July 19, 200817 yr http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/story/610125.html This is the same idiot who said that the U of Miami Hurricanes change their nickname after Andrew passed through Miami... Stadium plan is bad for city Posted on Sat, Jul. 19, 2008 BY LINDA ROBERTSON lrobertson@MiamiHerald.com The Marlins have their shovels poised above the dirt the same way a starving man has his fork ready to dig into a heap of rice and beans. Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria and president David Samson probably even have custom-fitted construction hats for one of those corny ground-breaking photos. After years of shelved blueprints, a new baseball stadium is so close they can smell the hot dogs grilling. Then along comes Norman Braman, whose lawsuit declares: ``Let the voters decide.'' What are we to make of Braman, multimillionaire car dealer, former owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, arts patron, philanthropist? Civic guardian or spoilsport? Principled government watchdog or cranky anti-tax zealot? Braman says his lawsuit against Miami-Dade County, the city of Miami and the Marlins to halt the $3 billion redevelopment megaplan is all about democracy, plain and simple. 'Any use of citizens' money should be decided by the citizens,'' he said Friday after another day in court. He's right. But it's much more complicated than that. JUST SAY NO Much of the megaplan is great for Miami, a place that has needed visionary leaders but has been shackled by divisive or corrupt ones. The stadium, however, never should have been included in the plan. Repeat the mantra: No public funding of homes for privately owned sports franchises. Especially for one that ranks last in attendance in Major League Baseball. Year after year, the Marlins have battled fan indifference. They have won two World Series titles, have fielded intriguing teams, have played in a ripe market. This season, the feisty Fish lead baseball in home runs, yet they sell an average of only 15,029 tickets per game (fewer actual people are in the seats) -- more than 4,000 below the team that is No. 29 on the list, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Blame the climate: Everyone knew the heat, humidity and summer rains would be a problem., yet MLB put a team here anyway. Blame the dismantling of winning teams to slash the budget. Blame the array of other fun things to do in South Florida (as if Boston and Chicago don't have fun things to do). The sad fact is, after 15 years, three owners and a parade of entertaining players, baseball has not caught on here. On the stadium issue, citizens have voted -- at the turnstiles. Could building a $515 million, retractable-roof stadium on the grave of the Orange Bowl in Little Havana reverse the malaise, inject money into the franchise and mold a consistent contender? Doubtful, but the point is, nobody knows. It's a $515 million gamble, of which the Marlins are paying one-fifth the cost and reaping 100 percent of the profits in a sweet deal for Loria, a wealthy art dealer. The Marlins don't help their case by claiming poverty but keeping their books secret. Please, let's avoid the Field of Dreams clich?. Sure, fans would flock at first. But there is no proof, as MLB president Bob DuPuy has argued, that Miami is a carbon copy of Cleveland, where TV viewership was high but attendance was low until a new stadium created a renaissance. TRAFFIC NIGHTMARE The Marlins' site is not ideal, either. It will be a turnoff to Broward and West Palm Beach fans who not only have to drive south but also will face a traffic quagmire. ''The Mets are building their own stadium, as are the Giants and Jets,'' Braman said. ``If Loria wants to use his own dollars, as Joe Robbie did, I have no problem with that.'' Braman even supports public-private funding collaborations, such as the one Jerry Jones won for his new Cowboys stadium -- if they are approved by voters. Bundling the stadium deal into the megaplan was a mistake. It might have been politically expedient for the mayors with major-league egos who are constantly campaigning to make Miami a ''world-class city,'' but, as Braman says, ``What does a baseball stadium in Little Havana have to do with revitalizing downtown?'' ''Los Angeles has survived very well without an NFL franchise,'' Braman said. ``What makes a place a first-class city is its jobs, schools, homes, parks, libraries, healthcare, police protection.'' Braman is not arguing that the tourist-tax money going to the stadium could be used instead on our drowning school system. No one should be confused about that. The megaplan would increase no one's taxes, but mistrust of local government practically ensures that the plan would be voted down. The airport expansion and performing-arts center were ridiculously over budget. We were hoodwinked on the transit tax and the AmericanAirlines Arena deal. We've been burned by waste and embezzlement. The Bicentennial Park remake, Overtown redevelopment, port tunnel, trolley and Arsht Center debt payoff have merit. The stadium sticks out like a sore thumb. Times are hard, yet baseball is awash in cash. People are losing their homes, yet the Marlins want the people's money to build a new one. Repeat the mantra.
