NEW ORLEANS — The Moreno Administration announced a proposed deal to infuse over $100 million net in cash to the city’s bottom line from the sale of future lease revenue, dramatically advancing its efforts to stabilize the city’s finances and undo years of mismanagement.
“Our team continues to work urgently to stabilize the city’s finances and deliver dependable basic services. This deal is more evidence of our team’s relentless work to solve these issues creatively and sustainably,” said Mayor Helena Moreno. “At no cost to the people of New Orleans, this deal doesn’t just help us right our fiscal ship, it also allows us to focus our resources on real, substantive improvements to our services and infrastructure – and brings us closer to solving the budget crisis we inherited than ever before.”
“This deal is a key part of our plan to rebuild our fund balance and improve our cases to both national rating agencies and the state bond commission that New Orleans is finally on the right fiscal track,” said CAO Joe Giarrusso. “We know we need to think creatively to rebuild confidence in the city’s finances moving forward to decrease our lending costs and deliver key capital projects through bonded indebtedness. This new cash clearly signals the fruits of our efforts to stabilize our finances and build a stronger long-term balance sheet to stakeholders here and afar.”
“The sale of future rental payments represents a significant opportunity for the City of New Orleans to strengthen its fiscal position immediately. By converting this asset into approximately $100 million in available cash, the City can enhance liquidity, reduce reliance on debt, and position itself for more sustainable financial management going forward,” said Mike Waguespack, Louisiana Legislative Auditor. “Hopefully, rating agencies see this as a prudent asset management decision as our team continues to work with the City in achieving its long-term fiscal responsibility goals.”
Through a competitively bid sale of future rent revenue, the New Orleans Building Corporation (NOBC) and the City aim to deliver an immediate inflow of more than $100 million to the City’s coffers. The new arrangement assigns nine years of future Caesars’ rent payments to a financial institution in exchange for near-term cash, without any extra costs to New Orleans’ taxpayers. This cash is essential in delivering services and rebuilding reserves while improving the city’s long-term financial health locally and nationally. The assignment is limited in its duration and does not extend for the remaining 32 years of the Caesars lease. It was important to the Moreno Administration to solve the City’s immediate need for a cash infusion, and to ensure future administrations continue to receive the benefit of the Caesars rent revenue for decades to come.
“Working together with our legal and financial advisors, the NOBC team formulated an attractive opportunity that both highly protected the interests of the City and its taxpayers and brought many bidders to the table. From that process, NOBC and the City reached an agreement in principle on a top-of-market deal with a deeply resourced buyer. NOBC is working toward a successful closing of this transaction that will guarantee strong results for the City and its fiscal health,” said Annie McBride, CEO of the NOBC.
Importantly, other key revenues relating to Caesars, including casino support, education support funds, and grant payments will not be sold under this agreement and will still be available for their intended purposes. An ordinance finalizing this deal, sponsored by all seven Councilmembers, was filed last week and will be considered at the full Council meeting on May 7, 2026. It is anticipated that the transaction will close soon after.