Final $36m of equity financing secured for Sports Museum.

Dreier LLP announced that it represented the equity investors in negotiating and completing the final $36 million round of equity financing for the new National Sports Museum, which will be located in lower Manhattan.

Dreier LLP represented private investors, who included senior management of nearly every major New York investment firm, in the highly complex round of financing for the country's first interactive museum dedicated to the history and importance of sports. The museum is expected to open to the public in 2008.

"It's very gratifying when we have the opportunity to work on a project of this national significance. With the financing in place, the National Sports Museum is one step closer to opening its doors," stated Dreier LLP partner Bruce Bronster, who was lead co-counsel for the "D" round of equity investors along with Dreier LLP partner Glenn Burlingame.

The final round of equity financing, along with $57 million in New York Liberty Bonds issued by the City and State of New York as debt financing for the museum, brings the project's total financing to more than $100 million.

With the completion of the financing, the National Sports Museum is entering into the design and construction phase at its home in a landmark building formerly owned by John D. Rockefeller. Created in partnership with North America's major sports halls of fame, museums and organizations, the interactive venue will be housed in 100,000 feet of space just four blocks from the World Trade Center site at the lower end of Broadway at Bowling Green. The lease for the space commenced in August, and construction is expected to start in early 2007.

The final round of financing, which has taken more than two years to complete, involved complex negotiations among representatives of the Liberty Bonds grant, the investment banks placing the bonds and other debt-holders as well as the equity interests of the founders and earlier investors.

The unique public/private financing arrangement for the project involved the granting of $57 million in New York Liberty Bonds by the City and State of New York, clearing the way for private investors to complete the $36 million in equity financing.

"We are grateful to the city and state of New York for granting these bonds and to our private investors for their support," said Philip Schwalb, National Sports Museum Founder and CEO. "Because of their collective belief in our vision, we are well on our way to creating a cultural destination for sports fans and being a driving force in revitalizing Lower Manhattan."

The Museum, which will be the new home of college football's Heisman Trophy awards, will house modern interactive exhibits and memorabilia celebrating baseball, basketball, football, hockey, golf, tennis, boxing, track and field, soccer, swimming, lacrosse, extreme sports, auto racing, equestrian events and other sports.

The National Sports Museum's more than 50 partner organizations include halls of fame such as those for basketball, hockey, college football, soccer and the PGA; national governing bodies such as U.S.A. Hockey, U.S. Soccer, U.S.A. Baseball and U.S. Lacrosse; museums, such as those celebrating the Negro Leagues and Yankee legend Yogi Berra; and the NASCAR.