MyMarlins

http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/news.html?news_id=50311 Marlins ballpark: Right time, right place August 25, 2008 By: Robert Starkey I have been involved with numerous ballpark projects across the country as a result of my consulting relationship with Major League Baseball and several of its clubs. In reading a recent Urban Forum column, I believe several important facts were ignored and welcome the opportunity to provide accurate information about the new ballpark planned for the site of the historic Orange Bowl football facility. The team?s agreement with Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami calls for a first-class ballpark that is fully climatized with a retractable roof, air conditioning, real grass playing field, 37,000 seats and amenities similar to the MLB ballparks in San Diego, St. Louis, Houston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. In contrast to open-air Dolphins Stadium, the new ballpark?s design and amenities will improve attendance by providing certainty of comfortable conditions, rain or shine. This assures games will start on time and will be uninterrupted, allowing fans to come from a greater distance with the certainty of seeing a game. The other four clubs with retractable roofed ballparks (Phoenix, Houston, Seattle and Milwaukee) have clearly enjoyed the benefits of providing protection for their fans from uncertain weather conditions. The scale and design of the new ballpark will correct the deficiencies inherent in playing baseball in a football stadium, including poor sightlines, excessive seating, daunting spaces and other shortcomings that fans now suffer in the cavernous 75,000-seat Dolphins Stadium. In short, for Marlin fans, the new ballpark will be the antithesis of Dolphins Stadium. Orange Bowl site qualities With regard to the proposed Orange Bowl site, a few pertinent facts and characteristics are noteworthy: Familiarity. Since 1937 the site has been accepted and recognized as a place for major sporting events in South Florida. The new ballpark provides the opportunity to preserve that legacy and carry it forward to future generations. Infrastructure. Fans are also familiar with the existing infrastructure, including access ramps to and from Interstate highways. Modification and upgrades to existing infrastructure should be less extensive than preparing a new site never before used for major sporting events. Site Development Opportunities. The 37,000-seat ballpark uses less than half of the existing 42 acres. Under the agreement, the balance will be used by local government for a multi-use city parking facility of at least 6,000 spaces, for retail, and for other uses to be determined, possibly including a hotel. Surrounding Development Potential. In Little Havana between Miami International Airport and the Performing Arts Center and planned museum complex, with the Medical Center to the north and Downtown and the Government Center to the east, the location has attributes of other ballparks that have successfully spawned development in nearby and often underutilized spaces. Location Dynamics. The site is within one mile of active labor forces, including several thousand jobs in medical services, local government and higher education, with additional facilities planned for the near future. Ballpark agreement terms The contributions and protections provided to the public by the team are both significant and progressive relative to other middle market ballpark transactions. Team Financial Commitment. The team?s contribution of 30 percent of the capital budget is higher than the industry average of 20 to 25 percent private participation cited in recent discussion. Additionally, over the lease term, the team is committed to pay approximately $100 million for the city?s parking structure through pre-purchase of spaces. Finally, the team will assume 100 percent of the ballpark overrun construction risk and contribute to a capital improvement fund. Other Team Commitments. In addition to the above financial commitments, the team has agreed to a 35-year ironclad lease and nonrelocation agreement, use of the facility for up to 16 nonprofit community events, an affordable ticket program, donations worth more than $1 million every year as well as a name change to the Miami Marlins. MLB Commitments. In connection with the agreement, Major League Baseball has agreed to provide unprecedented resources including a $1 million matching LEED grant, a $3 million contribution to build a Baseball Academy in Hialeah, selection of Miami as a venue for the 2009 World Baseball Classic, and the potential for a future All-Star Game. Additionally, construction of the new ballpark will create approximately 1,500 full-time equivalent jobs over the three-year construction period, and will allow many local firms to be part of the construction process. These are the facts that readers should know about the new Marlins Ballpark site and agreement. The new ballpark will provide a place where this most diverse of communities comes together to pursue the Great American Pastime. Robert Starkey, president of Starkey Sports Consulting, based in Minneapolis, has been an economic and financial consultant to MLB for 15 years. He served as an adviser to the Commissioner?s Blue Ribbon Panel on Baseball Economics and has been involved in ballpark initiatives throughout the league. Before forming his own company in 1999, Starkey led the Sports Consulting Practice Group for Arthur Andersen. The stadium is a sham. People who actually have money to go to games do not want to go there. There is a reason the Dolphins left there. The is hardly any parking. The proposed parking garage will cost at least $40 to park. It will take most fans an extra hour of their time to see a game. An owner who can not afford to own a MLB team should not be given a FREE ballpark. Even though the author of this article states the Marlins are going to pay 30% he failed to mention the naming rights which will more than pay for the Marlins alleged share. Warning: Jeffrey Loria is a slippery slope towards mediocrity.