July 19, 200817 yr lrobertson@MiamiHerald.com The e-mail is right there, lets write her and let her know what we think!
July 19, 200817 yr Doubtful, but the point is, nobody knows. Isn't the above a contradiction? Poorly written article, I'm glad this was an editorial. She did say something about Cleveland having high viewer ratings on television but not in the stands only to have a renaissance after the new stadium was built. Right now, we don't even know if the Marlins are going to have a stadium, lets wait and see.
July 19, 200817 yr I wrote this idiot an e-mail: Hello Linda, My name is Jordan Sanchez. I am currently a college student at Fordham University in New York City but am a resident of Miami. As a former News Editor, it baffles me to know that you are allowed to write so many inconsistencies and half-truths in your article. In it, you write, "Year after year, the Marlins have battled fan indifference." This can't be any further from the truth. The attendance at games will automatically lead you to believe this, however, it is not a tell-tale sign of "fan indifference." Consider the fact that FSN Florida's (South Florida regional) ratings rank in the top 10 (among networks broadcasting baseball games). The Marlins have higher TV ratings than 60% of other Major League Baseball teams. It would be really difficult to convince anyone that so many people across the country who pay to watch the Marlins on television are indifferent about them. You also list the many reasons why people don't go to the game: the climate, dismantling, South Florida, etc. You also seem to dismiss those. As I do agree with you that these are not valid reasons for why there are so few fans at the stadium, you fail to list the only valid one: Dolphin Stadium. Common sense would tell you that the location of the stadium is why people won't go to games. Around 60% of South Florida residents don't have access to transportation to the stadium. I understand that not every South Floridian will go to a baseball game, but how do you expect people to show up if the stadium is not easily accessable? The proposed new stadium will be easier to access, especially with public transportation (which is virtually non-existent in the area of Dolphin Stadium). You also give access to the heart of the fan base of the Marlins. The number fans in Broward and West Palm is smaller compared to those in Miami-Dade county, and common sense would tell you to put a stadium where the heart of your fan base is. Not to mention, the population is rapidly falling in Broward county and growing in Miami-Dade. And who wants to leave work and head north on I-95 or through the 836 in a huge rush to get to a game that starts at 7:05 at a stadium that takes forever to get to... EVERY NIGHT? Baseball HAS caught on. The stupidities of ONE former owner and the stupidities that are "reported" about the team just make it seem like it hasn't. The Marlins are also not using people's money to build a stadium. The county and city are using SOME of people's money (which was acquired without any sort of tax increase, by the way) while the Marlins are putting some of their own. Your reasons as to why the stadium is a bad idea are as ridiculous as your reasons why the University of Miami Hurricanes should have changed their name after Hurricane Andrew. THAT was a bad idea. Building a new stadium is not. Sorry, Browardites. I used to live in Homestead and they have a lot of fans there. Now that I live in Southwest Miami-Dade (close to Westchester) I haven't stopped hearing about the Marlins ANYWHERE. Just letting you know. But I really like you :pacsmile
