Sports subsidies move ahead but face blockers

By Alan Gomez

 

Palm Beach Post Capital Bureau

 

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

 

TALLAHASSEE ? Bills that would give $8 million a year to facilities that house professional sports teams and a NASCAR hall of fame passed through House and Senate committees Tuesday. But legislative leaders indicated that may be as far as they go.

 

The House Tourism Committee praised the proposals and overwhelmingly approved bills to help pay for construction and renovations to stadiums for the Florida Marlins, the Orlando Magic, three spring training facilities and the NASCAR hall of fame. Meanwhile, the Senate Commerce and Consumer Services Committee approved a bill for the spring training facilities.

 

But the bills' next stop in the House is the Finance and Tax Committee, where Chairman Frank Brummer, R-Apopka, said he doesn't think he will even place them on the committee's agenda, which would effectively kill them.

 

"I don't see these bills as being productive to the state," Brummer said. "They're going to have to convince me otherwise."

 

And while a bill for the three spring training facilities cleared the Senate committee, the chairman, Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville, relinquished his post for a moment to rail against the program.

 

King has been one of the strongest backers for the NASCAR hall of fame, but only because it was in line with the original intention of the state's subsidy program: to lure new sports franchises to the state. He said the program has since been "bastardized and prostituted" to the point that any sports franchise can ask into it.

 

"Virtually anything that moves wants to do this," King said.

 

Senate President Tom Lee, R-Brandon, has called the Marlins "terrorists" and blackmailers for threatening to move to Las Vegas if they don't get $60 million from the state.

 

And when asked about the precedent that's been set by giving more than a half-billion dollars to 14 facilities that house professional sports teams, a golf hall of fame and a fishing museum, Brummer responded by saying: "Just because you've made a mistake in the past doesn't mean you have to repeat it."

 

The reaction from the legislative leadership may not bode well for the cities and counties seeking money to retain their sports franchises, but backers of the bills remained supportive Tuesday.

 

They claim the sports franchises and halls of fame bring an overwhelmingly positive economic benefit to their surrounding areas.

 

And without the subsidies from the legislature, they fear those franchises will leave the state.

 

Six cities outside Florida are vying for the NASCAR hall of fame, and Daytona Beach officials said the state can't compete without a $50 million subsidy spread over 25 years.

 

Orlando officials said it would be "devastating" if the Magic basketball team left the state, and they claim they need $100 million over 30 years to refurbish TD Waterhouse Centre to keep the Magic.

 

South Florida officials were the only ones who did not mention a possibility of the team moving when presenting the Marlins bill. Instead, they focused on the fact that this is the first year they have come to Tallahassee with a complete plan in place that includes money from Marlins ownership, Miami-Dade County and the city of Miami.

 

The Marlins are now in their fourth year trying to get a $60 million subsidy.

 

"The time is right," said Rep. Ed Bullard, D-Miami.

 

Brummer, the House finance chairman, disagreed.

 

"If this is such a high priority to Miami-Dade County," he said, "they'll find the money."

 

 

 

 

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/marlins/conte...idies_0330.html

 

 

Looks like good ol' Jim King is back at it again, with a new ally in Brummer.

I swear if Nascar gets money from the state and the Marlins don't it would be a complete and total rip off. Nascar does not need the money to build a hall of fame.

I f***ing hate these c***sucking hypocritical bastard son of a bitch politicians. they are a scurge to anything good in this world. If the Marlins leave because of these blow-hard affected, artificial, assuming, bland, canting, captious, caviling, deceptive, deluding, dissembling, double, double-dealing, duplicitous, faithless, false, feigning, fishy, fraudulent, glib, goody-goody, holier-than-thou, hollow, Hollywood, insincere, left-handed, lying, mealy-mouthed, moralistic, oily, pharisaical, phony, pietistic, pious, pretentious, sanctimonious, self-righteous, slick, smooth, smooth-spoken, smooth-tongued, snide, specious, spurious, two-faced, unctuous, unnatural, unreliable FRAUDS I will completely loose faith in the state government. :patriot :kickbutt

flipping garbage. so lets get this straight. we've worked how long to get this far and then members of floridas congress adds this b.s. to the bill?

.........

 

At least the northerners get it, and are tired of the southern rapage.

I f***ing hate these c***sucking hypocritical bastard son of a bitch politicians. they are a scurge to anything good in this world. If the Marlins leave because of these blow-hard affected, artificial, assuming, bland, canting, captious, caviling, deceptive, deluding, dissembling, double, double-dealing, duplicitous, faithless, false, feigning, fishy, fraudulent, glib, goody-goody, holier-than-thou, hollow, Hollywood, insincere, left-handed, lying, mealy-mouthed, moralistic, oily, pharisaical, phony, pietistic, pious, pretentious, sanctimonious, self-righteous, slick, smooth, smooth-spoken, smooth-tongued, snide, specious, spurious, two-faced, unctuous, unnatural, unreliable FRAUDS I will completely loose faith in the state government. :patriot :kickbutt

724581[/snapback]

 

:chair = politicians

.........

 

At least the northerners get it, and are tired of the southern rapage.

724585[/snapback]

 

 

elaborate on sourthern rampage

.........

 

At least the northerners get it, and are tired of the southern rapage.

724585[/snapback]

 

 

elaborate on sourthern rampage

724588[/snapback]

 

Rapage (rape-age) not rampage.

 

Just check out Fluriduh state history. Pre-1950s the north ran the state. Ever since then the southerners in the state have, and I guess they are tired of shelling out money to the south. Retirees cost the state the most money and they live in the southern part of the state in a much greater concentration than any other part of the state. Not to mention the North had to pay for this thing called "everglades restoration" because people wanted to move there. Its not like they care to save the Everglades. And a bunch of other stuff like that.

 

The state in the last century has under gone a serious shift in power, and you have to expect some backlash.

 

There is a reason this state has gone so "red". The north is tired of the south. There are two parts to this state, very different parts. And I guess the north is tired of letting the South do their thing.

 

This is a good read about the rift in the state

Excuse me, but under Lawton Chiles the southern part of the state did not get the crucial state funds like those to build much needed roads, expand existing roads, or build this ballpark while the Northern part of the state got money for things like I-10's expansion, the reconstruction of I-10 interchanges, the renovation of the Gator Bowl into AllTel Stadium, and the money to help build Tropicana Field.

Excuse me, but under Lawton Chiles the southern part of the state did not get the crucial state funds like those to build much needed roads, expand existing roads, or build this ballpark while the Northern part of the state got money for things like I-10's expansion, the reconstruction of I-10 interchanges, the renovation of the Gator Bowl into AllTel Stadium, and the money to help build Tropicana Field.

724618[/snapback]

 

Lawton Chiles was the gov. since the 1950s?

 

How much did Miami-Dade get in hurricane relief last year? More than any other county you say? They got hit hard too I am sure. Nothing for northerners to be po'ed about.

 

In the pre-1950s the north was the game in town. With advances and life and what not those people are still alive and remember those days, in fact they are around in their 50s, in their "legislative" type of days.

 

People who live in north Florida have lived in Florida generation wise a lot longer than most people in south Florida, not to mention the people who pass through Florida. Live in Miami for a year or two and move on. I think the North put up with it for a while but don't want to anymore.