Chanel 4 reported the other day that Glen Straub the owner of the Miami Arena property wants to swap the land to build an "equestrain center" at the Orange Bowl Site. If this turns out to be a horse track for gambling you can forget about it. The Seminoles and Miccasukees won't allow it. They will also have to deal with the anti-gaming lobby too.

New owners are put to a vote by current MLB owners. No way a fan group passes that test. Congrats to 4fanssake for structuring themselves to meet the minimal requirements the long process, but never once was their idea serious - their aims are to be minority owners. They've been out of the question for a long while. The final 5 under consideration to buy the Cubs are Cuban, Ricketts, Tokarz, Klaff and Hindrey. MLB has approved this format go to 4fanssake.com

I couldn't remember those names for the life of me. Thanks. But the fronton isn't at 45th and Australian. Closer to 95 and Congress actually. And it would have made a nice location. Tri rail right there and easy access to 95, not far from the turnpike. I didn't know about the litigation but I had heard that the Marlins FO never did take the offer seriously. I can understand that a little better now. There is also another spot near by that I have drooled over for a stadium. Military Trail and 45th. Just south of the shopping plaza and is a large parcel going all the way over to Haverhill and continues quite a ways south. Looks large enough if parking garages are used. But that's just day dreaming. Seeing that you should be in the know... Whatever happened to developing that downtown area that has been razed? Right off 95 and Okeechobee, to the south of the convention center. There was talk of building a complex there and inviting the Orioles to move to it. Always liked that idea as it was sort of an admission of guilt for a previous mayor (Nancy Graham maybe? Only remember her name because she is back in the news in San Diego for same type of shady deals and giving the same excuse for resigning there) for basically forcing the Braves and Expos out of the near downtown area. And selling our other sports venue at the same time, basically the reason we no longer have an AFL team here. The fronton is between Congress and Australian on 45th. I can see it right now from my window here in my office (on the corner of Australian and Banyan downtown next to Channel 5). I just don't think that site would have been convenient for residents of Miami-Dade and Broward and Tri-Rail stops running at night. Plus, the area around the fronton is actually more dangerous than the area around the Orange Bowl. That was one of the issues that was really putting a monkey wrench in the plans that I was working on to redevelop that property as a mixed-use commercial/residential project (it would have been a CityPlace type like project with commercial on the first floor and residential above). Also, it would have been a situation similar to Dolphin Stadium. The Marlins would have swapped H. Wayne Huizenga for Don King. You can insert your own thoughts and comments there! As for the properties around the convention center, those are still earmarked for the elusive "convention center hotel" which has been Mayor Frankel's "pet" for a while. There is no more talk at all about bringing in a spring training facility downtown (or plans for a AAA baseball facility which was knocked around a bit also). As we have seen since the Marlins inception, anything that isn't directly in Dade's back yard is not convenient to the fan base there. Even then, if it isn't the place to be seen, it's still not convenient to go. See the Heat. We can go back and forth on the fronton's pluses and minuses all week long. But it's irrelevant. MLB is sold on Dade and Dade is the one that was willing to put their $$$ where their mouth is. I was really pulling for that baseball complex near downtown. Damn shame something couldn't have been done there. Thank goodness we had a car dealer step up to the plate or we wouldn't have any baseball in our county. Just another Home Depot where our Field of Dreams once stood. It was old, in need of alot of repair, but I always had a great time there. Especially watching the Tropics. Miami-Dade is willing to put other peoples money where their mouth is.

Is Sampson currently talking to other cities? He said the Marlins will move if they don't get a deal. I love baseball but I hate the ownership of the Marlins. We need an owner that can afford to run a team. Loria is considered the biggest welfare recipient in all of sports.

