October 26, 200718 yr Marlins ballpark faces new funding gap Posted on Thu, Oct. 25, 2007Digg del.icio.us AIM reprint print email BY MICHAEL VASQUEZ mrvasquez@MiamiHerald.com Plans for a Florida Marlins stadium -- which got a huge financial boost when the University of Miami decided to leave the Orange Bowl -- now have new money obstacles: Cost estimates are rising while the club is trimming the amount it says it will pay, Miami city leaders learned Thursday. City Manager Pete Hernandez told frustrated city commissioners that the Marlins are backing away from a promised $207 million contribution to the cost of the 37,000-seat, retractable-roof baseball stadium. Marlins officials could not be reached for comment late Thursday. But Hernandez said the club is looking to cut its contribution out of concern that building a new stadium on the site of the Orange Bowl -- a plan that has gathered support recently among city and county leaders -- would not be as profitable as the downtown site that the team prefers. The news irritated Miami commissioners, who set a mid-December deadline for making a deal -- or perhaps walking away. Hernandez did not say how much the new stadium's estimated cost has risen -- or how much the club's contribution has dropped. But the few numbers Hernandez publicly revealed Thursday indicate that the stadium could face a new funding gap of tens of millions of dollars. After the City Commission meeting, Hernandez declined to provide specifics. For years, the ballpark had been $30 million short of the money needed for construction. Plans called for the Marlins to spend $45 million out of pocket and $162 million in rent payments. Miami-Dade County would put in $145 million in bond money, and Miami was to spend $108 million, mostly through tourist taxes. But that long-standing funding gap seemed to be closing this year as county leaders began moving to add $50 million in bond money to the county's contribution -- money originally dedicated to refurbishing the Orange Bowl. After UM's football team opted to leave the Orange Bowl next year -- and the city decided to demolish the place -- that money became available for new purposes. But now, even with that extra money, Hernandez told commissioners, there is still a ''large amount to be covered'' in costs. The manager said costs are rising because the Marlins want their new home ready in time for the 2011 season, which will require an accelerated construction schedule. City commissioners have clearly begun to lose patience with the stalled stadium talks. Commission Vice Chairman Joe Sanchez on Thursday proposed a Dec. 13 deadline for an updated stadium plan. Before then, Sanchez said, he wants the Marlins to publicly announce their commitment to the Orange Bowl site. ''I don't know, maybe baseball isn't the answer,'' Sanchez said. ``We have someone sitting at the poker table who may not have plenty of chips.'' His deadline proposal passed unanimously. Sanchez said there are plenty of things Miami can do with the Orange Bowl site if the Marlins are unwilling to commit, including turning it into a large-scale park. If a stadium plan isn't set by Dec. 13, ''we move on,'' Sanchez said.
October 26, 200718 yr Author This sh?t never ends i suppose if this is accurate we now know the Marlins ownership did not want it to happen
October 26, 200718 yr I really don't like the OB site, so I don't blame the team for their lack of interest.
October 26, 200718 yr i f***ing knew it. f*** Loria, f*** Samson, f*** Miami, f*** everybody that has had anything to do with this garbage.
October 26, 200718 yr I could be wrong, but I still think this is going to happen. Dupuy said yesterday that the OB is the only site under consideration right now. If MLB thinks this is a viable location, i'm confident it'll get worked out. After all these years struggling for this and with the league heavily involved, I doubt MLB would allow them to walk away from a viable deal.
October 26, 200718 yr IDIOTS! HOW BUSH LEAGUE IS THIS FRANCHISE, HUH? This is bulls***! No way we can blame the politicians if this doesn't get done. The Marlins and MLB are useless.
October 26, 200718 yr Loria and Samson ought to be be horsewhipped...Do we still have any Loria apologists around? Worse ownership in the majors!
October 26, 200718 yr The Fish can swim to Portland or San Antonio for all I care if this is the case.
October 26, 200718 yr this is f***ing horrible news and it makes me want to smash loria's chipmunk f***ing face into the ground.... but it's prolly best not to overreact until the team has a chance to comment on it.
