Football, brought to you by Goldman Sachs
About 15 years ago, investment banker Greg Carey helped the New England Patriots secure the money for a stadium. He soon took his talents to Goldman Sachs.
Over a decade later, Goldman Sachs has become a leader in stadium finance, securing money for the 49ers’ Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and the new Yankee Stadium in New York. Goldman Sachs doesn’t just provide the money however, it also helps make stadiums as profitable as possible.
“They’ve been the ones who have come up with all the new innovations in this business,” the Los Angeles Times’ Tim Logan says. Among the innovations: securing low interest loans, personal seat licenses (PSLs), and turning multi-billion-dollar stadiums into tax-free public entities.
The city of Carson recently announced that Goldman Sachs would bankroll a new stadium that could potentially be shared by the Oakland Raiders and the San Diego Chargers. If it succeeds, it will be one of the most expensive stadiums ever built.
Logan says most of the money will come from PSLs, and they’re expecting to sell a ton of them: about $800 million worth. “If they can raise $800 million with PSLs and they can sell it through a public entity that owns a public stadium, that money is not taxed,” Logan explains. “[They’ll] see all that money [go] into the stadium deal.”
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
