Nixon Peabody Completes Stadium Financings for Both of New York's Major League Baseball Teams

NEW YORK, Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Nixon Peabody LLP announces the completion of baseball stadium financings for two Major League Baseball teams -- the New York Yankees and the New York Mets. The deals ensure that future generations of New Yorkers will be able to cheer their favorite teams in new stadiums without increasing taxes, thanks to a first of its kind financing structure conceived of and developed by Nixon Peabody.

The structure allowed both stadiums to be financed primarily on a tax- exempt basis through the issuance of bonds supported solely by negotiated payments (in lieu of taxes) to be made by affiliates of the teams. To develop this innovative structure, the firm prepared and successfully obtained two separate private letter rulings from the Internal Revenue Service on behalf of the New York City Industrial Development Agency (NYCIDA). As a result, the Yankees and the Mets have on a combined basis saved in excess of $200 million in financing costs.

An important component of the innovative strategy employed by Nixon Peabody was to have the City lease the land on which the stadiums are to be built to the NYCIDA, which in turn leased the land to the baseball teams in order to create a mechanism for the teams to make pilot payments which support the bonds issued to finance the stadiums. During the course of both engagements, the firm was involved with every aspect of the transactions, negotiating, reviewing and drafting the documents and agreements relating to the development, financing and construction of the stadiums.

This was a highly complex deal that involved many separate parties who had to be satisfied in order for the transaction to take place -- the City of New York, the IRS, the teams, Major League Baseball and the NYCIDA. As a result, Nixon Peabody attorneys with experience across many practice areas, including sports finance, tax, real estate, business and securities law, were brought in to work on the matter.

About Nixon Peabody's Public Finance and Sports Finance Practices

Nixon Peabody has one of the largest public finance practices in the U.S. and regularly ranks among the ten most active bond and underwriter counsels nationally in dollar value of bonds issued. They are also widely recognized for their innovative work in the financing of a wide range of municipal and infrastructure projects. The firm's clients include state and local governments, underwriters, private placement agents, bond insurers, banks, and corporate and not-for-profit obligors. The firm's sport finance practice has served as counsel in the development, financing and construction of stadiums and arenas throughout North America, including facilities for the NFL's New England Patriots, the NHL's Ottawa Senators, MLB's Washington Nationals and the NBA's Miami Heat.

About Nixon Peabody

Nixon Peabody LLP is one of the largest law firms in the United States with more than 600 attorneys collaborating across 15 major practice areas in 16 office locations, including Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The firm's size, diversity and advanced technological resources enable it to offer comprehensive legal services to individuals and organizations of all sizes in local, state, national and international matters. Nixon Peabody has been recognized by FORTUNE magazine as a "100 Best Companies To Work For(R)" in 2006.

  Contact:  Andrea Goodman
            Nixon Peabody LLP
            617-345-1381
            agoodman@nixonpeabody.com

            Kat Saunders
            Hill & Knowlton
            212-885-0586
            katherine.saunders@hillandknowlton.com