6/26/2023 3:24:11 PM
St. Paul, MN: Today, two decades ahead of schedule and at the earliest opportunity, Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) paid off all $377 million in outstanding public debt on bonds issued for development of U.S. Bank stadium.
“Paying off the stadium debt early will save taxpayers about $226 million in total interest payments,” said MMB Commissioner Jim Schowalter. “Going forward, it will also free up some $150 million in annual receipts from pull tabs for other important state projects.”
In 2014, Minnesota Management and Budget financed a $498 million public share of the stadium cost by issuing bonds, scheduled to be paid off by 2043.
Tax revenues from pull-tab sales and Minneapolis special local sales taxes were reserved for use in paying off the bond debt.
Under the bond financing agreement, June 2023 is the first chance the state had to refinance or pay off the remaining $377 million bond debt.
With the support of the Minnesota legislature, the state made the most of that opportunity, combining the $366 million in available stadium reserve funds with a $12 million general fund appropriation to pay off the bonds and remaining interest.
“State bonding helped take the stadium project from dream to reality,” said Schowalter. “We are fortunate to be able to pay off the debt 20 years early and to have one of the greatest stadiums in the nation here in Minnesota.”
Patrick Hogan, Enterprise Director of Communication and Planning
Address: Minnesota Management and Budget, 400 Centennial Building, 658 Cedar Street, Saint Paul, MN 55155
Phone: 651-259-3737
Email: patrick.hogan@state.mn.us
