That comes as U of L already is on probation for a recruiting scandal that landed the school on NCAA probation – raising the possibility of harsher sanctions.
The arena board still intends to refinance the arena’s bonds this fall, said its chairman, Scott C. Cox.
“What’s happened in the last few days does not change that,” he said. “We’re going to push hard.”
Faced with increasing debt payments, the arena board intends to refund the arena’s bonds and replace them with new ones. In so doing, officials anticipate they will pay less over the next decade – in some cases, as much as $10 million less.
To retire the debt, the arena board would use a mix of revenues that includes money generated when U of L rents the arena for men’s basketball games.
The university agreed this summer to pay the arena authority an additional $2.42 million per year and cede control of arena dates in October. In recent years, the school has provided more than $1.3 million annually under a revenue sharing agreement.
The arena authority still is waiting for Wall Street analysts to rate the bonds. In the past, they have noted the success of U of L basketball when evaluating the arena authority’s ability to pay down debt.
