Pasadena borrows $30 million to finish off Rose Bowl work

Pasadena City Council has agreed to borrow an additional $30 million and refinance existing bonds to help cover major cost overruns on the renovation of the Rose Bowl.

The $168 million now earmarked for the project makes it the single largest public improvement project in Pasadena history, a city spokesman said.

The work, including widened stadium entrances and a new luxury seating pavilion, was originally budgeted at $152 million in 2010. The estimated price of completing the project has since ballooned to $195 million.

The latest move is intended to provide the city-owned stadium with enough money to pay for work scheduled through the end of the year.

As part of the new funding package, the city will refinance $26.8 million in bond debt left over from 2006 upgrades to locker rooms and media areas that predate the current renovation project. The 2006 bond amount was originally $43 million and would have been paid off by 2023.

With refinancing and the additional $30 million in borrowing, the new bond package will total $55 million to be paid off by 2043, said City Treasurer Andrew Green.

Green said favorable lending conditions and the extended borrowing term will also allow the stadium to reduce its annual bond payments from $3.1 million to $2.58 million.

The $55-million value of the new bond package is lower than the $58-million debt load that was previously anticipated because the bondholder, Union Bank, has agreed to apply security deposits as payments, Green said.

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-- Joe Piasecki, Pasadena Sun

Photo: Rose Bowl file photo.  Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times