July 19, 200817 yr If you've read Linda's "work" over the years, and I use that word loosely, this should not come as a surprise to anyone. This is Linda's job, or at least the reason she has job security, as rabid an anti-Marlins person as there is in any newsroom in South Florida. Her negativism is legendary. Public money for the arts, the PAC was her pet project, public money for two new museums, both of which already have homes and are prospering at both, those are fine purposes for public money especially if it pushes the riff-raff and homeless out of sight of PAC attendees, all five of them. But baseball? Certainly not. Simply too low brow for Linda's tastes and for her friends. Again I say the way out of all this is to find another source for the $50 million GO bond (OB renovation) dollars and this goes away. It cuts the legs out from underneath the haters because those are the only "public" dollars at play here. The rest are targeted tourist dollars never meant for or available to the general fund, already voted on and approved nine years ago by the voters of Miami-Dade county for the express purpose such as this. Norman wants a vote. It happened nine years ago. This is where MLB should step in, or a developer like DDR who is interested in developing the area around the stadium, the Beacon Council or someone whose stature dwarfs that of our pesky nusiance - the used car salesman on Biscayne Blvd - to change the public's media manipulated perception of the stadium project and the direction of this now public debate. Monday morning, if not before, the interested parties should announce those dollars have been removed from the stadium's financing. It makes Judge Cohen's job much much easier and clearcut, it limits appeal possibilities for Braman. MLB for example could rewite their loan agreement with the Marlins to give up their claim to 20% of the profits from the new stadium for the first five years of operation and settle for repayment of the outstanding debt. That in itself should make the Marlins financing efforts that much easier while increasing their financial share of the project which, belatedly, will play well in the press. Does anyone here really care if ticket prices are a dollar more? Are you willing to pay a maximum of $81 more for your season tickets in exchange for air conditioned comfort and a guarantee the game will be played? There's lots of ways to offset the GO Bond dollars, and I don't pretend to have all the answers, they are out there and the four parties on our side of the table should be making every effort to come up with them. It may not sit well with or silence the haters, the Robertson's, the Hyde's, you know who they are and their link to the NFL is well apparent and totally transparent, but it will play well on main street, and Calle Ocho, that the Marlins with the assistance of MLB have raised their stake by $50 million. The Herald knows no shame and as they sink into obscurity and even today are clinging to life support, it appears their one last dieing effort will be to take the Marlins down with them. In a few years, if not sooner, and I suspect much sooner, the Herald will disappear, a victim of their own bad works, shabby reporting and disconnect from the community. Lashing out to destroy the Marlins is predictable but only reinforces the belief that the words "truth" and "accuracy" are never to be uttered anywhere near One Herald Square. Never. And I for one won't miss Linda or Clark Spencer or Mike Phillips or any of them, let them stand in an unemployment line with the thousands of out of work construction workers and tradesmen who would have found work and a way to support their families from $3 billion in municipal spending. It's actually an image that would please me more than you know, Linda having to rub shoulders with the very people she so detests and looks down on, and who for years she has worked so diligently to keep at arms length from the beautiful people of the Miami arts scene. It's almost worth it. But unfortunately the price is too high to pay.
July 19, 200817 yr It really annoys me that a female wrote that garbage. It's hard enough to be taken seriously as a girl who is a legitimate sports fan, without dumb C U Next Tuesday's like her spewing half-truths.
July 19, 200817 yr It really annoys me that a female wrote that garbage. It's hard enough to be taken seriously as a girl who is a legitimate sports fan, without dumb C U Next Tuesday's like her spewing half-truths. HAHA C U Next Tuesday's... That is actually really funny
July 19, 200817 yr f*** him man, go marlins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ummmmm, I know she is a lesbo-type woman, but she is a female, not a guy.
