Arena funding deal in doubt

Doubts about bond insurer force rethinking Just days after organizers thought they were on the brink of raising the money to build a downtown arena, the Louisville Arena Authority will likely have to craft a new deal, the project's top official said yesterday. Using bonds to pay for the $249 million arena -- an approach that took months to assemble due to turmoil in the credit markets -- now is "on hold," authority chairman Jim Host said. The announcement follows Monday's move by Moody's Investors Service to consider downgrading its opinion of the financial strength of the arena's bond insurer, Bermuda-based Assured Guaranty. Such a move could add more than $60 million to the project's total debt cost, which is about $600 million, Host said. "If that happens, then we have to have something else lined up," Host said.... [read full story]