“Our CEO checked with local officials and we were told there was local support (for the sports complex),” he said. “In fact, we’re now thinking of doing one ourselves. “

All Sports Village, as offered by developer Andrew Borgia, features indoor and outdoor venues including eight outdoor turf courts, 20 basketball courts inside a 220,800 square foot building, restaurants, retail stores, two 150-room hotels, a family entertainment center, and a medical / physical therapy unit. The complex would be located on a property on Route 20 between Interstate 91 and Old County Road that Borgia plans to close soon.

Last week, First Selectman J. Christopher Kervick explained in a public hearing held in conjunction with the Industrial Development Authority that Borgia will fund the project using up to $ 200 million in tax-exempt bonds.

The City of Phoenix Industrial Development Agency will issue a series of tax-exempt bonds, which Ziegler Investment Bank of Chicago will purchase, Kervick said. The bank will then use the proceeds from the bonds to lend to All Sports Village Inc., a Connecticut tax-exempt entity.

Tuesday’s public hearing, held by the Industrial Development Authority as demanded by the Internal Revenue Service, was a second chance for people to comment on the project. Barber said that the investment bank and the developer presented the project to the authority because it has expertise in issuing this type of tax bond.

The Industrial Development Authority engaged a well-known feasibility consultant to assess the solvency of the developer and the project, as well as to analyze the track record and operating assumptions of the project manager, New York-based JABS Sports Management, Barber said. The authority also performed due diligence, Barber said, through feasibility and market studies.

Now, he said, the investment bank and finance team are preparing all the documents that will be sent to investors.

Kathleen Montemerlo, the only town resident to attend Tuesday’s Zoom hearing, asked how a resort that will charge money for entry can be a non-profit or tax-exempt entity.

Barber said there are different types of nonprofit entities under which an organization can be recognized by the IRS as tax exempt and does not have to be a charity. All Sports Village Inc. is such an entity because it is a private activity, as opposed to a public activity, he said.

The IRS has ruled that companies that “ease the burden on government” – meaning a municipality does not pay for a resort like All Sports Village – are allowed to fund such a project with tax-exempt bonds. , did he declare.

Montemerlo told Barber that it was news to her that All Sports Village had tax-exempt status and that she wanted to make sure there were no other changes in the project, such as the complex organizing concerts on the property.

She also asked if the developer could build the project and then sell it. Barber said the Industrial Development Authority cannot stop the sale of All Sports Village later, but lower interest rates are only good if the project is owned by a nonprofit and the authority will have it in writing.

He has advised Montemerlo to give him his contact details and he will try to set up a Zoom meeting with Borgia to address his concerns that some details of the project may have changed.

On Monday, Barber told the Journal Inquirer that the government can’t do it all and likes the private sector to do a project like All Sports Village.

The cost of building materials has skyrocketed since COVID-19, Barber said, so with a favorable tax rate, it makes sense for a developer to cut borrowing costs and use more money to build the complex.

The Industrial Development Authority has invested in about five out-of-state projects over the past five to seven years, including All Sports Village, he said. The other projects concerned hotels and student accommodation in universities.

The authority receives a fee for issuing bonds for these projects, and 100% of that money is reinvested through donations to nonprofits in the Phoenix community, he said.