May 11, 200422 yr SEE POST BELOW Very interesting meeting. Lots of great info. I'll be posting later today what took place. Go Fish ! (wait until you hear what they had to say about Huizenga mgmt.)
May 11, 200422 yr Author The Miami-Dade County commissioners today agreed to fund their portion of a new Marlins stadium. Here's how the deal shapes up: The Marlins get all the in-stadium revenue sources - naming rights, signage, concessions and parking revenue from the roughly 4,600 parking spaces on the site in exchange for their guarantee on overruns and a longterm lease. The Marlins will be renters. They will have absolute control over construction. The stadium will be government owned. The City will own the land under the stadium but the stadium will be owned by the County. Because the County will own the stadium it will be tax-exempt (from property taxes). The Marlins will be there at least 42 years. Some commissioners want guarantee the team won't be contracted or moved from MLB. The Marlins will bring to the table a lender, UBS and Wachovia were mentioned, to provide comfort and an equivalent of a completion bond to guarantee the stadium gets built. The Marlins continue to promise to cover all overruns in exchange for construction control. A lein will be placed on the franchise to guarantee the lender will be paid and the stadium built. The Marlins are adamant about opening in April 2007. They say if that date moves it is an absolute deal-killer. The big loser on the dais was Jimmy Morales (who is running for County mayor to replace the current mayor, Penalas) who has been one the guys working behind the scenes (I can name names now, the people working in the shadows trying to kill this deal were State Senator Dan Gelber, County commissioner Morales, Miami Beach mayor David Dermer and GMBVCA head Don Peebles. These are the people who have been feeding Fat Hank his info.) Katy Sorenson, Morales and Shuller voted no. The final vote was 8-3 in the affirmative. As for Huizenga Holdings - the county mgr said there had been conversations with HH (Huizenga Holdings, the entity which controls the stadium) regarding PPS (the implication being that the county wanted to buy PPS and roof it for both sports) and land surrounding PPS and they were rebuffed. Samson said he tried to work with HH on rent and he was told no. He asked about softening the lease terms on what he referred to as "exclusives", things totally in HH's control - parking rates and this year's increase, signage revenue sharing, corporate sales (HH refused to allow them to try and sell advertising, marketing tie-ins, corporate sponsorships, seating, to a laundry list of large corporate accounts that the Dolphins do business with and want to keep exclusively). Samson said, on the record that at every turn HH said "no" (he said the word "no" in a disparaging way, to deliver the message that the HH guys were dismissive at every turn). The only thing the HH guys would say is "we want you out of here". (my comment - what they really wanted was the Marlins out of South Florida.) The City, County and the Marlins will go to Tallahassee next year (King and Byrd will be gone) and want to strip HH of their existing tax rebate. They don't want a second one for the Marlins. They want the existing one. (revenge surely is a dish best enjoyed cold) The Marlins continue to hold out the name of the team (Florida Marlins, Miami Marlins, etc.) as a negotiating tool. They refuse to commit to what the name will be.
May 11, 200422 yr :confused So whats next, or does this mean that we`re getting the stadium? I`m so confused!
May 11, 200422 yr Well this is definitely good news. The Marlins have to be happy with that deal right there. Getting all the in house revenue. This is a big step. Wayne, he is an evil evil man. I wish they could get more parking spaces, but I understand the land around the area is not very large. I'm glad this is getting into motion. I'm guessing the next thing will be the sale of the Miami Arena which will be this summer sometime??? All in all great news. Thanks for the update Marlins2003
May 11, 200422 yr Author Well this is definitely good news. The Marlins have to be happy with that deal right there. Getting all the in house revenue. This is a big step. Wayne, he is an evil evil man. I wish they could get more parking spaces, but I understand the land around the area is not very large. I'm glad this is getting into motion. I'm guessing the next thing will be the sale of the Miami Arena which will be this summer sometime??? All in all great news. Thanks for the update Marlins2003 My apologies, I forgot about the Miami Arena. Sopher has five days left to sign his deal sheet on the Arena. Seven other parties have stepped forward to inquire about buying the facility.Each one was qualified enough to be given finacial packages on the site. The City expects no problem in selling the facility.
May 11, 200422 yr Well this is definitely good news. The Marlins have to be happy with that deal right there. Getting all the in house revenue. This is a big step. Wayne, he is an evil evil man. I wish they could get more parking spaces, but I understand the land around the area is not very large. I'm glad this is getting into motion. I'm guessing the next thing will be the sale of the Miami Arena which will be this summer sometime??? All in all great news. Thanks for the update Marlins2003 My apologies, I forgot about the Miami Arena. Sopher has five days left to sign his deal sheet on the Arena. Seven other parties have stepped forward to inquire about buying the facility.Each one was qualified enough to be given finacial packages on the site. The City expects no problem in selling the facility. So, we unafficially have the stadium basically?
May 11, 200422 yr Marlins2003, nice recap, many many thanks! :thumbup :thumbup :thumbup :thumbup What are the next steps? Did they mention anything about starting construction without the tax rebate? One thing I do not like, is for them to butt head with evil Wayne. The man has some serious power down here and a lot of resources to stop any type of rebate going to the Marlins. Maybe, getting a brand new rebate is all that is needed.
May 11, 200422 yr Here is the first news from one of the papers on the vote: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/conten...511marlins.html
May 11, 200422 yr The parking could be better, but I'm sure they will sell the spaces at a premium (supply/demand). With good attendance 25K or more, they should be able to get $100K or more per game. Not bad at all. I hope they develop some nice bars/restaurants around the are. Not being able to tailgate is going to suck.
May 11, 200422 yr Here is the first news from one of the papers on the vote: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/conten...511marlins.html "I expect to break ground and I think you'll see cranes moving dirt in December or January," Samson said. :marlins :marlins :marlins :hat
May 11, 200422 yr Author Here is the first news from one of the papers on the vote: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/conten...511marlins.html It will be interesting to see how the three South Florida newspapers handle the comments made to the county commission regarding Wayne H. and Huizenga Holdings in regards to their conversations and attempts at negotiations.
May 11, 200422 yr It will be interesting to see if Fat Hank addresses any of the Wayne comments on his show.
May 11, 200422 yr Author It will be interesting to see if Fat Hank addresses any of the Wayne comments on his show. :thumbup
May 11, 200422 yr It will be interesting to see if Fat Hank addresses any of the Wayne comments on his show. :thumbup He will be too busy talking about the Dolphins Offense Coordinator
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