July 19, 200817 yr If you've read Linda's "work" over the years, and I use that word loosely, this should not come as a surprise to anyone. This is Linda's job, or at least the reason she has job security, as rabid an anti-Marlins person as there is in any newsroom in South Florida. Her negativism is legendary. Public money for the arts, the PAC was her pet project, public money for two new museums, both of which already have homes and are prospering at both, those are fine purposes for public money especially if it pushes the riff-raff and homeless out of sight of PAC attendees, all five of them. But baseball? Certainly not. Simply too low brow for Linda's tastes and for her friends. Again I say the way out of all this is to find another source for the $50 million GO bond (OB renovation) dollars and this goes away. It cuts the legs out from underneath the haters because those are the only "public" dollars at play here. The rest are targeted tourist dollars never meant for or available to the general fund, already voted on and approved nine years ago by the voters of Miami-Dade county for the express purpose such as this. Norman wants a vote. It happened nine years ago. This is where MLB should step in, or a developer like DDR who is interested in developing the area around the stadium, the Beacon Council or someone whose stature dwarfs that of our pesky nusiance - the used car salesman on Biscayne Blvd - to change the public's media manipulated perception of the stadium project and the direction of this now public debate. Monday morning, if not before, the interested parties should announce those dollars have been removed from the stadium's financing. It makes Judge Cohen's job much much easier and clearcut, it limits appeal possibilities for Braman. MLB for example could rewite their loan agreement with the Marlins to give up their claim to 20% of the profits from the new stadium for the first five years of operation and settle for repayment of the outstanding debt. That in itself should make the Marlins financing efforts that much easier while increasing their financial share of the project which, belatedly, will play well in the press. Does anyone here really care if ticket prices are a dollar more? Are you willing to pay a maximum of $81 more for your season tickets in exchange for air conditioned comfort and a guarantee the game will be played? There's lots of ways to offset the GO Bond dollars, and I don't pretend to have all the answers, they are out there and the four parties on our side of the table should be making every effort to come up with them. It may not sit well with or silence the haters, the Robertson's, the Hyde's, you know who they are and their link to the NFL is well apparent and totally transparent, but it will play well on main street, and Calle Ocho, that the Marlins with the assistance of MLB have raised their stake by $50 million. The Herald knows no shame and as they sink into obscurity and even today are clinging to life support, it appears their one last dieing effort will be to take the Marlins down with them. In a few years, if not sooner, and I suspect much sooner, the Herald will disappear, a victim of their own bad works, shabby reporting and disconnect from the community. Lashing out to destroy the Marlins is predictable but only reinforces the belief that the words "truth" and "accuracy" are never to be uttered anywhere near One Herald Square. Never. And I for one won't miss Linda or Clark Spencer or Mike Phillips or any of them, let them stand in an unemployment line with the thousands of out of work construction workers and tradesmen who would have found work and a way to support their families from $3 billion in municipal spending. It's actually an image that would please me more than you know, Linda having to rub shoulders with the very people she so detests and looks down on, and who for years she has worked so diligently to keep at arms length from the beautiful people of the Miami arts scene. It's almost worth it. But unfortunately the price is too high to pay. 2003 you and I don't agree very often, but this is one hell of a great piece and should be submitted to the Herald for the OP page. Now do they have the guts to put it in the paper ?
