Marlins Stadium thread

[Hia-leah JDM]

The best part of tonights battle for the park had to be Mr. nutcase called Javier Souto. This guy says we shouldn't rely on tourism because the economy is too shaky which could be true but Miami just had its most succesful tourist season and experiencing another one right now. But then Mr. nutty goes on to say we should watch out for Cuba, because he thinks Cuba is about to go through radical changes and if cuba becomes democratic which he apparently thinks is soon, Miami can kiss the tourist good bye because Cuba will take all of our tourist. He says the Europeans will flock to Cuba because Cuba is better, and Miami will loose all its tourist. Thats his explanation for tourist tax dollars being a bad idea for building a baseball stadium.
he also apparently thinks 9 years is too little time and the county and city are rushing talks for the stadium.

How is this guy sitting on a commissioner chair!?!?




And about the stadium view, I would hope they build the stadium like the current Orange Bowl and the opening side of the stadium facing downtown, this case being the curtian walls.

[theEmbarcadero]

THIS IDAHOAN IS REJOICING.....HOORAY FOR MIAMI....HOORAY FOR REAL MIAMI MARLINS FANS....AND HOORAY FOR LITTLE HAVANA...

GO BACK AND READ WHERE I POSTED IN AN ANOTHER THREAD THAT ASKED.....WHERE IS THE NEXT BIG MIAMI BOOM GOING TO HAPPEN IN...?

I SAID....WEST OF DOWNTOWN....WEST OF 95.

WHILE MANY CITIES BASEBALL STADIUMS DON'T REVITILIZE A NEIGHBORHOOD...I BELIEVE THIS ONE WILL....

I SEE WRIGLEYVILLE....LATIN STYLE ! 81 HOME DATES IS TOO MANY TO IGNORE......AND MANY BUSINESSES WILL MOVE IN AND GENTRIFY THE AREA....WITHOUT SPOILING THE CHARMING QUALITIES THAT IT ALREADY HAS....

[kevinkagy]

Bicentennial Park was definitely not a better location for the "Miami Marlins" stadium, not at all. We barely have the downtown park space we have, and you want to build more on it? Atleast the museums are small enough to compensate. Plus, I really think the stadium could do a lot of wonders for that area. It's an interesting area that has a lot of potential considering its proximity to the Civic Center and Downtown. And I hope the designs do have an opening towards Downtown, that'd be stunning, absolutely stunning...

[AddictedToSpace]

Bicentennial Park and the surrounding area will be revitalized whether a Marlin Stadium is built on the property or not, so the area does not need it and it would be a waste of tax payer money regardless of how harmonious and beautiful it would look on that parcel. Now, the Orange Bowl grounds and surrounding area do need and will benefit from a Miami Marlin Stadium with all the jobs, business and infrastructure it will no doubt bring with its construction. That is all, continue sleeping.

[spellbound]

Ultimately I'm happy there's a deal since it means baseball will stay in the market and losing the franchise would have been very embarrassing.

That said, I think a downtown site would have been FAR preferable for myriad reasons. The possibility was there for real synergy with transit...bars, restaurants...new residents with disposable income who could literally walk to the ballpark, etc.

The OB site really offers none of that and will be very much a car-oriented facility. I don't believe it will result in any great explosion of change in the immediate surrounding area, either. This isn't the Red Sox or Yankees we're talking about---a team that can reliably count upon throngs of people showing up game after game. Unless the Marlins field an outstanding product on the field (and how many teams can do that consistently?) there's no compelling reason whatsoever to think they won't continue to struggle with attendance. It's a football town.

Anyway, I'll always regret what I think was truly a lost opportunity to make the Marlins an integral part of bringing more vitality to downtown but I wish them the best and ---as I said---at least the sport will remain in the market.

[spellbound]

Originally Posted by Hia-leah JDM

The best part of tonights battle for the park had to be Mr. nutcase called Javier Souto. This guy says we shouldn't rely on tourism because the economy is too shaky which could be true but Miami just had its most succesful tourist season and experiencing another one right now. But then Mr. nutty goes on to say we should watch out for Cuba, because he thinks Cuba is about to go through radical changes and if cuba becomes democratic which he apparently thinks is soon, Miami can kiss the tourist good bye because Cuba will take all of our tourist. He says the Europeans will flock to Cuba because Cuba is better, and Miami will loose all its tourist. Thats his explanation for tourist tax dollars being a bad idea for building a baseball stadium.
he also apparently thinks 9 years is too little time and the county and city are rushing talks for the stadium.