October 26, 200718 yr This sh?t never ends i suppose if this is accurate we now know the Marlins ownership did not want it to happen It's about the loss of parking revenue because the City no longer guarantees they will build the parking garage they committed to and could cost the Marlins over $80-100 million over the term of the lease in lost "net" revenues (their share). Seems to me that's a big enough issue to be concerned about.
October 26, 200718 yr This sh?t never ends i suppose if this is accurate we now know the Marlins ownership did not want it to happen It's about the loss of parking revenue because the City no longer guarantees they will build the parking garage they committed to and could cost the Marlins over $80-100 million over the term of the lease in lost "net" revenues (their share). Seems to me that's a big enough issue to be concerned about. That would be a big issue, but didn't we know from the moment the OB came into play as pretty much the only choice, that the Marlins were going to lower their contribution? That was mentioned in the articles that day. Anyway, as long as MLB stays involved, I'll remian hopeful, since they seem to pretty always end up getting these types of deals done when they want them to happen. I remember the DC stadium getting derailed a couple of times before MLB stepped in and closed that deal.
October 26, 200718 yr The Marlins ownership wants to leave Miami. They're not negotiating in good faith.
October 26, 200718 yr Loria and Samson ought to be be horsewhipped...Do we still have any Loria apologists around? Worse ownership in the majors! Marlins2003 and rFerry think Loria is great. And no matter how much info is thrown out there their opinions dont change. 2003 is basically Loria's personal spin doctor on this board.
October 26, 200718 yr The Marlins ownership wants to leave Miami. They're not negotiating in good faith. Im starting to believe this.
October 26, 200718 yr This sh?t never ends i suppose if this is accurate we now know the Marlins ownership did not want it to happen It's about the loss of parking revenue because the City no longer guarantees they will build the parking garage they committed to and could cost the Marlins over $80-100 million over the term of the lease in lost "net" revenues (their share). Seems to me that's a big enough issue to be concerned about. The Marlins are going to start actually spending money to make some money if they truly believe Miami is as important to them as they have been saying for 10 years. They've been taking in tens of millions of dollars the last two years. They should actually go out at spend it in order to increase their revenue streams. This is something you learn in business 101. Samson must have skipped the class to watch movies or hide in his panic room. I hate this ownership. What a bunch of useless POS that have no business running a sports team.
October 26, 200718 yr I wanted to scream when I opened the paper this morning. The Marlins just don't know how to get this done or simply don't want to know.
October 26, 200718 yr Not discounting what 03 says about the parking issue, it just seems that Loria does not want it to happen, but is always hoping that something happens so it looks like it was not his fault. But, in the big picture it is because we all know, as the article states "someone is sitting at the poker table who may not have plenty of chips". The overall impression, to me, has been that Loria has been waiting for it to all come to him free of charge and all the "committments" have been just talk. Maybe, if Loria screws the deal, MLB puts the pressure on him to put up or get out.
October 26, 200718 yr Can we sue as fans? Probably not but it's worth a try b/c threats seem to be the only to get through this moronic ownership. :banghead :banghead Up until now, I gave the team the benefit of the doubt. Now, if true, they have lost all credibility considering they need to get what they can (beggers can't be choosers).
October 26, 200718 yr I think the Marlins should move to Weston. Theres a lot of open space here, and this way I can walk to the stadium. lol. Seriously, I read this article yesterday. How long has it been since we have gotten a little of good news about the stadium. Loria should sell the team and go back to Montreal with Mr. Ironman
October 26, 200718 yr If I recall correctly the previous OB deal called for a parking garage but the parking revenues would be used to pay for the parking garage. From what I recall the Marlins weren't getting the parking revenues but maybe they were getting some of it and it just wasn't reported in the media. I guess this means we're not getting ARod, Bonds and Posada as was speculated is several threads.
October 26, 200718 yr Can we say irreconcilable differences. . . .? I have zero hope on this getting done. - Cabrera - Gone - Willis - Gone welcome to the world of being a "2nd class citizen " baseball fan.
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