The company that operates parking garages at Yankee Stadium and is staring at about $240 million of debt has hired bankruptcy counsel, according to a
Bronx Parking Development Co. will pay Willkie Farr & Gallagher $180,000 per year or $18,750 monthly, according to the 2013 operating budget for its stadium parking facilities, the company said in a posting Monday with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's EMMA website.
The company said last fall it would not have enough reserves in 2013 to pay investors holding the debt. Bronx Parking issued $238 million of bonds in 2007, through the New York City Industrial Development Agency, in relation to the construction of the new Yankee Stadium. The ballpark opened in 2009.
Nuveen Asset Management holds $116 million of the bonds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Bronx Parking's chief restructuring officer, Edward Moran, last year asked bondholders to take a haircut. "Unless debt service costs are lowered through a voluntary restructuring, bankruptcy will be BPDC's only available option," he said in a report.
While the Yankees' attendance for ballgames has been high, garage occupancy has been down to about 43%, according to documents. Drivers must pay at least $35 minimum to park, and many fans have chosen instead to ride the subway and Metro North Railroad, or park for free at the nearby Gateway mall and walk to the stadium.
