glasses is always a good way to trick banks into lending to you) still can’t figure out how to secure a loan for a building where taxpayer subsidies will pay off 93.6% of the costs. It’s almost like building a new arena for the nation’s 42nd biggest media market with no promise of a pro sports team as an anchor tenant so it’ll have to depend entirely on concerts to bring in revenue is such a terrible investment that it’s not even worth it if you get it basically for free, and surely that can’t be it, right?
Sounds like it is finally dead… maybe. The city council voted 9-1 to kill the deal but in the same article the mayor said he’d still be open to it if the developer met some requirements–not sure how the mayor could say that while the council was nearly unanimous in saying it was over. Article doesn’t say what exactly was missing but the council and mayor both both said all the requirements hadn’t been met while the developer claimed everything was set.
http://wavy.com/2017/11/07/virginia-beach-arena-deal-could-end-at-midnight/
Building an outstanding new arena without professional sports has worked out very well here in Louisville!