Council authorizes up to $250 million in bonds and awards New Mobile Arena contract to BL Harvard International

The Mobile City Council on Feb. 20 approved an ordinance authorizing the issuance of up to $250,000,000 in general obligation warrants and authorized a contract with BL Harvard International for construction of the New Mobile Arena.

The moves clear major finance and procurement steps for the arena project. "Those are monumental moves," Mayor William S. Stimpson said after the votes, adding that the city expects to "go to the market" for the bonds "maybe March 5" and that once the financing is secured "it'll be game on."

The ordinance (listed in the meeting as 84010) authorizes up to $250,000,000 in principal for general obligation warrants, series 2025A. The council took the action during the regular meeting with motions to approve; the transcript records the motions, seconds and general assent but does not record a numerical roll-call vote or a tally in the minutes.

The council also authorized a contract (listed in the meeting as 21403) with BL Harvard International for construction of the New Mobile Arena. City staff credited engineering and cost-estimating work by Volkert and by Sam Matheny for the project's current cost estimate; the meeting record does not include a final, line-item project budget or a complete funding source breakdown.

Mayor Stimpson said staff and the city's financial advisors will complete remaining preparatory steps before selling the warrants. The council did not specify final debt service schedules, funding sources, or an exact construction start date during the meeting.

Next steps identified at the meeting include taking the bonds to market and completing contract preconditions. The city did not provide further public details on procurement milestones, the total guaranteed maximum price, or the timeline for arena completion at the Feb. 20 session.