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Winnipeg Blue Bombers

BBB Stadium Inc. Announces Stadium Project Enhancements

December 21, 2012 - Canadian Football League (CFL)
Winnipeg Blue Bombers News Release


WINNIPEG, MB - Today, Blue Bombers-Bisons (BBB) Stadium Inc., represented by its board chair Phil Sheegl, announced a commercial loan arrangement has been secured for fan experience improvements at Investors Group Field, the new home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The financing by CIBC of $10 million for the cost of upgrades will be repaid through Winnipeg Football Club revenues from 2013 to 2016. These additional costs are not being financed by government.

Improvements to the fan experience include enhanced concessions design, installation of video ribbon boards, seat upgrades, improved concert set-up capability and the upgrading of several suites, among others.

"We want to thank CIBC for their confidence in the strength of the Winnipeg Football Club's long-term business plan," said BBB Inc. board chair and Winnipeg Football Club board member Phil Sheegl. "When fans first walk into the stadium in the early spring, they will be impressed by the high calibre of the facility. The enhancements we're making will take the stadium to the next level as a venue for events like future Grey Cup games and other entertainment."

"These are additions that would have been made in future years, but adding them now creates better cost-certainty, improves the stadium function, and will generate additional revenue for the Club from day-one," said Garth Buchko, Winnipeg Football Club President and Chief Executive Officer.

Major construction activities at Investors Group Field are nearing completion. The Football Club will begin moving into the facility in January, when it will turn the old stadium over to the City for redevelopment of the property. The Bomber Store at Canad Inns Stadium will remain open until December 24, 2012.

Open houses for season ticket holders will be held in the New Year and the first public events are anticipated in May 2013, including the University of Manitoba Bisons Spring Training Camp.

BBB Stadium Inc. is the partnership created by the Winnipeg Football Club, Province of Manitoba, City of Winnipeg, and University of Manitoba to develop and commercialize Winnipeg's new stadium.

The $190 million project, which is protected by a Guaranteed Maximum Price, is being financed by $160 million in loans from the Province. $85 million of this loan is supported by the Winnipeg Football Club and the remaining $75 million by incremental property taxes from the redevelopment of the Canad Inns Stadium site. Government commitments remain the same; a grant of $22.5 million from the Province, and a grant of $7.5 million from the City.

Sheegl and Buchko also noted that as part of the commercial financing, the Winnipeg

Football Club will increase its payments to the Province by $500,000 per year over the next 44 years by using funds from capital reserves, which would have been used to pay for capital upgrades in future years.

The addition of $10 million in commercial financing is repayable from revenues of the Winnipeg Football Club, bringing the total investment in community infrastructure and jobs to $200 million.

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