With tourism battered by the pandemic and mass gatherings shut down, some local governments are having to make good on those pledges.
Maryland Heights had to step in and help even before its ice centre and music arena got a chance to fully debut. Financed with $US55.5 million ($73.4 million) of bonds, the ice centre opened in 2019, only to close less than a year later because of COVID-19. It has since reopened.
The arena, which had an agreement with events promoter Live Nation and was set to open in May 2020 with a concert featuring Kesha, had to cancel all its shows for this year.
As revenue from ticket sales and concessions disappeared, the price of some of the bonds sold for the project due in 2039 tumbled, indicating concern among i…
Read the full article at: https://www.afr.com/markets/debt-markets/cities-save-hotels-arenas-from-bond-defaults-after-pandemic-hit-20201216-p56o29
