Gov. Daniels Injects Urgency Into Colts Stadium Deal

INDIANAPOLIS -- The last piece of the puzzle is set to drop into place Thursday for the new Indianapolis Colts stadium and convention center expansion.

The state's stadium authority meets Thursday afternoon to approve the development agreement with the team, RTV6's Norman Cox reported.

The agreement between the state and the team deals with the design of the stadium and long-term financing.

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Slideshow: Proposed Colts Stadium

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Last week's lease deal between the city and the Colts dealt with rental terms and, specifically, who will pay how much for what each year.

Thursday's deal means the stadium authority will be able to issue the bonds so ground can be broken as soon as possible.

That is important if there's going to be any hope of meeting the Aug. 2008 construction timetable.

Gov. Daniels said moving quickly is paramount so the deal could be done before interest rates go up.

"It was very important to get the closure so that the money could be borrowed at the favorable interest rates we still have," Daniels said. "My concern has been that the team and the city would wrangle so long that interest rates might rise. Looks like if they can sign up now that we will secure this at even a little less cost than we originally projected."

Getting a low interest rate is especially important since the Colts forced both the city and the state to back down on the $3 a ticket tax that was supposed to help pay for the stadium.

State fiscal experts said they believe they can still build the stadium without the ticket tax.