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Marlins Stadium thread

440K views 3K replies 143 participants last post by  theEmbarcadero 
#1 ·
Since the last couple got closed due to a certain loony member I'll start another one.
 
#2 ·
The County proposes a new funding model that shifts more of the risk to the Marlins side and has the Marlins put up most of the "up front" money but has the County paying a bigger share over the long run. Sadly they are still fixated on the Orange Bowl site:

http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/341334.html

BASEBALL
New Marlins stadium plan unveiled
A new plan was unveiled to build the Florida Marlins a ballpark at the Orange Bowl that involved shifting the timing and burden of payments between the team and Miami-Dade County.

BY CHARLES RABIN
crabin@MiamiHerald.com

Miami-Dade County Manager George Burgess offered the Florida Marlins a revised plan for the Orange Bowl site Tuesday that shifts a large out-of-pocket cash burden to the ball club, yet costs the county more in the long term.

Burgess' plan, detailed in a cramped third-floor County Hall conference room with Major League Baseball in attendance, prompted team officials to break a year-long silence on publicly discussing stadium issues.

Team President David Samson called the next 10 days ''critical,'' and said for the first time that if a deal can be brokered, the team would play at the Orange Bowl site.

''We're absolutely willing to look at that,'' said Samson, who was digesting the plan's fine print late Tuesday evening. ``We're not site-specific. We're South Florida specific.''

Burgess, surrounded not only by MLB officials but five county commissioners, said the plan ``minimizes risk to the county.''

The big reason: The Marlins would have to come up with $155 million on the front end, more than triple the $45 million previously discussed.

Yet the team would end up paying less in the long haul for the facility, now budgeted at $525 million. Before, the team's overall burden over many years would total $207 million. Now, it stops at $155 million.

The county's share, meanwhile, would shift as well.

Before, the county would have put up $145 million in bonded tax revenues. It also would have floated a $162 million bond issue that the team would have repaid over decades through gate and concession receipts.

Now, the county will put up $199 million in mostly tourist tax dollars and chip in $50 million from a General Obligation Bond. While that $249 million total is less than the $307 million previously discussed, the county would not be getting additional payments back from the team.

After seven years of failed efforts to find the two-time World Series champions a new home, Burgess said: ``We have a funding plan in place we think works -- finally.''

He said the new formula means public financing would be lowered from 95 percent to about 70 percent. ''Getting away from public financing is good,'' Burgess said. County commissioners will meet Tuesday to discuss the plan.

CITY INVOLVED

Also needing to sign off on the deal: the city of Miami, which would need to put in $121 million, mostly from tourist tax dollars.

Watching it all unfold is Major League Baseball, which believes South Florida warrants keeping the franchise. ''I've got a lot of reading to do tonight,'' said Irwin Raij, an MLB attorney.

The Orange Bowl site became available -- and the preference of some county commissioners -- when the University of Miami announced its football team would play next year at Dolphin Stadium.

Not long after, county leaders managed to shift $50 million in bond money planned to renovate the OB for the Hurricanes to instead help the Marlins build a state-of-the-art facility.

The cost has jumped from a recent $490 million estimate to build at downtown Miami's Government Center.

When complete -- the goal is to open the gates by April 2010 -- the 37,000-seat stadium would feature 60 private luxury suites, a retractable roof and natural grass.

The Marlins would be responsible for cost overruns, and the city of Miami would be on the hook for building a 6,000-car garage. The county would own the stadium.

The team would be required to enter into a non-relocation agreement.

The new details emerge as fan morale took a hit after last week's trade of Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, the Marlins' two most recognizable stars and last remnants from the 2003 World Series champions.

WANT TO STAY

But with a relatively healthy radio and television audience, MLB and owner Jeffrey Loria have expressed a will to stay in South Florida.

The Marlins have said for years they're in dire need of a new facility. Dolphin Stadium, owned by H. Wayne Huizenga and on the county line, was built for football. Loria has consistently cut payroll, saying the majority of parking and concession money goes to Huizenga.

