July 26, 200817 yr MIAMI -- The owner of the Miami Arena said he plans to demolish the vacant venue that once served as home to two professional South Florida sports teams. When it's brought down, he wants to build a new baseball stadium for the Florida Marlins on the land, Palm Beach County investor Glenn Straub told Local 10's Michael Putney on Friday. Straub purchased the Miami Arena from the city of Miami for $28 million in 2004. He wanted to keep the arena open after its last permanent tenant -- the University of Miami men's basketball team -- relocated to the BankUnited Center in 2003. "Tearing it down serves nobody's purpose," Straub said at the time didn't tear it down but had to fight a long legal battle to become the owner of record. In March, he received a permit to demolish the building. The permit is only valid for 180 days and is set to expire Sept. 27. In a phone interview Friday, Straub said the interior of the arena has already been gutted and the building will be imploded in about two weeks. Straub said he and his partners want to build the long-sought Marlins stadium on the property and will finance it themselves. Straub also said he wants to swap the land for the site of the demolished Orange Bowl because he has plans to develop it. The announcement comes as plans to construct a new ballpark at the site of the Orange Bowl could be delayed by a legal squabble. Miami Arena, which opened in 1988 at a cost of $52.5 million, has been vacant since the Hurricanes relocated to their on-campus stadium. The arena -- sometimes called the "Pink Elephant" -- was built to serve as the original home of the NBA's Miami Heat for the team's first 11-plus years of existence. The NHL's Florida Panthers also played there from 1993-98. Eventually, the Panthers moved to the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and the Heat moved into the newly constructed American Airlines Arena on Jan. 2, 2000. Attempts to reach Miami Mayor Manny Diaz about Straub's plans were unsuccessful http://www.local10.com/sports/16991796/detail.html
July 26, 200817 yr MIAMI -- The owner of the Miami Arena said he plans to demolish the vacant venue that once served as home to two professional South Florida sports teams. When it's brought down, he wants to build a new baseball stadium for the Florida Marlins on the land, Palm Beach County investor Glenn Straub told Local 10's Michael Putney on Friday. Straub purchased the Miami Arena from the city of Miami for $28 million in 2004. He wanted to keep the arena open after its last permanent tenant -- the University of Miami men's basketball team -- relocated to the BankUnited Center in 2003. "Tearing it down serves nobody's purpose," Straub said at the time didn't tear it down but had to fight a long legal battle to become the owner of record. In March, he received a permit to demolish the building. The permit is only valid for 180 days and is set to expire Sept. 27. In a phone interview Friday, Straub said the interior of the arena has already been gutted and the building will be imploded in about two weeks. Straub said he and his partners want to build the long-sought Marlins stadium on the property and will finance it themselves. Straub also said he wants to swap the land for the site of the demolished Orange Bowl because he has plans to develop it. The announcement comes as plans to construct a new ballpark at the site of the Orange Bowl could be delayed by a legal squabble. Miami Arena, which opened in 1988 at a cost of $52.5 million, has been vacant since the Hurricanes relocated to their on-campus stadium. The arena -- sometimes called the "Pink Elephant" -- was built to serve as the original home of the NBA's Miami Heat for the team's first 11-plus years of existence. The NHL's Florida Panthers also played there from 1993-98. Eventually, the Panthers moved to the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and the Heat moved into the newly constructed American Airlines Arena on Jan. 2, 2000. Attempts to reach Miami Mayor Manny Diaz about Straub's plans were unsuccessful http://www.local10.com/sports/16991796/detail.html :o
July 26, 200817 yr SERIOUSLY! I didn't think that the plot of land that the arena was on would be big enough to hold a new baseball park. does anyone know what the legal hurdles would be for the Marlins to put the stadium there. That location is much better than where the orange bowl was.
July 26, 200817 yr I know I don't really post, but did anyone else just catch that? Straub, who owns the Miami arena put in a permit to demolish the arena, and wants to build and finance a new marlins stadium on the site.
