The North Little Rock Public Building Authority voted Thursday to authorize the refinancing of a $1.85 million loan balance to pay off the construction debt for Dickey-Stephens Park.
The Public Building Authority owns the city-built ballpark that is home to and managed by the Arkansas Travelers Baseball Club Inc. Board members Dan Scott and Todd Larson voted for approval. The three-member board has one vacancy.
The authorization was necessary before the authority could request bids for the lowest interest rate to refinance the remaining debt. The bid period will be 14 days, city Finance Director Karen Scott said. The board will have to meet again to approve the recommended bid, she added. The authority carries the loan under a contract with the city.
The refinancing of a loan is projected to be for a 10-year loan note to cover the $1.85 million balance. The Travelers Baseball Club will pay an estimated $230,000 annually in rent to the city that would then be used to make the loan payments, under a proposed agreement to amend the ballpark’s lease contract.
The North Little Rock City Council is scheduled tovote at its meeting Monday to amend the lease contract with the Travelers.
The city built the $40.4 million ballpark using about $28 million in revenue from a voter-approved, 1 percent city sales tax over two years that expired in September 2007, with construction costs exceeding the tax revenue by about $6 million. The total cost of the ballpark includes the donated land and private contributions.
Arkansas, Pages 12 on 04/11/2014