If Wayne didnt want the Marlins to compete with the Dolphins, he wouldnt have brought the Marlins as an expansion team into S. Florida in the first place.

Things have change alot since Wayne brought the Marlins into town. Remember Wayne also wanted a stadium before he broke up the 97' team. The money is not the same for sports and sports team. I understand this topic is very difficult for some that are fans of both team but the truth is truth. I think you're having a harder time understanding this. Wayne is one of the smartest business man in the state of Florida. He owned the Dolphins, expanded the MLB and NHL markets into South Florida. I understand the conept of "sports dollars" and entertainment dollars, but you really are being a little extreme in the Wayne bashing. The fact that the Marlins suddenly became good doesn't change anything, the Heat are good, the Dolphins are always good enough, and the Panthers are fun to watch. The Dolphins don't really threaten the Dolphins' schedule, in fact, the only team that has a right to b***h about "sports dollars" being taken from them is us with the Heat's playoffs running through (potentially) a month and a half of our season, with the stretch run already having drained our first weekend home games.

 

Think about it, four sports share one market all the time and they do just fine... Come on there is a big difference between basketball attendance and baseball attendance...about 20-30K people. As far as Wayne, he's done far more damage in this town than good IMO. A good businessman? well ask a Dolphin fan if he is What are you talking about? He is far and away one of the most brilliant business minds that Florida has ever seen. Anyone who makes enough money to own three major sports franchises, take two of them to the finals of their respective sport, and spend lavishly enough on the third that they should be there is fine by me.

 

The attendance thing? OK, how about this, the NBA and NHL mirror each other in practically ever aspect, season times, playoff schedule, even the same arena in many cases! I don't want to start a war over this, but face the facts, Miami is not the only market with four major teams, hell, New York shares a National leage team an American League team, an AFC team, and NFC team, an NHL team two NBA teams, and none of the owners are trying to run them out of town. And don't you dare call Miami a small market, the fans are apathetic but no way is it a small market... Brillant businessman? I guess, if you mean cutting the legs of your competition for the sports dollar in this town.

 

Your right he knows how to make money and cut his loses at the right time...while back stabbing your stadium partner.

 

Its a cut throat business both in the real world and in sports competition for limited sports dollars. Come on guy your smart enough to see this for what it really is. Wayne doing everything in his power to protect his revenue streams, like you say his just being Wayne a smart no brillant businessman :plain I understand what you're saying, but I just don't follow the logic that you're using. If this were really the case, any wealthy owner would lobby the state to run a team out of their state every time they sought public money for a stadium. Wayne is a good businessman, horrible person, but no one ever gets that wealthy being a nice guy.

 

 

This is what I truly see it as: Wayne's intentions are that he wants the Marlins to stay at Pro Player, however, he's smart enough to know that a winning team (which is what the Marlins are now) have substantially more leverage requesting state money. He knows that if the Marlins don't get a new stadium in Miami, they'll move to Palm Beach, Virginia, Portland, Connecticut, whereever, however, they won't be back at the Pro. That pisses him off more, knowing that they're out, and he can't keep the 81 home games on his revenue stream.

 

The Marlins f***ed themselves over coming in as late as they did to the legislature, not to mention that even if they get this money, they still have to come up with $55 million. The Marlins thought that this would be a pushover, in doing so, they insulted quite a few state Senators, and shot themselves in the foot.

 

 

This is all one big mess, so I don't think sense could really ever be made of this, but Wayne is hardly the evil manipulator he's being painted as. The Marlins' ineptitude is as much to blame as Wayne's connections in Tallahasee.

Not only is King opposed to the bill itself,

 

Thats what Im trying to get at. Is he opposed to the bill itself even without the stadium element? If so then it all seems pointless. But is the bill itself good enough to drag the Marlins through King's dislike for it?

If we all chant at the next Marlins game and theres bound to be many of us there at at least one game, then we should show the state and county the Marlins fans want a stadium. The constituency is more important to the policticos than the team itself. If they were really "representatives of the people" they'd listen and pass the bill.

 

 

BTW: Admin, could pin something up like organzing for a "We want the stadium" chant at a Marlins game in their next series.

King's problems are with fiscal responsibility and not lack of support. He knows every Marlins fan wants this. The question is does all of Florida want this?

Not only is King opposed to the bill itself,?