July 26, 200817 yr Local10.com Related To Story Miami Arena opened in 1988 and once served as home to the Miami Heat, Florida Panthers and the University of Miami men's basketball team. Miami Arena Owner Wants To Build Ballpark On Site Former Home To Heat, Panthers Vacant Since 2003 POSTED: 4:37 pm EDT July 25, 2008 MIAMI -- The owner of the Miami Arena said he plans to demolish the vacant venue that once served as home to two professional South Florida sports teams. When it's brought down, he wants to build a new baseball stadium for the Florida Marlins on the land, Palm Beach County investor Glenn Straub told Local 10's Michael Putney on Friday. Straub purchased the Miami Arena from the city of Miami for $28 million in 2004. He wanted to keep the arena open after its last permanent tenant -- the University of Miami men's basketball team -- relocated to the BankUnited Center in 2003. "Tearing it down serves nobody's purpose," Straub said at the time. He didn't tear it down but had to fight a long legal battle to become the owner of record. In March, he received a permit to demolish the building. The permit is only valid for 180 days and is set to expire Sept. 27. In a phone interview Friday, Straub said the interior of the arena has already been gutted and the building will be imploded in about two weeks. Straub said he and his partners want to build the long-sought Marlins stadium on the property and will finance it themselves. Straub also said he wants to swap the land for the site of the demolished Orange Bowl because he has plans to develop it. The announcement comes as plans to construct a new ballpark at the site of the Orange Bowl could be delayed by a legal squabble. Miami Arena, which opened in 1988 at a cost of $52.5 million, has been vacant since the Hurricanes relocated to their on-campus stadium. The arena -- sometimes called the "Pink Elephant" -- was built to serve as the original home of the NBA's Miami Heat for the team's first 11-plus years of existence. The NHL's Florida Panthers also played there from 1993-98. Eventually, the Panthers moved to the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and the Heat moved into the newly constructed American Airlines Arena on Jan. 2, 2000. Attempts to reach Miami Mayor Manny Diaz about Straub's plans were unsuccessful. Copyright 2008 by Local10.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
July 26, 200817 yr Yeah, someone already posted it in the Norman Braman lawsuit thread. The land seems a tad small.
July 26, 200817 yr Author Miami arena- 347,178-square-foot (the complete site) orange bowl *341,946-square-foot (just the stadium)
July 26, 200817 yr As far as I can tell, the owner want's to sell the Miami Arena site and buy the OB site to build the Stadium there.
July 26, 200817 yr QUOTE Straub said he and his partners want to build the long-sought Marlins stadium on the property and will finance it themselves. Straub also said he wants to swap the land for the site of the demolished Orange Bowl because he has plans to develop it. I'm reading it as he wants to build the whole thing, and then transfer the title to the marlins and city in exchange for the orange bowl land. The whole thing- Stadium, parking lot, and concession stands. Could be interesting. Could be even more interesting if the marlins agree to help Straub build it and the city agrees to transfer the title to the OB. If it happens like i'm reading it, it could separate the stadium from the public works deal for now. Get it started, and when the time comes the city can distribute some money, have it go into the stadium too. IDK
July 26, 200817 yr Needless to say, Miami Arena is a MUCH better site than OB. Just don't know if you can shoehorn an MLB stadium onto that site.
July 26, 200817 yr I hate to bring a little reailty to everyone's fantasy but, a) the site may be 347,000 but it's the wrong 347,000 sqft. A piece of it sits on the other side of the FEC rail line spur that would be part of the harbor tunnel project. b) I don't know where people get their numbers but the Orange Bowl site is almost five (5) times as big - 1,538,942 sq ft - and that doesn't include another 200,000+ sq ft the city owns adjacent to the OB site itself. c) And most importantly- ALL THAT HAPPENS HERE IS THE MARLINS HAVE NEW WAYNE HUIZENGA - SOMEONE NEW TO SUCK THE BLOOD OUT OF THE FRANCHISE TO PAY OFF THEIR LOANS AND WORSE PAY THEIR ( Stadium owners) PROPERTY TAX BILL ANNUALLY ON A $600 MILLION+ COMMERCIAL BUILDING, NOT TO MENTION THEIR OBVIOUS INTENTION TO MAKE A PROFIT OUT OF THE DEAL. It would be even worse than the deal they have now. It makes no different how big the old OB footprint was, unless you plan on helicoptering everyone in you need parking space, you need services space, you need at least a million square feet before you can even have something even close to realistic. Why do you think that MLB was trying to secure optons on the land around the AA years ago. before they gave up on the site out of frustration and a realization what the costs would be? The site is useless, 100% useless without another twice as much available land adjacent to it, and all that would have to be purchased (more $$$) and any improvments on those properties would be taxable as well. The reason the OB deal works is because there are no property taxes. The AA is a private masturbatory fantasy that has endless cost and zero upside for the baseball team. Think. This is either a red herring or a stalking horse for someone but it has little to do with building a little league-sized field in downtown Miami. Anyone who disagrees feel free to go to the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser website, do a property search and see for yourself.
