CULLMAN, Ala. – The Cullman City Council Thursday approved a $29,085,000 bond issue to fund the construction of the city’s new civic center and an expansion of the water park at the adjacent Cullman Wellness and Aquatic Center. While the projects have not yet been put out to bid, City Clerk Wes Moore estimated that the civic center will cost at least $20 million, with approximately $10 million for the CWAC expansion.
The 30-year bonds, underwritten by The Frazer Lanier Company, Inc., have a 2.19% yield. The true interest cost to the city is 2.56%, reported to the council as a substantial discount by Moore, who told media that the cost has historically been “well above 3%.” Cullman was able to negotiate the low rate due to a recent bond hearing that upheld a credit rating of AA, which, according to Standard and Poors who did the rating, means that the city “has a very strong capacity to meet its financial commitments.”
When it was introduced in 2019, plans for the proposed multi-use facility included basketball, volleyball and other court sports. In addition, the complex could host community and commercial events like trade shows, expos, conferences and concerts.
At the time of the unveiling of the plan, CPRST said that it already had tentative agreements with promoters for 12 sports tournaments representing eight different sports in the first year after the complex’s opening, which was originally projected for this year. According to then CPRST Director Nathan Anderson, the overall facility that will be created by the Civic Center, CWAC, Field of Miracles and Heritage Park could rank Cullman among the top sports tourism destinations in the country.
According to Mayor Woody Jacobs, construction on the CWAC water park expansion could begin within the next 60 days. The Civic Center is still in the preliminary design phase and is likely at least five months from the beginning of construction.
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