Samson believes that if a stadium is built, the team that traditionally stands near the bottom in payroll and attendance could draw crowds back. ''We've seen markets completely turn around with new stadiums,'' he said.

Tuesday's meeting started as a simple get-together of Commission Chairman Bruno Barreiro and Commissioner Jose ''Pepe'' Diaz, who co-chairs the county's sports commission. It mushroomed as word spread. Soon in attendance were Commissioners Natacha Seijas, Joe Martinez and Carlos Gimenez.

Martinez and Gimenez expressed concerns. Martinez questioned Raij about the Marlins' ability to come up with the money. Before leaving the meeting, Gimenez noted that the team's share would dip. ''Now we're at $155 million,'' he said. ``That's all I've got to say.''
 
#3 ·
Hopefully this proposal goes through. Some people will cry that the team isn't paying enough. But you got to remember that the stadium will provide construction jobs followed by the jobs to run the stadium. It will help revitalize the area as well as attract some investors to the neighborhood. They definitely need to rename the team to the Miami Marlins if so much money is being put by up the city and county. But most importantly there has to be a no relocation clause and sign them up to a 40 year lease. :cheers:
 
#4 ·
Miami Marlins sounds much better than Florida Marlins.

Let me get this straight, they want to completely demolish the Orange Bowl to build this or they're going to work with the Orange Bowl now to make it baseball friendly?
 
#5 ·
The Orange Bowl will be completely demolished. Actually, that will happen regardless of whether a ballpark happens.

The name has long been slated to become "Miami Marlins" if the team moves. That's a done deal.

The OB site itself? Horrendous. But there appears no other alternative.
 
#9 ·
It will be a sad day when they tear the Orange Bowl down. I remember them tearing down the Gator Bowl to build the new Altell Stadium here in Jacksonville and selling off the memorabila it was a melancholic experience. I just hope a new baseball stadium supersedes the the Orange Bowl Site.
 
#10 ·
This deal seems destined to fail. Just a few weeks ago, the Marlins said the OB site would force them to reduce their contribution to the stadium ($45M), because it was less value to them than downtown.

Now this new deal asks the Marlins to Increase that $45M to $155M. Their payments (which is only share of ticket sales/concessions passed on to fans) would be less, but thats over 30 years.

Seems like this deal is getting further and further apart. I don't see much of a chance the Marlins owners paying $155M. Their history of paying as little payroll as possible and trading away expensive players shows how cheap they are.
 
#21 ·
Actually they will be paying more upfront but less in the long run. The Orange Bowl may not be the ideal or best site but at the end of the day; If life gives you lemons you make lemonade with a little vodka in it. :cheers2:
 
#19 ·
The tunnel issue with Miami was, because the money would come from money that was going to be used to help jones district which is ofcourse some of the worst neighborhoods in the city, and some commissioners dont think it will help downtown, but Im pretty sure with the public push the tunnel has had in recent days they will aprove it.
Now with the Marlins stadium, the Orange Bowl site is destined to be the new stadium and somehow we need to make the best of it. If its approved by the county and city which seems to be where its heading, I canty possibly see the Marlins not comprimising with this, they are really time restrained.
Lets hope this section of Little Hvana becomes an awesome sports part of town, and the city puts initiatives in helping the area improve. optimism :lol:
 
#20 ·
Check this out:

http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/071213/story1.shtml

There is now a proposal to also build an MLS soccer stadium as part of the complex, stemming from discussions between the City and the MLS. This would be awesome! Especially since it would be built in the heart of Miami's soccer-crazed immigrant community. Not only would it be great for getting an MLS team back, but it would also be perfect for hosting friendly matches of Latin teams.
 
#25 ·
Off the cuff idea: The city builds a 5 million dollar stadium, attracts a AA team, and we all tell the Marlins to sod off. We have baseball with cheap tickets, cheaper beer, and even the worst seat in the house isn't far from the field. The Marlins already lose all of the great players to Major League teams, and that isn't going to change. Lets wait 15 years until MLB and an owner REALLY want a team in Miami, then we bulldoze our nice little stadium to make way to for a rich guy who will finance his own Major League Field.
 