July 19, 200817 yr f*** him man, go marlins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ummmmm, I know she is a lesbo-type woman, but she is a female, not a guy. lmao
July 19, 200817 yr I wrote this idiot an e-mail: Hello Linda, My name is Jordan Sanchez. I am currently a college student at Fordham University in New York City but am a resident of Miami. As a former News Editor, it baffles me to know that you are allowed to write so many inconsistencies and half-truths in your article. In it, you write, "Year after year, the Marlins have battled fan indifference." This can't be any further from the truth. The attendance at games will automatically lead you to believe this, however, it is not a tell-tale sign of "fan indifference." Consider the fact that FSN Florida's (South Florida regional) ratings rank in the top 10 (among networks broadcasting baseball games). The Marlins have higher TV ratings than 60% of other Major League Baseball teams. It would be really difficult to convince anyone that so many people across the country who pay to watch the Marlins on television are indifferent about them. You also list the many reasons why people don't go to the game: the climate, dismantling, South Florida, etc. You also seem to dismiss those. As I do agree with you that these are not valid reasons for why there are so few fans at the stadium, you fail to list the only valid one: Dolphin Stadium. Common sense would tell you that the location of the stadium is why people won't go to games. Around 60% of South Florida residents don't have access to transportation to the stadium. I understand that not every South Floridian will go to a baseball game, but how do you expect people to show up if the stadium is not easily accessable? The proposed new stadium will be easier to access, especially with public transportation (which is virtually non-existent in the area of Dolphin Stadium). You also give access to the heart of the fan base of the Marlins. The number fans in Broward and West Palm is smaller compared to those in Miami-Dade county, and common sense would tell you to put a stadium where the heart of your fan base is. Not to mention, the population is rapidly falling in Broward county and growing in Miami-Dade. And who wants to leave work and head north on I-95 or through the 836 in a huge rush to get to a game that starts at 7:05 at a stadium that takes forever to get to... EVERY NIGHT? Baseball HAS caught on. The stupidities of ONE former owner and the stupidities that are "reported" about the team just make it seem like it hasn't. The Marlins are also not using people's money to build a stadium. The county and city are using SOME of people's money (which was acquired without any sort of tax increase, by the way) while the Marlins are putting some of their own. Your reasons as to why the stadium is a bad idea are as ridiculous as your reasons why the University of Miami Hurricanes should have changed their name after Hurricane Andrew. THAT was a bad idea. Building a new stadium is not. Sorry, Browardites. I used to live in Homestead and they have a lot of fans there. Now that I live in Southwest Miami-Dade (close to Westchester) I haven't stopped hearing about the Marlins ANYWHERE. Just letting you know. But I really like you :pacsmile I've always contended that those that call out "Broward & Palm Beach" fans won't come to the new park, so its gloom and doom. Hellllllllooooooooooooooo those people aren't coming now anyways, :banghead and when you put the stadium 20 miles closer to people in Kendall, Cutler Ridge, Perrine and Homestead, they will easily supplant the Broward & Palm Beach numbers, and add more. Screw them up there. They had their chance and blew it by not going to Marlins games. It seems the Panthers (who only had success while in downtown Miami BTW) moved to West Broward, you never hear about how they have "abandoned their fan base", those of us in Miami-Dade who went to the games. Its tit-4-tat. Broward can have the Panthers, I'd rather have the Marlins anyday. :thumbup
July 19, 200817 yr I wrote this idiot an e-mail: Hello Linda, My name is Jordan Sanchez. I am currently a college student at Fordham University in New York City but am a resident of Miami. As a former News Editor, it baffles me to know that you are allowed to write so many inconsistencies and half-truths in your article. In it, you write, "Year after year, the Marlins have battled fan indifference." This can't be any further from the truth. The attendance at games will automatically lead you to believe this, however, it is not a tell-tale sign of "fan indifference." Consider the fact that FSN Florida's (South Florida regional) ratings rank in the top 10 (among networks broadcasting baseball games). The Marlins have higher TV ratings than 60% of other Major League Baseball teams. It would be really difficult to convince anyone that so many people across the country who pay to watch the Marlins on television are indifferent about them. You also list the many reasons why people don't go to the game: the climate, dismantling, South Florida, etc. You also seem to dismiss those. As I do agree with you that these are not valid reasons for why there are so few fans at the stadium, you fail to list the only valid one: Dolphin Stadium. Common sense would tell you that the location of the stadium is why people won't go to games. Around 60% of South Florida residents don't have access to transportation to the stadium. I understand that not every South Floridian will go to a baseball game, but how do you expect people to show up if the stadium is not easily accessable? The proposed new