Bond Sale for Convention Center Successfully Raises $111 Million
Project on Track for Spring Construction Start-Up

CIVICVentures, the non-profit entity created by the Municipality of Anchorage to finance, construct and own Anchorage’s new civic and convention center, successfully sold about $111 million dollars in bonds on Tuesday and Wednesday, city officials announced today.

“We’re very pleased with the success of this sale, which paves the way for construction of the new civic and convention center to begin this spring,” said Anchorage Chief Financial Officer Jeff Sinz. “The financing benefited from a recent national trend toward lower intermediate and long-term interest rates.”

The non-profit corporation CIVICVentures sold $110,920,000 in tax-exempt revenue bonds earlier this week. Nearly $14 million of that amount was sold to individual investors, with about $97 million going to institutional investors. The bonds were sold at interest rates ranging from 3.25 percent to 4.73 percent, depending on their maturity.

The lead underwriter for the bond sale was JPMorgan. Other underwriters participating in the sale included: A.G. Edwards; Citigroup Global Markets Inc.; Merrill Lynch & Co.; Bear, Stearns & Co Inc.; Goldman, Sachs & Co., Seattle-Northwest Securities Corp. and Siebert Brandford Shank & Co.

The revenue bonds will be repaid by a pledge of a portion of the Municipality’s bed tax. In April 2005, Anchorage voters approved a 4 percent increase in the city’s hotel/motel bed tax to construct, operate and maintain a new civic and convention center in downtown Anchorage. The tax became effective January 1, 2006.

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