Over $39 Million in Revenue Bonds Sold to Acquire Land for New Red Bull Park in Harrison
Advance Realty Group’s Harrison MetroCentre Redevelopment Moves Forward
The Hudson County Improvement Authority today announced that $39.4 million in revenue bonds were sold to finance the land acquisition for the new 25,000-seat Red Bull Park, which will be the home of the New York Red Bulls Major League soccer team and the entertainment component of Advance Realty Group’s multi-use Harrison MetroCentre, a three-million-square-foot redevelopment project in Harrison, New Jersey. The sale clears the way for AEG, one of the world’s leading sports and entertainment companies, and Red Bull Company Limited, the Austrian company that produces the world’s leading energy drink, to begin construction of the new stadium, which is expected to break ground in September 2006 and open its doors in 2008.
Peter B. Higgins, chairman, Harrison Redevelopment Agency said, “This bond sale and the subsequent construction start-up continues the positive forward momentum of the Harrison MetroCentre project. When fully completed, Harrison MetroCentre will be a city within a city that features wide boulevards with street level retail outlets and cafes, an entertainment area with the new Red Bull Park as its centerpiece, a riverfront park and recreation area, as well as other amenities that will make Harrison MetroCentre an exciting place to live, work and play.”
The bond sale consisted of over $30.5 million in tax-exempt bonds and over $8.8 million in taxable bonds, with all “AAA” rated (a Moodys Investors Service rating) bonds possessing a final maturity date of 2038 and a true interest cost of 5.08 percent. Repayment of the bonds will be made from future payments in lieu of tax receipts from the major redevelopment efforts occurring in Harrison. MBIA provided bond insurance and the bonds were guaranteed by Hudson County. Annual debt service payments on the bonds begin in 2010 and are approximately $3.1 million per year.
Key players in the bond sale included McManimon & Scotland, bond counsel; NW Financial Group, financial advisor; and William Netchert, general counsel. The bonds were purchased by a group of three underwriters, including Roosevelt & Cross, PNC Capital Markets and Powell Capital Markets. DeCotiis, FitzPatrick, Cole and Wisler served as underwriter’s counsel.
“I’d like to congratulate our partners, Advance Reality Group, the Town of Harrison and the Hudson County Improvement Authority, on this monumental step towards making Red Bull Park a reality. We can’t wait until 2008 when Red Bull Park opens its doors to the soccer fans living in and around Harrison, as well as throughout New Jersey and New York,” said Nick Sakiewicz, president of AEG NY.
Red Bull Park is a major component of Advance Realty Group’s multi-billion dollar Harrison MetroCentre, which will feature mid-rise and hi-rise Class A office space, 3,500 residential units, 300,000 square feet of retail space, and over 10,000 decked parking spaces when Phase I and II are completely built-out. Advance is a leading Northeast US owner and developer of Class A office properties and the master developer of the entire Harrison MetroCentre project.
Phase I of Harrison MetroCentre is scheduled to begin in July 2006, when Advance will start site demolition and remediation followed by construction of roadways and utilities in the fall. Demolition work for the stadium portion of Phase I is slated for September 2006, while vertical construction for Phase I of the entire project is expected to begin in early 2007. Overall, Phase I will include over 850 residential units, 160,000 square feet of retail, up to 200,000 square feet of office development, and the new stadium.
Greg Senkevitch, chief operating officer of Advance Realty Group, added, “We applaud the Hudson County Improvement Authority on its successful bond sale and look forward towards transforming the Harrison site into an exciting destination for the town and the New York metro area.”
About Advance Realty Group
Advance Realty Group is an owner and developer of office, flex, industrial, retail and multifamily properties. With 5.5 million square feet of operating properties and a development portfolio consisting of eight million square feet of commercial projects and 9,400 residential units, Advance is one of the leading real estate owners in the Northeast and is headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey. For more information, contact Advance Realty Group at (908) 719-3000 or visit www.advancerealtygroup.com.
About AEG
AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, owns or controls a collection of companies including facilities such as STAPLES Center, The Forum (as exclusive booking agent for sports and entertainment programming), Toyota Sports Center, Toyota Park, Anaheim Arena (as preferred booking agent), NOKIA Theatre Times Square, NOKIA Theatre at Grand Prairie and London’s Manchester Evening News Arena; sports franchises throughout the world including the Los Angeles Kings (NHL), Los Angeles Riptide (MLL) and four MLS franchises. In addition, AEG has recently developed and opened The Home Depot Center, a $150 million national training “campus” in Carson, California designated as an “Official U.S. Olympic Training Site” by the United States Olympic Committee that includes major facilities for soccer, tennis, track & field, cycling, action sports, beach volleyball, basketball and other sports. The company’s live entertainment division, AEG LIVE is one of the world’s leading concert promotion and touring organization.
AEG is overseeing the development of L.A. Live, a 4 million square foot/$2.5 billion downtown Los Angeles sports & entertainment district featuring NOKIA Theatre Los Angeles, a 7,100-seat state-of-the-art live theatre, a 54-story, 1000-room convention “headquarters” hotel, Club NOKIA, a 2,200 capacity live music venue, a 14-screen Regal Cineplex, “broadcast” facilities for ESPN, along with entertainment, restaurant, residential and office space. The company has begun fully developing the 28-acre Millennium Dome and adjacent property located in the eastern part of London along the Thames River and will create The O2, which includes a 23,000-seat arena and over 650,000 square feet of leisure and entertainment use within the “Dome” and additional arenas, The O2 World, on a 45-acre site in the heart of Berlin, in Ontario, California and Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri as well as a Red Bull Park, a 25,000-seat soccer stadium in Harrison, New Jersey.