stadium will be easier to access, especially with public transportation (which is virtually non-existent in the area of Dolphin Stadium). You also give access to the heart of the fan base of the Marlins. The number fans in Broward and West Palm is smaller compared to those in Miami-Dade county, and common sense would tell you to put a stadium where the heart of your fan base is. Not to mention, the population is rapidly falling in Broward county and growing in Miami-Dade. And who wants to leave work and head north on I-95 or through the 836 in a huge rush to get to a game that starts at 7:05 at a stadium that takes forever to get to... EVERY NIGHT? Baseball HAS caught on. The stupidities of ONE former owner and the stupidities that are "reported" about the team just make it seem like it hasn't. The Marlins are also not using people's money to build a stadium. The county and city are using SOME of people's money (which was acquired without any sort of tax increase, by the way) while the Marlins are putting some of their own. Your reasons as to why the stadium is a bad idea are as ridiculous as your reasons why the University of Miami Hurricanes should have changed their name after Hurricane Andrew. THAT was a bad idea. Building a new stadium is not. Sorry, Browardites. I used to live in Homestead and they have a lot of fans there. Now that I live in Southwest Miami-Dade (close to Westchester) I haven't stopped hearing about the Marlins ANYWHERE. Just letting you know. But I really like you :pacsmile I've always contended that those that call out "Broward & Palm Beach" fans won't come to the new park, so its gloom and doom. Hellllllllooooooooooooooo those people aren't coming now anyways, :banghead and when you put the stadium 20 miles closer to people in Kendall, Cutler Ridge, Perrine and Homestead, they will easily supplant the Broward & Palm Beach numbers, and add more. Screw them up there. They had their chance and blew it by not going to Marlins games. It seems the Panthers (who only had success while in downtown Miami BTW) moved to West Broward, you never hear about how they have "abandoned their fan base", those of us in Miami-Dade who went to the games. Its tit-4-tat. Broward can have the Panthers, I'd rather have the Marlins anyday. :thumbup Exactly. Even a team which doesn't have as big of a following as the Marlins proved that when you leave Miami you are basically screwed in attendance.
July 20, 200817 yr 2003 you and I don't agree very often, but this is one hell of a great piece and should be submitted to the Herald for the OP page. Now do they have the guts to put it in the paper ? Thank you but somehow I doubt the Miami Herald is keen on publishing my obituary notice referencing their upcoming demise. I can only be satisfied with enjoying the day when it comes although it will also be a day of sadness as I love newspapers. Yes there has been a paradigm shift in news gathering and dissemination and they would eventually go the way of all but a handful of newspapers, but they hastened the process by abusing an entire region with their arrogance and disdain for those who live here, believing it was their manifest destiny, cast in the role of "Big Brother" spouting a version of the truth that came right out of "1984". Regardless of what actually happens in court this week you can be sure the version printed in the Herald will have little to do with the court record and much to do with either dancing on the Marlins' grave or extolling the sure success and morality of Braman's appeal. A leopard doesn't change its spots.
July 20, 200817 yr Linda Robertson is a poor excuse for a writer and this is only the latest in a long string of moronic editorials. It boggles the mind that she has kept this job for so long. Then again, it's the Herald. Oh, and it's no secret that the Herald is going under and that they're laying off employees.
July 20, 200817 yr we ask her if never gone to marlins? she need to know how team have support like we saw on saturday
July 20, 200817 yr Linda Robertson is a poor excuse for a writer and this is only the latest in a long string of moronic editorials. It boggles the mind that she has kept this job for so long. Then again, it's the Herald. Oh, and it's no secret that the Herald is going under and that they're laying off employees. Linda actually does her task very well. She is a master at avoiding the truth. Facts are simply playthings to be used or discarded as is her whim. Without morals of any kind she is able with a straight face tell South Florida the moon is made of green cheese or the PAC boondoggle was worth every penny even if teachers won't be hired to teach children without books. If like Jim Carrey in "Liar, Liar" Linda could only speak the truth she'd admit the Performing Arts Center, oh excuse me the "Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts" named for a do-gooder banker in Miami who coughed up $30 million to see her name enshrined on a public building because that's what people like do was a huge and financially crippling mistake from the start. One might ask where was Norman Braman when the PAC was built? Where was the moral outrage that so much would be spent on so few with the express goal of ridding that part of the city of anyone who can't afford one of his cars? Without checking the numbers, my guess is that more people will attend the Marlins/Phillies series this weekend than pay to see a performance at the almost always shuttered PAC in a year. So don't be confused. Linda knows what she is doing and she obeys her masters well. Trust me, when you hand Linda a knife she knows what to do with it.
