Marlins Park - Financing

Financing

Breakdown:

a The city's contribution includes $10 million towards demolition of the old Orange Bowl stadium, and $94 million to build the parking facilities.
b The Marlins may spend up to $89.5 million of their contribution on "soft costs"—or, non-construction costs. These include fees paid to designers, consultants, attorneys, and political lobbyists.

The total cost to the county is $2.4 billion, spread over 40 years, to repay $409 million in bonds that will primarily, though not exclusively, cover stadium construction. Roughly $100 million will refinance existing bond debt and another $9 million goes into a debt service reserve fund. The remaining $300 million is for stadium construction, financed in two ways.

One portion, underwritten by Merrill Lynch totaling $220 million, has an interest rate of 6.4 percent and requires immediate repayment. In October 2010 the county must pay $9.6 million, though there are questions over whether tourist taxes will meet that. Annual payments run through 2049 and climb as high as $71 million per year.

The second portion, underwritten by JP Morgan, is for $91 million, $80 million of that for construction. That carries an 8.17 rate, but repayment doesn't begin until 2025. Yet that grace period comes with a big price: $83 million a year for three years starting in 2038. Then, starting in 2041, six years of payments totaling $118 million annually. The resulting total amount to retire the entire debt: $2.4 billion.

Not listed in the breakdown are the annual charges that the city is required to pay during the lifetime of the contract. They are as much as $2 million per year for the parking-facilities taxes payable to the county, and $250 thousand per year to pay the Marlins' stadium maintenance fees. Adding these future expenses to contributions already made brings the city's total stadium expenses to $210.7 million by 2049.

The Marlins received an interest free, $35 million loan from the county that it will pay back through yearly rent beginning at about $2.3 million and increasing 2 percent each year. Including this debt brings the team's total stadium expenses to $161.2 million through 2028. The county and city combined total expenses are $2.61 billion through 2049.

The stadium deal also gives the Marlins almost all revenue created at the ballpark, from ticket sales as well as food and drink concessions, to parking spaces selling above $10, to gate receipts from concerts and soccer matches when the ballclub isn’t playing.