HYDE: It's OK to use public money to keep Marlins

Published April 18, 2006

 

One thing we professional sports writers love to do is show we see the "big picture." We do this in various ways. We always say a tragic event puts "sports in perspective." We never use the word "courage" in conjunction with athletes.

 

When discussing the eternal Marlins stadium issue, we also say no public money should go for something so frivolous. None. Zero. Stadium? Schmadium. Then we say where such public money instead should go: To our schools.

 

You should see the love mail we get taking a hard-line stance like this. Readers salute us. Peers respect us. "You see the big picture,'' they all say. And I know, because I've said this for years.

 

But have you seen the news lately?

 

Miami Beach recently sent its residents a $200 rebate because of a revenue surplus. That money wasn't used to upgrade schools. OK, that's just one, relatively small city. And everyone needs a rebate, right?

 

Let's look on the grander scale: The state of Florida now has an estimated $7 billion surplus. Of that, about $1.8 billion has been earmarked to help our schools that rank annually among the nation's worst. That sounds big. And we'd all agree it's important. It also leaves more than $5 billion in, well, surplus.

 

This shows the hole in the big-picture theme of schools vs. stadiums. It's not really schools vs. stadiums. It's never been schools vs. stadiums. Our local and state governments are awash in increased revenue from increased land values and you see schools still only get so much attention.

 

You also see the normal push and pull for that loose change. Take two sports-related bills whizzing through Tallahassee. One would grant Homestead raceway a $2 million exemption on sales tax for the next 30 years. That's $60 million.

 

Why should it get that? Well, because six other sports teams and venues in our state have got such money in recent years, that's why.

 

The second bill would give $15 million each in state money to upgrade various spring-training stadiums. Here are the cities (and teams) that would benefit: Sarasota (Reds), Bradenton (Pirates), St. Petersburg (Devil Rays), Winter Haven (Indians) and Fort Lauderdale (Orioles).

 

That's $75 million from the state. With the demanded matching funds from each municipality, it's $150 million in public money going to spring-training stadiums. This isn't new. It was done in 2000 for five other cities to the tune of approximately $150 million, too. Why?

 

"So teams won't go to Arizona for spring training,'' said Nick Gandy, the director of communications for the Florida Sports Foundation, an arm of the state government. "It's a way to keep teams in Florida."

 

So up to $30 million of public dollars could be spent to keep the Baltimore Orioles playing at Fort Lauderdale Stadium for six weeks a year?

 

"That's right,'' Gandy said.

 

What about $30 million going to keep the Marlins in South Florida forever?

 

"No, we're not working on anything like that,'' he said.

 

Why not?

 

"It's just not a proposal,'' he said.

 

You can say $30 million isn't much. But it's reportedly the exact amount that caused a Miami-Dade proposal to build the Marlins a stadium to fall through.

 

This doesn't just show officials are indiscriminate in deciding how to toss around public money. We, the public, also are indiscriminate in caring where public money gets thrown around.

 

Look, this isn't because San Antonio now has set a deadline on dealing with the Marlins. Forget San Antonio. The Marlins aren't going to San Antonio. It makes no sense for them or baseball other than to show someone else is semi-interested.

 

The question remains what makes a community a community. Is it a Miami Performing Arts Center (revised price tag: $446 million)? A Broward hockey arena (price tag: $212 million). Or is it all such things that a community can afford?

 

Jeffrey Loria is the third Marlins owner to try to make baseball work in South Florida. He's the third fighting for a new stadium. At some point, the owners aren't the problem.

 

It's true, Loria has a weapon no owner has had -- $30 million in annual revenue sharing from fellow owners thrown the Marlins' way. He should put that toward a stadium for several years. If so, the big picture of what makes a community tick, says there's enough public money out there to meet him halfway.

 

David Hyde can be reached at dhyde@sun-sentinel.com.

 

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basebal...-sports-marlins

Interesting article...

 

My favorite portion:

 

So up to $30 million of public dollars could be spent to keep the Baltimore Orioles playing at Fort Lauderdale Stadium for six weeks a year?

 

"That's right,'' Gandy said.

 

What about $30 million going to keep the Marlins in South Florida forever?

 

"No, we're not working on anything like that,'' he said.

 

 

Wow...

 

:blink:

in a perfect world, everyone would have money to pay off the park from their pockets lol, man i wish it was like that

Hyde's comments are straight from the Wayne Huizenga playbook.

 

By starting his latest piece by tieing schools and the stadium together, even pretending to make an argument against that notion, furthers the supposition that in fact that is the choice.

 

Dave Hyde knows that the CDT dollars anticipated as a funding source for stadium construction CANNOT BE USED TO BUILD SCHOOLS.

Hyde's comments are straight from the Wayne Huizenga playbook.

 

By starting his latest piece by tieing schools and the stadium together, even pretending to make an argument against that notion, furthers the supposition that in fact that is the choice.

 

Dave Hyde knows that the CDT dollars anticipated as a funding source for stadium construction CANNOT BE USED TO BUILD SCHOOLS.

 

Did you read the article? He said property values have risen allowing taxes to rise. With a state surplus of $7 billion, you could have your cake and eat it too.

 

This has nothing to do with Wayne and everything to do with the fact that Florida has everything it would take to financially have the ballpark done.

 

It is a call to wakeup the sleeping masses that continue to drink the "no money for schools yet we can build stadiums" Kool-Aid and put forth the notion that we are not a poor state and we need to spend money to keep bringing it into the State Treasury.

 

Overall, a very well thought out article.

