Infrastructure

States are no longer waiting for the federal government when it comes to trying to drum up new revenue for transportation infrastructure, said Victor Mendez, administrator, Federal Highway Administration, Friday morning at the Bond Buyer's Transportation Finance/P3 conference here.

A Nov. 11 announcement that Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves will be building a new stadium in suburban Cobb County and will receive some form of local government funding has brought an age-old debate on whether public dollars for sports facilities makes economic sense for municipalities back to the forefront. The question of governments such as Cobb County utilizing public money for sports venues was raised on Nov. 6 during a panel called “Stadium Financing: Boon or Bane” at the Bloomberg State & Municipal Conference in New York. Gregory Carey, managing director at Goldman Sachs & Co. who heads the investment banking company’s sports finance and surface transportation finance group, argued that the pros of governments investing in stadiums and arenas for their sports teams outweighs the cons. One example cited by Carey was how the $400 million the state of Minnesota is putting in toward a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings comprises roughly the payroll tax paid by the National Football League franchise that would be lost should the team have relocated out of the area.

With motor fuel tax in a long-term slide, transportation advocates need to get better at convincing the public and elected officials about the link between infrastructure and regional economic health, transportation experts here at the Bond Buyer's transportation conference said Thursday.

Legislation introduced in the Senate Thursday would create a new financing authority that would provide loans and loan guarantees for infrastructure projects.

The proposed merger of US Airways Group and American Airlines could be bad news for smaller airports as the combo unit gives up gates at major hubs, Moody's says.

Municipal borrowers looking to expedite the process to tap the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program for project loans should bring a thorough financing package to the table and be flexible in negotiating terms, loan recipients offered up as advice Thursday.

Los Angeles Department of Airports bonds received a healthy reception as the operator of Los Angeles International Airport hits the halfway mark on a $7.2 billion modernization project.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is advancing a major renovation of LaGuardia Airport that may lead to $1.1 billion in bonds being sold.

More than $5 billion in private activity bond capacity remains available from DOT to fund P3’s that invest in large surface transportation projects.

New York's MTA intends to cut nearly in half the size of its planned fare and toll increases for 2015 and 2017, chief financial officer Robert Foran said.