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Posted on Thu, Apr. 27, 2006

 

Miami wants new company to lead Orange Bowl renovations

It has taken Miami leaders more than a year to figure out what company should manage Orange Bowl renovations. A court battle is further clouding the issue.

 

BY MICHAEL VASQUEZ

 

mrvasquez@MiamiHerald.com

Miami city commissioners today will consider picking a company to oversee a roughly $150 million renovation of the historic Orange Bowl stadium, home to the University of Miami football team.

 

There's only one problem: The city did the same thing more than a year ago, and now faces a legal mess because the first company chosen refuses to get out of the way.

 

That company, Wisconsin-based Hammes, is accusing the city of breaking a contract for political reasons.

 

City leaders counter that Hammes misled them into hiring a Florida subsidiary of Hammes when the city thought it was retaining the larger parent corporation.

 

City Manager Joe Arriola says Miami became worried that if something went wrong with the renovation, the smaller, Florida version of Hammes would have less money for Miami to recover.

 

''The last thing I want to do is hire somebody to do a $150 million project and not be able to go after them if they screw up,'' Arriola said.

 

FIRM SUES

 

City commissioners approved Hammes in March 2005, with a final contract signed by both the city and the company a couple of months later.

 

When Miami tried to back out, Hammes sued, asking in January for more than $2 million in damages and a court order forcing the city to execute the contract. The suit is pending.

 

In its legal complaint, Hammes says Miami's actions were ''politically motivated'' -- the city had recently come under criticism for awarding no-bid contracts, and so decided to void Hammes' deal, which was done without open competitive bidding by various companies.

 

''They were seemingly very concerned about how this was going to look,'' Hammes President Robert Dunn said. ``The contracting practices of the city of Miami are like nothing we've ever seen before.''

 

Hammes' lawsuit says that city leaders had ample opportunity to review their contract with Hammes before approving it, and so they have no right to cancel it now.

 

Arriola did not dispute that ''my wonderful legal department'' went over the contract before it was approved. But he said blame for the contract ended with the city's lawyers, not its managers.

 

''I'm not here to be a lawyer, OK?'' Arriola said, adding that the many months it has taken Miami to pick a project manager will not delay the Orange Bowl face-lift because Miami, until recently, was distracted from the issue anyway -- the city was focused on negotiations for a new Florida Marlins ballpark.

 

WORRIES VALID

 

University of Miami Law Professor Alan Swan, who has taught contract law for more than 20 years, said Miami's concern about which version of Hammes it negotiated with is a legitimate one.

 

Yet he was taken aback that Miami didn't figure out the issue before signing.

 

''What is it that the city is so careless that they don't really know who they're dealing with?'' Swan asked. ``Why did you sign the contract?''

 

Several weeks ago, city administrators tried to get the City Commission to void the original Hammes deal but couldn't muster the necessary votes.

 

Arriola said he's now got enough support and is confident that cancellation, and the selection of a new company, will happen today.

 

NEW FIRM TO BE NAMED

 

Meanwhile, City Commissioner Tom?s Regalado said Miami's legal staff told him the potential new project manager -- Jones Lang Lasalle Americas, Inc. -- is being warned by the city it could get the contract, but then lose it should the courts decide Hammes had a right to keep it all along.

 

''This is a chain of mistakes,'' Regalado said. ``It's very strange.''

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/14438086.htm

You have to love the quote from Tomas Regalado at the end of the story...you can tell they don't like each other at all...they hate each other so much that Regalado tried to get Arriola fired but no one else on the city commission had the b@lls to second the motion...and then you wonder why Miami is so messed up

  • Author

My apologies for scaring you guys :D

 

I posted it here (in the stadium news forum) because I felt it was illustrative of the way the city of Miami does business and the type of problems the Marlins organization were probably faced with in dealing with Crazy Joe.

 

I also thought it appropriate considering one of linchpins of the Marlins stadium plan was to control all facets of construction (using an outside GC and contract management firm) and here was Arriola jettisoning the national company (and all these national companies set up sub-corps in the various states they do business in for legitimate reasons) in favor of a local firm AFTER the contract was approved.

 

Cronyish in the Magic City? Gambling, here at Rick's, oh no !

 

[after observing the gambling tables at Rick's]

Customer: Are you sure this place is honest?

Carl: Honest? As honest as the day is long!

[as he goes to hand Renault a bribe]

Jan Brandel: Captain Renault... may I?

Captain Renault: Oh no! Not here please! Come to my office tomorrow morning. We'll do everything businesslike.

Jan Brandel: We'll be there at six!

Captain Renault: I'll be there at ten.

Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds?

Captain Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!

[a croupier hands Renault a pile of money]

Croupier: Your winnings, sir.

Captain Renault: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much.

[aloud]

Captain Renault: Everybody out at once!

 

The Magic City sounds more like Casablanca all the time.

I know I would be preaching to the choir when I say this but everyone in Miami should be embarrassed about this. A right darn shame! We're talking about one of the more venerable venues in the history of sports in this country (back when the Orange Bowl was actually played at the Orange Bowl), yet they can't get their asses around a simple renovation! WE'RE NOT TALKING A BRAND NEW STADIUM, MIND YOU. Just pouring some new concrete and fixing some seats...AND THEY CAN'T DO EVEN THAT?!

 

An absolute waste! :thumbdown

As this has absolutely nothing to do with the Florida Marlins stadium future it really shouldn't be in this particular forum. What's past is past with Arriola. We're not idiots. It's been all too obvious for all to see that the man is an incompetent corrupt political hack. But he's history for the Florida Marlins.

  • 2 weeks later...

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14556414.htm

 

Miami voids Orange Bowl renovation contract

 

By MICHAEL VASQUEZ

mrvasquez@MiamiHerald.com

 

Armed with an outside legal opinion saying the city was ''hoodwinked,'' Miami City commissioners Thursday voted to choose a new company to manage a $150 million renovation of the Orange Bowl.

 

The first company Miami picked to manage the job, Wisconsin-based Hammes, is suing the city, saying Miami is backing out of a written contract for no reason. City leaders say Hannes tricked Miami into agreeing to terms with a Florida-based Hammes subsidiary; the city wanted to hire the parent company itself.

 

Commissioners voted Thursday to officially void that contract. It selected Chicago-based Jones Lang Lasalle Americas, Inc. to take over the Orange Bowl job, although the company agreed that Miami can later cancel the agreement based on how the court battle with Hammes turns out.

 

An attorney for Hammes, Charles Rosenberg, told commissioners Miami knew all along who it was hiring.

 

''The truth will come out in the lawsuit,'' Rosenberg said.

 

Miami hopes to complete the stadium facelift by the start of the 2009 college football season. The Orange Bowl is home to the University of Miami Hurricanes.

 

City leaders admit they signed a contract with Hammes last year but say Hammes tricked them into agreeing to terms with a Florida subsidiary, when what the city wanted was to hire the parent Wisconsin company.

 

Two weeks ago, city commissioners asked for an outside legal opinion on the matter. Miami turned to Nova Southeastern University law professor Bruce Rogow, who Thursday echoed the opinion of City Attorney Jorge Fernandez -- that Miami had been duped into signing a bad deal and needed to back out.

 

''Hoodwinked,'' Rogow said, describing what happened to the city.

 

Rogow called Miami's failure to spot the discrepency ''unfortunate'' but said the city still had the right to pick another firm.

 

Miami's in-house legal department reviewed the contract with Hammes before the city signed it but didn't notice it was dealing with the company's subsidiary. The difference could become significant if the city ever had to recoup damages for a botched renovation.

 

More fun and games at the Banana Republic City. :plain

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