New York, September 14, 2016 -- Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") has
upgraded Yankee Stadium LLC's rating to Baa1 from Baa2, affecting
about $1.2 billion of rated debt outstanding. Moody's
has also assigned a Baa1 to Yankee Stadium LLC's $779 million PILOT
Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2016. The outlook is stable.
The New York City Industrial Development Agency, NY serves as the issuer of the bonds.
RATINGS RATIONALE
The upgrade to Baa1 from Baa2 reflects the improved forecasted financial
metrics and overall project resiliency due to the significant debt service
savings derived from the planned bond refunding that appreciably reduces
annual debt service costs on a sustained basis. Also, there
is an increased liquidity cushion following the refunding given the annual
PILOT payments that Yankee Stadium LLC makes every February 1st to the
NYC IDA remain the same, but the margin between the PILOTs and the
actual amount of debt service paid will increase after the planned refunding.
This increases the amount of cash held by the NYC IDA that is subsequently
released to Yankee Stadium LLC in September of each year to fund stadium
operating and maintenance expenses.
The Baa1 rating reflects the strength of the Yankees franchise and the
teams' location in the strongest and most affluent media market
in the US. A key credit strength is the teams' non-relocation
agreement that ties the team to the stadium. The rating acknowledges
the inherent cyclicality of the sports industry and incorporates the variable
nature of the essentially single-sourced revenue stream assigned
to the bonds. This potential variability warrants higher coverage
ratios compared to projects that have a higher level of contracted and
more predictable revenues assigned to pay debt service. The potential
revenue variability is balanced against a long history of demand and proven
resiliency through variable team performance and economic cycles that
provides a good degree of cash flow certainty. The Yankees have
a long history of loyal attendance that provides a base level of demand
to support stadium operations, debt service, and distribution
of excess revenues.
The capital structure provides significant headroom to absorb the expected
revenue variability that is likely to occur multiple times over the life
of the bonds. Debt service coverage ratios (DSCRs) have remained
strong despite declines in recent years owing to lower revenues and rising
debt service costs that plateau in 2017. With the planned refunding
and anticipated annual debt service savings, the level of headroom
and degree of resiliency will be enhanced on a sustained basis,
resulting in more robust DSCRs under several downside scenarios examined.
The rating further incorporates the relatively simple nature of the stadium
operations and capital reinvestment profile, as well as the simplified
capital structure with only one swaption with a low negative mark-to-market
of $1.8 million as of mid-September 2016.
The rating also recognizes the strong project financing protections including
high reserves, no ability to accelerate the PILOT bonds, and
other aspects of the stadium's project finance structural features that
exist in the financing documents, which we believe provide incremental
protection for bondholders in several downside scenarios.
Rating Outlook
The stable outlook reflects our expectation that assigned regular season
ticket sale and luxury seat license revenues will provide above average
coverage of annual debt service costs on a sustained basis enabling the
issuer to distribute excess cash flow to support team operations.
Factors that Could Lead to an Upgrade
• Debt service coverage ratios consistently exceed 4.5 times
on a gross basis
• A material reduction in total leverage
Factors that Could Lead to a Downgrade
• Debt service coverage ratios consistently below 3.0 time
on a gross basis
• Competitive pressures that impact New York Yankees Partnership's
(NYYP) ability to field a quality team, which results in a material
decline in future attendance and ticket sales
• Prolonged player strike that results in materially weaker revenues
and the need to draw on reserves
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Generic Project Finance
Methodology published in December 2010. Please see the Ratings
Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this
methodology.
Issuer Profile
Yankee Stadium is the home facility for the New York Yankees and is located
in the Bronx, New York. The land upon which the facility
is situated is owned by the City of New York and is leased to the New
York City Industrial Development Agency (NYC IDA) for a 99-year
term and the NYC IDA owns the facility itself. Yankee Stadium LLC
(StadCo) leases the facility and subleases the land from NYC IDA.
Debt service-like payments are made from StadCo to the NYC IDA
in connection with both the lease and the sublease. StadCo makes
a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) and a rental payment to the NYC IDA,
the issuer of the bonds. The NYC IDA uses the PILOT and the rental
payment to pay debt service on the PILOT bonds and the taxable rental
bonds. Assigned revenues from StadCo, which are generated
by luxury suite license fees and ticket sales from approximately 81 regular
season Yankees home games, are the source of PILOT and rental payments.
. Ultimately owned by Yankee Global Enterprise (YGE), StadCo
does not partake in other business related activities and its obligations
are without recourse to YGE or any related affiliate.
Upgrades:
..Issuer: New York City Industrial Development Agcy,
NY
....Senior Secured Revenue Bonds, Upgraded
to Baa1 from Baa2
....Senior Unsecured Revenue Bonds,
Upgraded to Baa1 from Baa2
....Underlying Senior Unsecured Revenue Bonds,
Upgraded to Baa1 from Baa2
Assignments:
..Issuer: New York City Industrial Development Agcy,
NY
....Senior Unsecured Revenue Bonds,
Assigned Baa1
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings
are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's
rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to
each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their
credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating.
For provisional ratings, this announcement provides certain regulatory
disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and
in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to
the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction
structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive
rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further
information please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the
respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit
support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action,
and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action,
the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity.
Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures,
if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure
to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit
rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating
review.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the rating.
Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
John Medina
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Project Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
A.J. Sabatelle
Associate Managing Director
Project Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653