Bobcats Refinance Team Debt with Wachovia & BoA

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, I wonder if Bob Johnson got a pair of new toasters for refinancing the Bobcats debts with the 2 uber local banks here in town ? ? ? ? Could a now warming relationship with BoA get them interested in putting their name on the arena (BoA Center maybe)?

=================

Bobcats strike refinance deal with BofA and WachoviaCharlotte Business Journal - by

Rich Thomaselli and Erik Spanberg Staff Writers

The Charlotte Bobcats have refinanced their debt in a joint deal with Bank of America Corp. and Wachovia Corp. -- a move aimed at healing rifts with local business leaders while winning over prospective ticket buyers in influential circles.

Team executives confirmed the debt restructuring Tuesday.

Sources close to the NBA franchise say the move, which pushes incumbent lead financier Citigroup Inc. to the sidelines, helps the Bobcats with more attractive financial terms than its previous deal.

It also accomplishes the team's mission of forging closer ties with Charlotte companies and executives.

Bobcats President Fred Whitfield declines to discuss financial terms.

"What I will say is that the banks worked together in accord and were really aggressive with coming up with what (team owner) Bob (Johnson) considered very fair terms," Whitfield says.

He adds that BofA and Wachovia even gave the Bobcats an opportunity to bring in a third bank to refinance part of the debt. The team declined.

Whitfield says the team felt it was important to extend its relationship with one Charlotte-based bank -- Wachovia is a team sponsor -- and start a relationship with the other.

"We really wanted to show we were attempting to be a good corporate partner in the Charlotte community," he says. "We think it's critically important. (Both banks) are part of the fabric of this town. Our facility is three blocks away from both of those banks."

Wachovia (NYSE:WB) and BofA (NYSE:BAC) both have direct investment stakes in the franchise as part of Bobcats Basketball Holdings, headed by Johnson, the team's majority owner.

The original loan, approved in May 2004, was for $100 million and led by Citi (NYSE:C). Part of the original loan, which included BofA and Wachovia as secondary players, came from an NBA-backed loan pool established in 2003.

The NBA charged Johnson and his investors a $300 million franchise fee to enter the league. In November, the Bobcats begin their fourth season in Charlotte and their third playing at the $265 million publicly funded uptown arena.

Experts say the decision to refinance with Wachovia and BofA is already paying dividends.

"Before, BofA was very cold toward" the Bobcats, says one source with knowledge of the talks. "The attitude was, 'Hey, we put up dollars to help get the team here -- we're done.' They slammed the door. They made a statement to Bob and it worked."

Johnson could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

The source says BofA has begun offering help to the Bobcats on a formal and informal basis. Among the possibilities: inserting Bobcats ticket offers and promotional material in monthly statements to local and regional customers. Bobcats sales reps also recently made a pitch to prospective ticket buyers at BofA's uptown trading floor.

Jim Nash, BofA's lead sports-finance executive, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Negotiations began six months ago with Carlos Evans, head of wholesale banking at Wachovia, and then-BofA North Carolina market President Graham Denton. When Denton retired in June, his successor, Milton Jones, continued the talks.

 

you are obsessed with naming rights, dude.

 

Yeah, its the drugs I think . . .

 

The Bobcats should work out a deal with Time Warner and MASN to move their games from News 14(which you can't even get in some places) to the newest channel to grace Time Warner cable's basic teir. Then in exchange for the tv deal, the Bobcats should give naming rights to both companies.

Bottom Line: The 2008 Charlotte Bobcats open up their season at the MASN/Time Warner arena and everyone can see it on MASN on channel 41 on Time Warner Cable.

 

BofA isn't going to put their name on two sports facilities in the same city. That would be confusing and stupid.