A nonrefundable first payment of $160,000 is required today for the Classic, which will be run on Oct. 26.

Under the proposal, worked out last month by the creditors' committee, Texaco would make a $1 billion nonrefundable payment.

One person familiar with those discussions said that, if an agreement between the committees was not reached, the general creditors' committee would probably favor a $1.4 billion nonrefundable payment by Texaco to Pennzoil.

The company has agreed to pay immediately a $17 million nonrefundable down payment for the site, where it will build a million-square-foot office building, with retail stores.

The general creditors' committee has proposed an interim settlement: in exchange for a nonrefundable payment of $1 billion by Texaco, Pennzoil would reduce its maximum claim to $3.5 billion.

Sales contracts usually require a buyer to pay a nonrefundable down payment of at least 10 percent of the purchase price.

Should Ellman's group not be able to close a deal with Burke, it would forfeit nearly $20 million in nonrefundable payments it has already made.

The company said it would not make the extraordinarily risky nonrefundable payment that Sir Howard Stringer, the chairman of Sony of America, had just made.

They were willing to make a large, nonrefundable down payment and they had the cash to close the deal.

"This is a realistic bid, and we have realistic expectations," he said, adding that Boymelgreen made a nonrefundable $1 million payment on signing the agreement.