How is this guy sitting on a commissioner chair!?!?

Wow...even by Souto's VERY low standards that's just nutty. It must have escaped his miniature, cashew-sized brain that even if some tourists forego South Florida for a Cuban holiday the increased trade possibilities as well as the inevitability of more cruise ship traffic at both Port Everglades and the Port of Miami would EASILY supercede any loss.

What a dimwit. He should get his own show on Comedy Central.

[dave8721]

Whats with all these 3-4 AM posts. Am I the only one who sleeps around here?

The Miami Herald lots would be the best place for the stadium with the parcels to the west of the Arsht Center or the un-used portion of Midtown being the next best choices. The prices for purchasing the land (especially the midtown and arsht center land) wouldn't be much more than the money they are going to spend trying to make the area around the OB easier to get in and out of.

Also not even the Yankees could revitalize an econimically depressed area. See the area around Yankee stadium for example. Yankee stadium is a drive in, drive out (or subway in, subway out) deal as well with little impact on its local economy due to its non-downtown location. And they drew almost 50,000 per game last year. The same goes for Shea in Queens.

Had the stadium gone up 3 years ago at the height of the boom I could see new residential buildings and gentrification going up around the OB site but its going to take a while now.

[900Biscayneguy]

If they do build the new stadium on the old OB site, it will be a cold day in hell before I ever step foot in that place. Huge mistake on the city/county for choosing that site. They can keep it!! Just my two cents!

[spellbound]

Originally Posted by dave8721

Whats with all these 3-4 AM posts. Am I the only one who sleeps around here?

LOL...I've been wondering when someone would ask about that. I co-manage a club here in Philly so my work hours tend to be pretty crazy. Usually get home around 3 a.m. and spend an hour or so on the net winding down.

Either that, or I'm a vampire....

[spellbound]

Just to note that there's no "if" about the OB site. That's it. No other alternative exists anymore.

Totally agreed it's a lousy site but the economics of the situation dictated things rather than a long-term view that would have been far more beneficial to downtown and the Marlins, imo.

[noland123]

I don't think it is the best spot either,however, since the Orange Bowl is to be demolished and there more than likely wouldn't be anything built for a long time the new stadium fills that vacant lot.
I myself like the name Miami Marlins better than the Florida Marlins.Will they be called the Miami Marlins when they move in to the new stadium or way before that ?

[spellbound]

The name change will take effect for the 2011 season, not before. I think it sounds better, too. Teams should ALWAYS be named after cities rather than regions, imo. I hate stuff like "Golden State" Warriors or "New England" Patriots. It's Oakland and Boston.

[Desiderata]

I don't know if these are official...found them on the web...looks like the old (most current?) OB site design:



Is the exterior mostly windows/glass panels...like the front of the AAA? That would be kinda cool...especially at night.

[FTL Beach Bum]

In other news...

Marlins Want Fat Men Who Can Dance

MIAMI (Feb. 23) - The Florida Marlins are looking for some footloose fat men. The National League team is creating an all-male, plus-size cheerleading squad to be dubbed the Manatees. Tryouts were scheduled for Sunday.

The team hopes to recruit seven to 10 tubby men to dance, cheer and jiggle during Friday and Saturday home games this season.

Real manatees, 1,200-pound mammals sometimes referred to as "sea cows," are not considered the most agile of creatures and often get caught in boat propellers.

The Marlins want their Manatees to have the same dimensions, but to be decidedly more agile. Men will be judged on how well they dance a choreographed routine.

The Marlins already have a cheerleading squad, the considerably more svelte Mermaids.

Men selected for the Manatees won't be paid. They'll get tickets to games they perform at, and the honor of dancing in front of crowds that have been smallest in major league baseball for the last two seasons.

The Marlins aren't the only pro sports team capitalizing on Americans' expanding waistlines. The Chicago Bulls basketball team have the Matadors, a big-man dance troupe that's entertained fans at home games since 2003.

And although cheerleaders might be an unfamiliar site in baseball, big men aren't, as fans have long cheered on the likes of Babe Ruth and Kirby Puckett.

Source

[intresant]

So upon my arrival I'm just seeing that this madness is going through...