July 20, 200817 yr I've always contended that those that call out "Broward & Palm Beach" fans won't come to the new park, so its gloom and doom. Hellllllllooooooooooooooo those people aren't coming now anyways, :banghead and when you put the stadium 20 miles closer to people in Kendall, Cutler Ridge, Perrine and Homestead, they will easily supplant the Broward & Palm Beach numbers, and add more. Screw them up there. They had their chance and blew it by not going to Marlins games. It seems the Panthers (who only had success while in downtown Miami BTW) moved to West Broward, you never hear about how they have "abandoned their fan base", those of us in Miami-Dade who went to the games. Its tit-4-tat. Broward can have the Panthers, I'd rather have the Marlins anyday. :thumbup Is that right?? 3 or 4 years AFTER the new pond is in place, when the new stadium smell has worn off, then what will be the new and improved excuses for the low attendance?? Start compiling a list now. You are going to need it.
July 20, 200817 yr I've always contended that those that call out "Broward & Palm Beach" fans won't come to the new park, so its gloom and doom. Hellllllllooooooooooooooo those people aren't coming now anyways, :banghead and when you put the stadium 20 miles closer to people in Kendall, Cutler Ridge, Perrine and Homestead, they will easily supplant the Broward & Palm Beach numbers, and add more. Screw them up there. They had their chance and blew it by not going to Marlins games. It seems the Panthers (who only had success while in downtown Miami BTW) moved to West Broward, you never hear about how they have "abandoned their fan base", those of us in Miami-Dade who went to the games. Its tit-4-tat. Broward can have the Panthers, I'd rather have the Marlins anyday. :thumbup Is that right?? 3 or 4 years AFTER the new pond is in place, when the new stadium smell has worn off, then what will be the new and improved excuses for the low attendance?? Start compiling a list now. You are going to need it. Do you really think that the new stadium will have the same attendance woes that we are currently having at Dolphin Stadium? IMHO, I really, really doubt it.
July 20, 200817 yr I am in WPB now, and frankly the new stadium, even though farther away, will probably get me to more games. Esp. if there is some sort of public transportation in the works, which there is planned to be. Most people I know who live around here feel the same way.
July 20, 200817 yr Linda Robertson is a poor excuse for a writer and this is only the latest in a long string of moronic editorials. It boggles the mind that she has kept this job for so long. Then again, it's the Herald. Oh, and it's no secret that the Herald is going under and that they're laying off employees. Linda actually does her task very well. She is a master at avoiding the truth. Facts are simply playthings to be used or discarded as is her whim. Without morals of any kind she is able with a straight face tell South Florida the moon is made of green cheese or the PAC boondoggle was worth every penny even if teachers won't be hired to teach children without books. If like Jim Carrey in "Liar, Liar" Linda could only speak the truth she'd admit the Performing Arts Center, oh excuse me the "Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts" named for a do-gooder banker in Miami who coughed up $30 million to see her name enshrined on a public building because that's what people like do was a huge and financially crippling mistake from the start. One might ask where was Norman Braman when the PAC was built? Where was the moral outrage that so much would be spent on so few with the express goal of ridding that part of the city of anyone who can't afford one of his cars? Without checking the numbers, my guess is that more people will attend the Marlins/Phillies series this weekend than pay to see a performance at the almost always shuttered PAC in a year. So don't be confused. Linda knows what she is doing and she obeys her masters well. Trust me, when you hand Linda a knife she knows what to do with it. 03-You are so much more on the money than many people even realize about Linda. I never liked her, but to epitomize her elitist attitude, I clearly remember, and if ever challenged I would have to dig it up, an article she wrote after returning from her year up in New England to get-her PH D or some fellowship in journalism, whereby she began making comparisons to the people she met up there and the local S. Florida population. I remember being very angry at her derogatory remarks as to the make up of S. Florida. Made me wonder why she even came back to this, how to put it, melting pot of low lifes (her insinuation) instead of staying up there with the tweed suit leftists that make her feel whole. She is an embarrasment who makes statements as if they are facts, but has no support for them, she just makes them. She states "paying off the debt for the Arsht center has merit...building a stadium sticks out like a sore thumb". Where does she explain the merit or the basis of her argument. She doesn't. And the argument used that since previous projects have been overbudget etc is also without merit. Otherwise, should ANY and every project of local and county goverment be refused because of prior issues. Oversight should be vastly improved on all projects, but it is not a basis to no longer consider projects-or is it the projects that Linda or Norman just do not want.
