http://www.palmbeachpost.com/marlins/conte...adium_0915.html

 

Stadium financing gap widens

 

By Carlos Frias

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

 

Thursday, September 15, 2005

 

The parties involved know what it's going to take for the Florida Marlins to have their new stadium in South Florida:

 

"Something that hasn't been thought of," Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez said Wednesday.

 

The Marlins, the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County are opening the floor to new ideas for financing a $420 million stadium that the county manager said could end up costing as much as $490 million by the time they finish in 2009, a year behind schedule.

 

If they build it, that is.

 

County Manager George Burgess told the county commission Tuesday that a gap of $30 million to $45 million has reached $75 million to $100 million, thanks partly to rising land costs adjacent to the Orange Bowl and increased South Florida construction costs.

 

Already, the parties had been unable ? or unwilling ? to cover the smaller shortfall, each saying it had committed what it could.

 

"We've done a whole lot and there's not a whole lot more we can do," Burgess said.

 

There is one idea the county originally opposed that it might accept: letting the public decide on a special sales tax.

 

Burgess wrote in his project update that a one-half-cent tax, which would expire after one year, could provide $160 million. A 1-cent tax would mean $320 million for the project. A special election would have to be approved by the commissioners, who next meet Oct. 12.

 

A special election would cost the county about $3 million, although the City of Miami would be willing to subsidize it. The vote could be delayed until the next general election, but that would put the project further behind and likely mean higher costs.

 

The Marlins have said they would not prefer a vote, because similar referendums have been defeated across the country.

 

Alvarez said he would "love to see" a vote. "At least the citizens would get a say in the matter," he said.

 

The Marlins and Major League Baseball have continually refused to comment on the stadium issue.

 

On Wednesday, Miami-Dade commissioners showed how little faith they have in the project. Commissioner Bruno Barreiro proposed in a subcommittee hearing that the county begin acquiring the land for the stadium, but five of the 12 other commissioners were at the meeting and all opposed the idea.

 

The Marlins have rejected making the stadium smaller than planned and also insist that a retractable roof is vital.

 

Miami City Manager Joe Arriola is frustrated by the standstill and has suggested that Marlins ownership sell the team to a buyer "with big pockets" who would keep the team here.

 

One plan discussed by the city would get the University of Miami a new Orange Bowl instead of merely a view of a new Marlins stadium across the street.

 

The city has said that instead of renovating the Orange Bowl ? a plan that has been in the works for years, Arriola said ? it could tear down UM's home, build two new stadiums and still spend millions less overall. One facility would be for the Marlins; the other would be a football stadium that could be used to attract a professional soccer team.

 

But that, too, would require a public vote on a one-half cent, one-year sales tax.

 

"The public gets to decide whether they want it. I'm OK with that," Arriola said. "If they say, 'We don't want it,' then, OK, bye-bye."

I think Loria and Sampson are on the phone getting quotes from moving companies.

 

Are they gonna hire a van line or rent a few P.O.D.S. and have the players help them load the equipment?

It's pathetic how a cities like Tampa, SD, Cleveland and more can all support a new stadium for their teams... BUT tiny little itty bitty Miami cannot afford to support their MLB team.

 

Wow for a moment there I actually thought Miami was a big town in the US.

It's pathetic how a cities like Tampa, SD, Cleveland and more can all support a new stadium for their teams... BUT tiny little itty bitty Miami cannot afford to support their MLB team.

 

Wow for a moment there I actually thought Miami was a big town in the US.

951598[/snapback]

 

For today's game, one of the biggest of the year, a game with big playoff implications we had 27,203 in the seats.

It's pathetic how a cities like Tampa, SD, Cleveland and more can all support a new stadium for their teams... BUT tiny little itty bitty Miami cannot afford to support their MLB team.

 

Wow for a moment there I actually thought Miami was a big town in the US.

951598[/snapback]

 

For today's game, one of the biggest of the year, a game with big playoff implications we had 27,203 in the seats.

951609[/snapback]

 

The game was played in the heat of the day to cater to the national TV audience. Plus it was the day after a 13-3 drubbing. It's not difficult to see why fan enthusisam wasn't as strong as it might have been otherwise. Sure it was disappointing, but understandable.