New Stadium Delayed Until 2012

Only days after the big news that the Marlins stadium plans can move forward, fans were given some bad news on Tuesday as Marlins’ President David Samson reported that the stadium will now not open until the 2012 season.

The stadium was originally scheduled to open in 2011 but was delayed by a lawsuit challenging the funding of the stadium. Groundbreaking was to occur this month until the lawsuit which was decided in the Marlins’ favor. According to Mr. Samson, it is the lawsuit which is the sole reason for the delay and it was for no other reason. In order to open the stadium in April 2012, Mr. Samson stated construction on the $515 million ballpark will need to begin in May 2009. The construction of the stadium is estimated to take 34 months.    Renderings of the new ballpark are expected to be released within the next few weeks.

One issue for the Marlins is that their current lease at Dolphin Stadium expires after the 2012 season. This would leave the Marlins with no place to play in 2011. The Marlins are currently negotiating an extension to the lease to take them until the 2012 campaign.