July 20, 200817 yr I've always contended that those that call out "Broward & Palm Beach" fans won't come to the new park, so its gloom and doom. Hellllllllooooooooooooooo those people aren't coming now anyways, :banghead and when you put the stadium 20 miles closer to people in Kendall, Cutler Ridge, Perrine and Homestead, they will easily supplant the Broward & Palm Beach numbers, and add more. Screw them up there. They had their chance and blew it by not going to Marlins games. It seems the Panthers (who only had success while in downtown Miami BTW) moved to West Broward, you never hear about how they have "abandoned their fan base", those of us in Miami-Dade who went to the games. Its tit-4-tat. Broward can have the Panthers, I'd rather have the Marlins anyday. :thumbup Is that right?? 3 or 4 years AFTER the new pond is in place, when the new stadium smell has worn off, then what will be the new and improved excuses for the low attendance?? Start compiling a list now. You are going to need it. Do you really think that the new stadium will have the same attendance woes that we are currently having at Dolphin Stadium? IMHO, I really, really doubt it. at least for a few years they will draw just because its new and after that, they will draw more around the MLB average because it will be an actual baseball stadium. I hate that argument that they draw bad at DS.
July 20, 200817 yr 03-You are so much more on the money than many people even realize about Linda. ... Thank you.
July 20, 200817 yr 03-You are so much more on the money than many people even realize about Linda. ... Thank you. Yeah, you did a great thing by writing that e-mail. And I just spoke to a Herald sportswriter who told me that she does respond to e-mails, so look out, haha...and he feels the same way we do, and I told him they should put a pro-ballpark column in there to be fair. As for the Herald going under like someone pointed out, you're right. But the Sentinel and PBP will be following suit very soon. Sucks to be an entry-level journalism grad
July 21, 200817 yr I've always contended that those that call out "Broward & Palm Beach" fans won't come to the new park, so its gloom and doom. Hellllllllooooooooooooooo those people aren't coming now anyways, :banghead and when you put the stadium 20 miles closer to people in Kendall, Cutler Ridge, Perrine and Homestead, they will easily supplant the Broward & Palm Beach numbers, and add more. Screw them up there. They had their chance and blew it by not going to Marlins games. It seems the Panthers (who only had success while in downtown Miami BTW) moved to West Broward, you never hear about how they have "abandoned their fan base", those of us in Miami-Dade who went to the games. Its tit-4-tat. Broward can have the Panthers, I'd rather have the Marlins anyday. :thumbup Is that right?? 3 or 4 years AFTER the new pond is in place, when the new stadium smell has worn off, then what will be the new and improved excuses for the low attendance?? Start compiling a list now. You are going to need it. As usual you try your best to subvert the real point in my post. That is the people in Broward & Palm Beach counties have failed to attend the games in great numbers, when the stadium is closer to them. The fact if the attendace does or doesn't go up when the new stadium is built will then be on Miami-Dade citizens, but it won't change the fact that the Broward & PB folks didn't go to the games when they had the chance, and shouldn't b*tch about the stadium being built further south. Its their own damn fault. :whistle
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