Orlando Gets 33 Responses to RFP for Entertainment Venues

BRADENTON, Fla. — After conducting a broader search for an investment banking team, Orlando received responses from 33 firms interested in helping sell $770 million of bonds to cover part of the $1.1 billion cost of three entertainment venues. The proposals, received Aug. 22, are now being reviewed by an evaluation committee. Orlando chief financial officer Rebecca Sutton said yesterday that she is not on the evaluation committee.“We did have a greater level of minority participation, which was the main reason to put the solicitation out a second time,” Sutton said.The city canceled its first request for proposals in early August because it did not attract enough minority- and women-owned firms. The first RFP, which was advertised in a local newspaper, received 22 responses. The second RFP was advertised nationally. In addition, Sutton said top minority-owned firms were contacted directly. Sutton said Orlando’s finance committee now is expected to short list qualifying firms on Sept. 14. The recommended list of firms goes to the City Council for a decision on Sept. 17.The underwriting pool will help the city finance a $480 million arena for the National Basketball Association’s Orlando Magic, a $175 million renovation of the existing Citrus Bowl football stadium, and a $425 million performing arts center. The city wants to build the venues concurrently.However, an influential hotelier has stepped up his campaign aimed at requiring that a referendum be held before spending public funds on the sports venues. Harris Rosen, president of Rosen Hotels & Resorts, has targeted a major funding source for the venues.The funding source is a portion of a tourist tax that Orange County Commissioners on July 26 agreed to give to the city. Orlando plans to leverage the tourist tax and other sources of revenue to build the sports venues and the arts center.Rosen has organized a petition drive that requires 30,600 signatures. If he gets enough signatures, a referendum would be held and the ballot would ask voters to change the county charter and require their approval for any arena or sports stadium that would cost $25 million or more. The arts center is not a part of Rosen’s petition process because he said the public largely supports it.It is not clear yet whether the petition effort would hinder or halt either of the sports complexes, but the city has tentatively scheduled the first bond issuance for this fall. The underwriting firms that responded to the latest RFP, in the order listed by the city, are: Jackson Securities LLC, Lehman Brothers, UBS Securities LLC, Cabrera Capital Markets LLC, Merrill Lynch & Co., Estrada Hinojosa & Co., Alexander & James Co., Stephens Inc., SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Inc., Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Morgan Stanley, A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc., M.R. Beal & Co., Siebert Brandford Shank & Co., Popular Securities Inc., Wachovia Bank NA, Loop Capital Markets LLC, Depfa Bank PLC/First Albany Securities Inc., SBK Brooks Investment Corp., Ramirez & Co., Goldman, Sachs & Co., Citi, Rice Financial Products Co., JPMorgan, Fifth Third Securities Inc., Bear, Stearns & Co., First Southwest Co., RBC Capital Markets, Fidelity Capital Markets Services, Morgan Keegan & Co., Banc of America Securities LLC, Raymond James & Associates Inc., and Sterne, Agee & Leach Inc.