Report: NBA to borrow $200M to aid 12 teams
Feb. 26, 2009
CBSSports.com wire reports NEW YORK -- The NBA has lined up $200 million to distribute to teams interested in additional cash, which the league considers a sign it remains strong in a slumping economy.
Between $13 million and $20 million will be available to each of 12 teams that have expressed interest in the funds, commissioner David Stern said Thursday. The money can be used for any purpose, including helping teams deal with operating losses incurred because of the economy.
It should not, Stern said, be construed as a bailout. At a time when credit markets have been frozen, investors saw the NBA as a safe bet.
"It's exactly the opposite" of a bailout, Stern told the Associated Press "This was a show of strength in the credit worthiness of the NBA's teams."
The NBA declined to name the teams interested in the money.
The league has an existing $1.7 billion credit facility, essentially a line of credit established by lenders from which teams can borrow. The league had been interested in growing the facility when the credit markets seized up last fall. ........(more)
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