 

Thats what Im trying to get at. Is he opposed to the bill itself even without the stadium element? If so then it all seems pointless. But is the bill itself good enough to drag the Marlins through King's dislike for it? I'm going to have to say I don't know on this. The bill passed the house 17-6, so it's not a run-away by any means. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this is some strategic angling to slip the Marlins through, but I still don't put too much hope in this. If this were a "can't miss," someone would have come up with it sooner...

Even if King does like the rest of the bill, its still a horrible strategy to try to get state funds. But I guess its the only chance left. Its like saying King likes ham sandwiches, so lets stick some sewage in his sandwich and hope that he eats the whole thing because he likes ham sandwiches so much.

The question is if this bill makes it to the floor intact. Will King go through the trouble of making everybody around him mad (Governor, Senators from the South, and the Senators wanting to get out of Tally for the summer) and force the issue probably causing special sessions because he doesn't want to pass this bill because of a possible tax rebate to the Marlins.

 

I think King just wants some attention and will quiet down if it comes to the floor in a rush to get in his Surburban bound for Jacksonville.

Ross has this pegged. The only way this passes is if King gets a trade-off that makes it palatable. It's going to have to be a whopper to get him to swallow his his pride and let this make it to floor.

 

I'll be amazed, absolutely amazed if this ever sees a vote in the Senate.

***puts on rally cap***

 

:thumbup

King's problems are with fiscal responsibility and not lack of support. He knows every Marlins fan wants this. The question is does all of Florida want this?

 

 

Did all of Florida want the rebate that the Bucs or Jags or Devil Rays or Heat or every other professional sports team is getting? :mischief2

King's problems are with fiscal responsibility and not lack of support. He knows every Marlins fan wants this. The question is does all of Florida want this?

 

 

Did all of Florida want the rebate that the Bucs or Jags or Devil Rays or Heat or every other professional sports team is getting? :mischief2 It's not even that so much as it is the Marlins, technically, get the rebate already. Huizenga gets the money for retrofitting Pro Player, but the money stays with Pro Player, not with the Marlins. Although it isn't the case, what the Marlins are asking the state to do is give them $4 million a year, which sets a nasty precedent for future teams...

Err.... future teams?

Err.... future teams?

As in when other teams ask for new facilities in the future.

King's problems are with fiscal responsibility and not lack of support. He knows every Marlins fan wants this. The question is does all of Florida want this?

 

 

Did all of Florida want the rebate that the Bucs or Jags or Devil Rays or Heat or every other professional sports team is getting? :mischief2 It's not even that so much as it is the Marlins, technically, get the rebate already. Huizenga gets the money for retrofitting Pro Player, but the money stays with Pro Player, not with the Marlins. Although it isn't the case, what the Marlins are asking the state to do is give them $4 million a year, which sets a nasty precedent for future teams... If King feels so strongly about the "double dipping", then he should introduce a bill that either limits the Pro Player tax rebate to the actual expenditures, or repeals it once the Marlins new rebate goes into effect.

Err.... future teams?

As in when other teams ask for new facilities in the future. Ahh.. thanks, I was thinkin the other way around with their being new teams...... but with AAA.... Pro..... well what do I know....

The only team, other than the Marlins, that are in desperate need of a new place to play is the Magic. Everyone else has a new facility more or less, am I correct?

What I want to know is what about us? This is our team and we should have just as much right to want this as Loria does. Doesn't our goverment give a **** what we want?

Let's get the $60 million stadium tax rebate throught the Florida Senate.

 

Don't just sit there...

 

E-mail your state senator or better yet the President of the Florida

Senate Mr. King

 

king.james.web@flsenate.gov

 

 

Start the e-mail campaign. The following is a quote from Mr. King's

senate web site, "I have always believed that Floridians should have

an active voice in their government"

 

Go Marlins!!! Sweep the Braves...

 

AND LET'S GET A NEW STADIUM!!!

If we all chant at the next Marlins game and theres bound to be many of us there at at least one game, then we should show the state and county the Marlins fans want a stadium. The constituency is more important to the policticos than the team itself. If they were really "representatives of the people" they'd listen and pass the bill.

 

 

BTW: Admin, could pin something up like organzing for a "We want the stadium" chant at a Marlins game in their next series.

You can count on that being started in the Tank the 24th :thumbup