#26 ·
^^A bunch of minor-league teams already outdraw the Marlins so I'll admit that idea has a bit of appeal, but seriously---I truly think having MLB is one of those things that separates the big boys from everybody else.

Sure, I understand not everybody is into it (and in the Marlins case almost nobody is :lol:) but it's no different than having good parks, museums, etc. Most people don't use those things either on a frequent basis but common sense tells you that it's better to have them than not. It's a civic asset.

The Marlins are cheapskates, no question, but the attendance situation doesn't exactly impel them to change that dynamic either. And I refuse to candycoat it. The attendance was abysmal with some of their contending teams as well. It just hasn't been a good market at all despite the various excuses for it.

I don't know the answer. Maybe South Florida just stinks as a baseball market and MLB never should have expanded there. That's a common sentiment elsewhere, btw. But I'd at least like to HOPE it could get better and one thing I can say without hesitation is this: There's ZERO guarantee baseball would return anytime soon if the Marlins disappear from the market. Plenty of owners would oppose coming back based on past experience and you could ask the folks in Washington about thinking another team is "inevitable." They spent nearly 35 years thinking the same thing after the old Senators left town---with one of the wealthiest, fastest-growing markets in the country and with considerable congressional support behind getting a new team. It's a VERY chancy game to get into...especially with so many other markets desirous of a team.

Keeping MLB in Miami means keeping the Marlins around---for better or worse.
 
#27 ·
Part of the reason the Malrins cut off their top players is because of their deal with Hyzienga(?) and Dolphin Stadium. Other than the fact attendance is bad, they get little or no revenue from parking and other stadium stuff that most teams would get in their own stadium, the team keeps lowering their pay roll and can only afford players until they reach a certian oint in their career when they re worth too much for the Marlins, thats what happened with Cabrera and Willis, and it whats been happening for years.
Hopefully a new stadium will re-energize a bummed out fan base, becuase the fans are there.

And something I stumbled on the net, 40% attending games are from Dade County, 35% from Browrad, 12% from Palm Beach and the rest from other parts of the state.
So basically half of the fans live in Dade (40%) and the other in Browrd and Palm Beach(47% combined).
 
#28 ·
The Marlins, unlike other teams, don't have steady stadium revenue. It all goes to Huizenga! The Marlins' can't be big spenders, because they don't have lucrative income sources that other teams do.

On the other hand, as poorly as the Marlins attend, they have one of the best and most lucrative television and radio contracts of any MLB team, and their television/radio ratings are actually quite good. It tells you something about how baseball shouldn't be played in a stadium, in the suburbs, which requires going through rush hour traffic to get to.
 
#29 ·
I don't understand why the Orange bowl???...why????:rant:
I mean do these people understand the ridiculous traffic they are in for??:wallbash: I mean It's bad enough that I always have to arrive late to a Heat game at 7pm God forbid the Pac is having an event as well.:moods:.Jesus what are these people thinkin...we all know parking will be a real big issue there too..Am i still going to park now at the Ramirez's house for a Baseball game too??..Canes was a one week thing..If they allow us to park in people's houses literally almost every other day we're in for some fun.:gaah:..that will be a real MLB class act..."oh yeah parking? no problem the community will allow that. just pay them a few bucks and park in their yard".:mad2:.. I can live with placing a ballpark in the ol' Miami Arena that will be nice..It will only help promote life in downtown and give great views. I'll swallow the traffic for that..With all the stupid land near Dolphin stadium I'm sure a BAseball field with plenty of parking would of been great near by....

and you know what this "trade off your players away when they get good" is not a bad thing.. heck it's brought two World Series Championships in the last 10 years.. Get all the best young guys. have them play together for a few years.. after three good years together tweak it a bit add a lil pitching bring in one good ass hitter and poof a championship and when they are worth a lot get rid of them and start over again...
you'll have no fan base but what the hell right! I'm done...:bash::crazy:
 
#30 ·
Stop buying into the myth that Marlins owners can't make any money because of their deal at Dolphins stadium!