What a tremendous opportunity for downtown wasted, how frustrating !!!
People who live in the OB area will not be enough to sustain such a fickle franchise.

And what about them northern fans who in reality are the most profitable to the team? Who on earth is going to drive all the way from Broward to get into that kind of traffic on the Dolphin?? I mean even during the day it's a MAYOR problem to exit in the two exits before the downtown toll, how on earth are people going to go during rush hour it's insane!!

It's not too late for a downtown stadium!!!

Why are some people afraid there won't be any park space left in Bicentennial park???

If the slot in between the AAA and the park were be filled, the space a stadium would take up out of the precious park land would be generously compensated by the new land. Even more so if the lot behind the AAA (WHICH IS ALREADY PUBLIC LAND) is added!

Mamma mia, imagine what a world class park that would be with two grand museums, a basketball stadium and a state of the art baseball stadium!

You don't believe me, well Ill show you guys with a drawing

Oh and btw, it just occurred to me that there's a freaking tunnel to be dug up next door, HELLO NEW LAND!!!!!!!!!! It makes total sense!

And what about the OB site? Why not give the community a much needed sports park ala tropical park with baseball fields, soccer fields etc?

[intresant]

[spellbound]

I hear 'ya, but the fact is that it IS too late for a downtown ballpark. Game over. Done deal. They either build at the OB site or baseball leaves the market.

[305Lover]

Originally Posted by intresant

So upon my arrival I'm just seeing that this madness is going through...

What a tremendous opportunity for downtown wasted, how frustrating !!!
People who live in the OB area will not be enough to sustain such a fickle franchise.

And what about them northern fans who in reality are the most profitable to the team? Who on earth is going to drive all the way from Broward to get into that kind of traffic on the Dolphin?? I mean even during the day it's a MAYOR problem to exit in the two exits before the downtown toll, how on earth are people going to go during rush hour it's insane!!

It's not too late for a downtown stadium!!!

Why are some people afraid there won't be any park space left in Bicentennial park???

If the slot in between the AAA and the park were be filled, the space a stadium would take up out of the precious park land would be generously compensated by the new land. Even more so if the lot behind the AAA (WHICH IS ALREADY PUBLIC LAND) is added!

Mamma mia, imagine what a world class park that would be with two grand museums, a basketball stadium and a state of the art baseball stadium!

You don't believe me, well Ill show you guys with a drawing

Oh and btw, it just occurred to me that there's a freaking tunnel to be dug up next door, HELLO NEW LAND!!!!!!!!!! It makes total sense!

And what about the OB site? Why not give the community a much needed sports park ala tropical park with baseball fields, soccer fields etc?

Yea, there are some people that think Bicentennial Park is the only green space left in Downtown. I think its silly. And the fact that they are going to fill in the marina, which is ridiculous in my opinion (buyers at Marina Blue paid for a MARINA view), there is going to be even MORE green space. BTW, green space can be added in the core of the downtown area by knocking down four or five old rundown buildings that can be found anywhere in Downtown Make a park surrounded by buildings, and not just water.

[900Biscayneguy]

Originally Posted by 305Lover

And the fact that they are going to fill in the marina, which is ridiculous in my opinion (buyers at Marina Blue paid for a MARINA view), there is going to be even MORE green space. BTW, green space can be added in the core of the downtown area by knocking down four or five old rundown buildings that can be found anywhere in Downtown Make a park surrounded by buildings, and not just water.

They are not going to fill in the marina area in front of MarinaBlue. They just finished rebuilding the sea wall a couple of months ago. That was a multi- million dollar improvment project.

[Desiderata]

Yeah, don't plans show the "marina" incorporated to the park itself?

Inresant's concept it a good one though. Maybe one they should've (or did they?) look at. Though isn't a ballpark with a retractable roof bigger and square shaped...taking up more space. It could've worked. I mean are the experts even certain that a large "green" park can succeed in DTWN?

I don't personally think that the OB site is the best for the ballpark, but its better than nothing. In decades maybe by the next boom, we'll see scrapers closer to the ballpark. At the very least it gives them an area to look at...to start from, and move east. Imagine scrapers from the ob site all the way to Biscayne Bay...density indeed.

So at this point the one thing they should do is make sure they position the park in such a way that you see the skyline in the distance. Is that even possible?