Before Josh Harris purchased the franchise for $6.05 billion from Dan Snyder, scandals and losing had made the club a punchline. But as another NFL season kicks off Thursday, the Commanders enter the year with hope that perception is starting to change.
ATLANTA Today, the Atlanta Hawks announced that it has agreed to refinance the construction loan for the Emory Sports Medicine Complex with a syndicate of Black-owned banks. The $35 million loan marks the first time a professional sports franchise has had a significant loan underwritten exclusively by Black banks.
The groundbreaking transaction was facilitated with the support of the newly-formed National Black Bank Foundation, which organized a syndication team to structure the deal. Georgia-based Carver State Bank served as the syndicate’s Lead Arranger. By partnering with the Black bank syndicate, the Hawks are both demonstrating that Black banks can compete with money center banks for commercial loans as well as using the Club’s strong credit rating to bolster the capital cushion for Black banks so that they can better serve their traditional customer base.