Any word on the stadium situation?

-- David G., Miami

 

The encouraging news is there have been intensified meetings going on. Last week was a big week on the stadium front, with Major League Baseball president Bob DuPuy visiting South Florida and taking part in the meetings with local leaders. The league is very active in the talks, and there are indications that progress is being made. The next few months are crucial, and perhaps before Opening Day, there will be some long-overdue closure to this ongoing stadium saga.

 

The city of Miami is a very strong possibility to be the site of a new park. Pompano is another location that hasn't gotten much attention, but from what I've gathered, it isn't a location to be taken lightly. Hialeah remains in the mix. The team is under lease to remain at Dolphin Stadium through the 2010 season. It takes roughly three years to build a new park, so finalizing a stadium and breaking ground sometime in 2007 is crucial.

 

http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...sp&c_id=fla

 

 

 

 

Not sure if this one was posted too

 

 

 

 

? Notes: Marlins to commemorate '97 season

? Shop for Marlins gear

 

MIAMI -- If no news is good news, then this was an encouraging week for the Marlins' stadium effort.

 

Earlier this week, Major League Baseball president Bob DuPuy was in South Florida taking part in a series of stadium-related meetings with team and local officials.

 

Securing funding for a new Marlins' home has become a high-league priority, and Major League Baseball has assumed an active role in the push to end more than a decade of stadium struggles in South Florida.

 

The Marlins had no comment on the meetings, which have quietly been going on outside of the public's eye.

 

MLB.com has learned that stadium talks are progressing.

 

One proposed site that is gaining momentum is the city of Miami, just south of the Miami Arena off I-95. Pompano, in Broward County, is also a viable location. And the city of Hialeah, in Miami-Dade County, is another possibility.

 

Since their inaugural 1993 season, the Marlins have been sharing Dolphin Stadium with the Miami Dolphins. A series of leases to remain in a park designed primarily for football expires after the 2010 season.

 

To secure the long-term stability of the franchise, the Marlins have long been searching for their own park, which would offer the team a much more favorable revenue stream.

 

With the Marlins having to be out of their current home after 2010, the clock is ticking to get a deal done in the near future. It takes three years to build a park, and ideally the team would like to move into a new home in 2010 rather than remain for the final year of their Dolphin Stadium deal.

 

Due to South Florida's scorching hot temperatures, and unpredictable rain patterns, the Marlins insist that a retractable-roof park is a necessity. One reason the city of Miami site is attractive is because parking isn't part of the estimated $430 million cost for a 38,000-seat facility.

 

The city of Miami has ample public parking already in the surrounding areas, plus the stadium would be accessible by the Metrorail train system.

 

DuPuy's presence at these meetings is significant because it shows the league's desire to keep baseball entrenched in South Florida.

 

Last year, the Marlins were granted permission to seek relocation after a proposed stadium plan next to the Orange Bowl in Miami fell through.

 

Marlins officials visited other markets, and while San Antonio, Texas, was impressive, there is no talk now of relocation.

 

MLB and team management want the franchise, with two World Series titles in their relatively brief history, to remain in South Florida.

 

Finding the Marlins a new home has moved up on the league's priority list because a series of events -- which includes the launching of the first World Baseball Classic, the new collective bargaining agreement and the Twins and A's stadium stalemates -- have all been addressed.

 

http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...sp&c_id=fla

Thats good news. Hopefully its not pompano.

Hopefully it IS Pompano.

Pompano is too far for me if that pick i better go to all marlins game now because that be too far for me to make it with my wife car

Hopefully it IS Pompano.

Seriously, most of us (believe it or not) do live in Miami. Without question, most of us work (or otherwise spend our work-day hours) in Miami. And in the afternoon (during which we would all be heading to games) there is insane traffic going NORTHBOUND out of Dade, into Broward. Do you really think having the stadium on the opposite side of the worst traffic (when most will be going) from where most fans live/work is a good idea?

Hopefully it IS Pompano.

Seriously, most of us (believe it or not) do live in Miami.

Do you have a statistic/source for that?

 

Because in my personal experience, that's not true.

Hopefully it IS Pompano.

Seriously, most of us (believe it or not) do live in Miami. Without question, most of us work (or otherwise spend our work-day hours) in Miami. And in the afternoon (during which we would all be heading to games) there is insane traffic going NORTHBOUND out of Dade, into Broward. Do you really think having the stadium on the opposite side of the worst traffic (when most will be going) from where most fans live/work is a good idea?

 

Pompano is by FAR the worst choice. Hopefully it wont happen. You basically cut off the biggest county (dade) if you go there.

If anything Pompano would be the LAST resort...I mean the only reason why MLB is so determined to build a stadium down here is because they look at Miami as a gateway to the Latin Americas and other countries, where many of their players are coming from. I seriously doubt MLB wants a stadium in Pompano, but if there is no other choice, then so be it. As long as the Marlins stay in South Florida, I'm happy.

Pampano is best for me by far. Saves me a good hour of time I would get an 81 game pack upgrade from my normal package. But, I dont care where they put it just keep them down here.

Hopefully it IS Pompano.

 

 

 

Gotta agree for the selfish fact that I live in Pompano.

 

 

Play ball!!!!!

Hopefully it IS Pompano.

 

 

 

Gotta agree for the selfish fact that I live in Pompano.

 

 

Play ball!!!!!

 

I would love Pompano. But I still think the best for the 3 counties is Hialeah. Downtown is the worst. But this is all just a rehash of most of the threads.