Marlins owners have at least $60 million in income built-in each year, from revenue sharing and national and local television contracts. That's before you include other streams of revenue such as corporate sponsorships and ticket sales.
You know what the club's MLB-low payroll will be this season? It is expected to be between $10 million and $15 million, for a roster that will be utterly bereft of veteran clubhouse leadership. Include as many nonpayroll expenses as you'd like. It still adds up to Team Loria making a lot of money even when a lonely few thousand fans are rattling around on a Wednesday night against the Royals.

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/story/334009.html
 
#31 ·
Yes the Marlins' owner is scum, but it is still a business. Tell Bill Gates to give Vista away and he will kindly tell you to go fu@k yourself. No sport or athlete is in the game for just the sport, it is a business. Professional sports are no longer a passion or a past time, the only things that matter are the $$$. :eek:hno:
 
#32 ·
The Miami City Commission Thursday approved a massive package to fund a Florida Marlins stadium, green light the Port of Miami tunnel project, and allocate funding for the city's Museum Park and a streetcar to connect downtown with midtown and the design district.

The city has pledged $500 million to the struggling Carnival Center for the Performing Arts, which has been funded by two different taxes, releasing tax money for the city to use for the other projects; $80 million would go to the port tunnel; $130 million is slated to go to Museum Park; and the city, county and Florida Marlins are to jointly contribute $500 million for the new baseball stadium.

The Marlins will contribute at least $150 million to the deal, and will sign a non-relocation agreement that locks them into Miami until at least 2030, Marlins team president David Samson said.

"This represents another step in the right direction for the Marlins," Samson said. "We look forward to the next step, which is going in front of the [Miami-Dade] county commission on Dec. 18."

The city plans to help finance the billion dollar projects by expanding the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency to include Watson Island and Bicentennial Park, and also expanding the Southeast Overtown Park West CRA.

The Overtown CRA will generate an estimated $1 billion in taxes from 2014 to 2030. About half of that money, or $500 million, will go back to the CRA. Miami-Dade County will receive roughly $174 million, and the city general fund will receive about $326 million.

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, who backed the measure, said approval of the package means the city will continue to grow and reinvest in its future for decades to come.

City Manager Pete Hernandez committed to negotiating with city commissioners to spend $326 million in low-income neighborhoods throughout the city after commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones threatened to vote against the measure if her constituents did not receive the bulk of the funds.

Several commissioners expressed concern that the project, dubbed the Global Agreement, rolled too many components into one bill. They worried the Marlins stadium, which has received strong support, was being used as a carrot to pull through more controversial projects, such as the port tunnel.

"The Marlins stadium is being held hostage," Commissioner Angel Gonzalez said. "To tell people that, in order to have the Marlins stadium, you have to support the tunnel and the streetcar, is not fair."

Despite his objections, Gonzalez voted for the package. The resolution passed 4- to-1, with Commissioner Tomas Regalado voting against.

Commissioner Marc Sarnoff came out swinging in support for the port tunnel -- which could generate 17,000 new jobs.

"Without that tunnel the city of Miami will not be in a maritime position," he said, citing new developments at Miami's competitor ports. "The Port of Miami could become irrelevant."

In a related vote, the city commission approved committing $50 million in Overtown CRA funds and $5 million in right of way land to help build the billion-dollar Port Tunnel project. The 3-to-2 vote was controversial because some opponents charged that the parent of the lead contractor on the project has ties to Cuba, and violated federal law by developing projects on the island.

Commission Chairman Joe Sanchez said he appreciated the magnitude of the decision before the commission, but was most concerned with laying the foundation for future growth.

"If we want to be a world-class city, we'd better start making tough decisions," commission Chairman Joe Sanchez said. "This agreement will allow us to put together the pieces to create a world-class city."


http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2007/12/10/daily44.html
 
#33 ·
When is Regalado going to retire or even better go back to Cuba?
 
#36 ·
Wow, thats all big, from what I've read the county is even more in support of the stadium than the City was so this probaly means they are as close as they've been in a while.

Museum Park and the Street car all getting closer to being finalized and the Port Tunnel pretty much a done deal (am I right?), the City sure is progressing in the right direction.
 
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