GOP tax plan threatens big break for stadium bondholders, putting Raiders project at risk
The recently passed House tax bill would end this six-decade run of teams' access to tax-exempt municipal bonds for building what have become multibillion-dollar stadiums. The change isn't in the Senate bill, but if it makes it into whatever form goes to the president's desk, experts say it threatens the $1.9 billion Raiders dome in Las Vegas and the future of stadium financing.
None of the $750 million in bonds Clark County, Nevada, agreed to back for a new stadium have been issued. Las Vegas Stadium Authority officials told CNBC they don't expect the issuance to happen until at least the first quarter of next year. The stadium Authority's preliminary estimates already show a $20 million to $25 million reduction in public contribution without the tax break.
"It will raise costs, the margin projections will now be less, and it would take a longer time to realize the bonds," said Mark Rosentraub, director of the Center for Sport and Policy at the University of Michigan. Rosentraub worked on financial projections for the new stadium on behalf of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, before the Raiders were involved. "Whether or not it breaks a deal or doesn't break a deal, that's up to a lot of factors and conjecture."
Read the full article at CNBC by Kate Rooney here: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/28/gop-tax-plan-threatens-big-break-for-stadium-bondholders.html