It all depends on how much staying power Loria has. Eventually, the deal will be done; but I just can't seem to summon the confidence in current ownership to stay the course and not cave in. Marlins' adversaries just need to die, frankly. The reason Jeffrey loria owns the Marlins is because he was in the right place at the right time. Baseball is being sabotaged because Loria wants a new stadium. He does not want to spend the revenue he gets on retaining players like Josh Beckett. All he does is cry poverty. A new stadium will not solve this.

they can just build on top of the railroad/high way land. Much like the new Twins ballpark The cost would make it over a billion in Miami. The Minnesota one will cost as much as ours with out a roof.

I know I don't really post, but did anyone else just catch that? Straub, who owns the Miami arena put in a permit to demolish the arena, and wants to build and finance a new marlins stadium on the site. Does he plan to make Loria an offer? If someone is going to invest that kind of money in the Marlins or any team they sure as hell would want to own them. Obviously Loria can't afford to run a team.

If Loria does not want to sell than we will buy an American League team and move them to Palm Beach County. Ah, a Tampa Bay lawsuit in the making. Tampa Bay can't do a thing. They may have to sell anyway. The people in WPB are very interested my friend. If you don't stand up for your Marlins thanks to Norman Braman you may have the Palm Beach Marlins if enough people from Miami don't sign up.

HAHAHAHAHAHA LOL at the thought that: there's significant interest in this people will follow through enough capital can be raised MLB would even consider the group this group would do a better job the Marlins being able to address fan grievances, increase payroll AND finance a stadium through available revenue streams Huizenga, Henry, Loria and limited interest by others. It's not the fault of the owners of the Marlins, there's something fundamentally wrong with the Marlins whether it be the market, stadium or fan base or some combination of the three. Major League baseball has approved fan ownership groups. A site called 4fanssake.com has a Chicago Cubs fan-site that has had this format formally approved.

The funny thing is that they create a site visible by all but didn't bother researching on anything regarding funding. Monies being used for the Miami Megaplan project can not be used for anything else - meaning you can't use it for health care, to raise teacher's salaries nor for schools. Tourist tax dollars fund tourism. FDOT dollars go to transportation and if not use the state takes them back. Regardless to the fact that there have been ideas of using tourism tax dollars to fund schoolastic projects, the real scheme of things is to figure out where our tax dollars ARE going and drop the "oh don't use our tax dollars for the Stadium" crap. BTW - MyMarlins.com - learn to spell! If you want to make a serious push, investors do not take kindly to anonymous persons putting up webpages wih poor punctuation and grammar. And yes, please go ahead and try to start your American Leauge team. Selig would be so proud. First of all using any public money for private busisnees is crap. I know you want a ballpark but will that solve our problems. The problem is the ownership. He destroyed baseball in Montreal and is doing it here. If he don't get money he will leave. If they want public money period the public should own a fair share of the team. Do you think taxing tourist is going to help the economy? People are sick of taxes and don't want to pay extra when visiting. Tourist are the lifeblood of our economy. Second our site has been spell checked. BTW you need to use spellcheck. Your Dade County public education is not enough. Third we are not asking for money and will not print our members names for security purposes. We will incorporate and provide a physical mail address. Finally if anyone has the money to buy a team they can put it where they want pending votes by other owners. Tampa may have stadium issues and pull a Loria and threaten to leave as well. Who says we can't buy them and move them? Not without a fight first. You Marlins fans need to stick up for your team. Loria may own them now. Remember baseball is here because YOU wanted it. We need to stand up to anyone who threatens it. Clearly Jeffrey Loria is a threat to baseball.

We have set up a fan site to address all the problems our Marlin's face. These problems include inconsistent ownership capital for players, financing a new stadium, and where the new stadium will be. Due to the outcome of the Norman Braman lawsuit the Marlins are in a delima. This dilemma is the fault of Jeffrey Loria because he is unwilling to use revenue he receive to run his team. He is unwilling to finance a new stadium. The main problem being Loria obviously can not afford to run a major league team. Forbes magazine claims Loria is making profits with the Marlins. The time has come for the ONLY way that guarantees the Marlins stay in south Florida is to buy the team ourselves and build a new stadium. To do this we are taking names of those who would by stock in the Marlins. Help us save the Marlins by going to MyMarlins.com.