July 26, 200817 yr I hate to bring a little reailty to everyone's fantasy but, a) the site may be 347,000 but it's the wrong 347,000 sqft. A piece of it sits on the other side of the FEC rail line spur that would be part of the harbor tunnel project. b) I don't know where people get their numbers but the Orange Bowl site is almost five (5) times as big - 1,538,942 sq ft - and that doesn't include another 200,000+ sq ft the city owns adjacent to the OB site itself. c) And most importantly- ALL THAT HAPPENS HERE IS THE MARLINS HAVE NEW WAYNE HUIZENGA - SOMEONE NEW TO SUCK THE BLOOD OUT OF THE FRANCHISE TO PAY OFF THEIR LOANS AND WORSE PAY THEIR ( Stadium owners) PROPERTY TAX BILL ANNUALLY ON A $600 MILLION+ COMMERCIAL BUILDING, NOT TO MENTION THEIR OBVIOUS INTENTION TO MAKE A PROFIT OUT OF THE DEAL. It would be even worse than the deal they have now. It makes no different how big the old OB footprint was, unless you plan on helicoptering everyone in you need parking space, you need services space, you need at least a million square feet before you can even have something even close to realistic. Why do you think that MLB was trying to secure optons on the land around the AA years ago. before they gave up on the site out of frustration and a realization what the costs would be? The site is useless, 100% useless without another twice as much available land adjacent to it, and all that would have to be purchased (more $$$) and any improvments on those properties would be taxable as well. The reason the OB deal works is because there are no property taxes. The AA is a private masturbatory fantasy that has endless cost and zero upside for the baseball team. Think. This is either a red herring or a stalking horse for someone but it has little to do with building a little league-sized field in downtown Miami. Anyone who disagrees feel free to go to the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser website, do a property search and see for yourself. I agree. This doesn't smell right. At first you get excited when you see another possible option on the table. However, when you stop to think about it, something doesn't add up. What's in it for this Straubb guy? This is not something just out of the goodness of his heart. You don't make that much money unless you are a shrewed business man. I think what it boils down to is that he has no use for that land. Swapping it for the OB site will be more profitable for him in the long run. Also, the timing of this is very suspicious. Could this guy be a buddy of Braman? Now the judge could see that there are other options. Why didn't he come forward sooner? He was given a permit for 180 days and he comes forward with this plan with roughly 60 days left? Where was he when all of the commission meetings and votes were going on. The timing and motives of this plan are too cloudy for this to be considered a credible option. Who knows? Maybe I'm just paranoid after all that we as fans have been through with this stadium ordeal. I think the Marlins best option right now is to stay the course. I think the outcome of the trial will eventually go in the Marlins favor. If not, then they have to find a way, as has been stated by both Burgess and Samson, to separate the stadium from the rest of the global agreement and go forward with construction. I think they will have the necessary votes in the commission to get the stadium approved on it's own. I'm not even sure if they would have to back to the commission, but nothing surprises me with this stadium issue anymore. The worst part about this whole thing is that we are in limbo again. We have to continue to stay tunned.
July 26, 200817 yr Just to add a few more thoughts to temper people's excitment 1. This doesn't settle the court issue 2. We will have wasted a lot of money clearing the Orange Bowl site.
July 26, 200817 yr The timing of this "report" is definitely suspicious, what with the Braman trial being at a crucial stage and all. Remember the time the Marlins were in Tallahassee lobbying for State help -- using potential eviction in 2010 as leverage -- when Wayne Huizenga, out of the blue, announced to the press that he had a change of heart and would allow the Marlins to stay in DS beyond the term of their lease? It's all too convenient to be a coincidence.
July 26, 200817 yr Just to add a few more thoughts to temper people's excitment 1. This doesn't settle the court issue 2. We will have wasted a lot of money clearing the Orange Bowl site. Number two is what gets me, and of course Wayne's name being brought up is never good.
July 26, 200817 yr 2. We will have wasted a lot of money clearing the Orange Bowl site. The OB site would have been cleared whether a baseball stadium was going to be built there or not. If the Marlins weren't coming to the OB, the City would've just sold the land to develop it for residential development.
July 26, 200817 yr The timing of this "report" is definitely suspicious, what with the Braman trial being at a crucial stage and all. Remember the time the Marlins were in Tallahassee lobbying for State help -- using potential eviction in 2010 as leverage -- when Wayne Huizenga, out of the blue, announced to the press that he had a change of heart and would allow the Marlins to stay in DS beyond the term of their lease? It's all too convenient to be a coincidence. I dunno. Maybe he's just tired of Norm Braman's sh*t. As for the plot the Miami Arena is on... is the railroad running along its south side abandoned? If it is, then it may be possible to push NW 1st Ave. over a bit (so it doglegs between NW 5th and 6th instead of NW 6th and 7th), and build a ballpark that is more spacious than Fenway's current footprint.
July 26, 200817 yr SERIOUSLY! I didn't think that the plot of land that the arena was on would be big enough to hold a new baseball park. does anyone know what the legal hurdles would be for the Marlins to put the stadium there. That location is much better than where the orange bowl was. The only way it is, is if the railroad running along the south side of the Arena is abandoned. If it is, you can demolish the building on the corner of N Miami Ave. and NW 6th St., and open plenty of room. You can squeeze a bit more out if you shift NW 1st Ave. a little bit to the west.
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