I said it on another thread and I'll say it here. The argument that schools should come first is a canard. We've had problems with schools that predate the Marlins existence. The problem with schools (or roads or fill in the blanks) has nothing to do with money. As the article states our taxing authorities are experiencing a windfall that they aren't allocating wisely. Will schools get magically fixed if the Marlins move to Texas and everything else remains the same? Of course not. Let's not kid ourselves.

 

Besides the state money the team and the city of Miami were trying to get was in the form of a sales tax rebate. Well how much revenue will the San Antonio Marlins generate for Florida in the form of sales taxes? You have two guesses. Ok, time's up, the correct answer is zero. The state can only make money off the Marlins if they are in Florida. So it seems that our state senators cut off their nose to spite their face because they risk losing the revenue and the team. Great work!

 

:hat

dam those public school kids, they arent happy unless there are 50 kids in a class. Why cant they just be satisfied with 70-80 kids in a class.

 

For real why cant public school kids just accept a job at mcdonalds and let us get our stadium!!!!

dam those public school kids, they arent happy unless there are 50 kids in a class. Why cant they just be satisfied with 70-80 kids in a class.

 

For real why cant public school kids just accept a job at mcdonalds and let us get our stadium!!!!

 

what a lame argument.

Obviously he can't read. I never said schools shouldn't be fixed. But the simple act of not building a stadium does nothing to fix schools or decrease class size or raise achievement levels. Just another demagogue.

Obviously he can't read. I never said schools shouldn't be fixed. But the simple act of not building a stadium does nothing to fix schools or decrease class size or raise achievement levels. Just another demagogue.

 

 

It was a lame joke. I guess I shouldnt be posting after a few drinks

Hyde's comments are straight from the Wayne Huizenga playbook.

 

By starting his latest piece by tieing schools and the stadium together, even pretending to make an argument against that notion, furthers the supposition that in fact that is the choice.

 

Dave Hyde knows that the CDT dollars anticipated as a funding source for stadium construction CANNOT BE USED TO BUILD SCHOOLS.

 

Did you read the article? He said property values have risen allowing taxes to rise. With a state surplus of $7 billion, you could have your cake and eat it too.

 

This has nothing to do with Wayne and everything to do with the fact that Florida has everything it would take to financially have the ballpark done.

 

It is a call to wakeup the sleeping masses that continue to drink the "no money for schools yet we can build stadiums" Kool-Aid and put forth the notion that we are not a poor state and we need to spend money to keep bringing it into the State Treasury.

 

Overall, a very well thought out article.

a first from Hyde

As I said above, and as I read the posts that followed mine, stadium financing has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with funding for education. Zero, zilch, nada, nothing. Funding for each comes from completely different and purpose-driven taxes, and in fact only the taxes for education come from Miami-Dade county residents.

 

Tieing the two together in the same sentence leaves the taste in the mouth of the reader that they are received by the palate as one, when of course they are totally different. Regardless of what you consume later, one still remembers the flavor of the first bite, schools or a stadium, stadium or schools...and that was purpose of the piece.

 

That'swhy I made the comment in my initial post that I did but Cape just didn't get it.

As I said above, and as I read the posts that followed mine, stadium financing has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with funding for education. Zero, zilch, nada, nothing. Funding for each comes from completely different and purpose-driven taxes, and in fact only the taxes for education come from Miami-Dade county residents.

 

Tieing the two together in the same sentence leaves the taste in the mouth of the reader that they are received by the palate as one, when of course they are totally different. Regardless of what you consume later, one still remembers the flavor of the first bite, schools or a stadium, stadium or schools...and that was purpose of the piece.

 

That'swhy I made the comment in my initial post that I did but Cape just didn't get it.

 

 

I understand what you are saying about the local funds that come from bed taxes and the like which have nothing to do with schools, etc. but the state sales tax rebate the Marlins and the City of Miami were lobbying for would have come from sales taxes which are the main source of revenue for the state. My argument was just that it's all BS anyway because the Marlins could be gone for 10 years and we'll still be bitching about the schools.

As I said above, and as I read the posts that followed mine, stadium financing has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with funding for education. Zero, zilch, nada, nothing. Funding for each comes from completely different and purpose-driven taxes, and in fact only the taxes for education come from Miami-Dade county residents.

 

Tieing the two together in the same sentence leaves the taste in the mouth of the reader that they are received by the palate as one, when of course they are totally different. Regardless of what you consume later, one still remembers the flavor of the first bite, schools or a stadium, stadium or schools...and that was purpose of the piece.

 

That'swhy I made the comment in my initial post that I did but Cape just didn't get it.

 

 

I understand what you are saying about the local funds that come from bed taxes and the like which have nothing to do with schools, etc. but the state sales tax rebate the Marlins and the City of Miami were lobbying for would have come from sales taxes which are the main source of revenue for the state. My argument was just that it's all BS anyway because the Marlins could be gone for 10 years and we'll still be bitching about the schools.

I know you're not trying to be argumentative and so let me explain this in a none argumentative way.

 

Yes, sales taxes are an important component of state revenues. But without a stadium there are no $$$ to be taxed. (No stadium, zero sales tax revenue.) What the Marlins were asking for, as more than a dozen other sports-oriented operations in the state are seeking or already have, is to keep a portion of the taxes generated, in this case approximately a third (it's estimated that about $6 million a year would be generated by a new stadium and the Marlins sought to keep $2 million a year) and apply it to financing the new stadium.

 

As for the Marlins leaving in 10 years (and I realize that wasn't your point), in order finance construction the Marlins would have to (contracturally) pledge to pay rent for the term of the financing (approximately thirty years) thus guaranteeing they won't be going anywhere.