Posted August 27, 201014 yr Mayor looking for payback in Marlins stadium deal Miami's mayor is angry at the Florida Marlins after financial revelations, and his first target to recoup money is stadium parking. The political fallout over disclosures that the Florida Marlins made millions while securing public money for its new stadium continued Thursday, with Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado asking whether the city can reopen its contract to build $100 million worth of parking facilities for the Little Havana structure. Regalado asked city attorney Julie Bru whether the city -- which recently declared a state of ``fiscal urgency'' amid dwindling revenues and a gaping budget hole -- has authority to reopen the parking contract. The mayor's pitch: to secure a more favorable return for Miami from the advertising that would come with the new parking garages. The city is on the hook for the parking sites, its end of the $642 million plan to build a 37,000-seat, retractable-roof stadium set to open in 2012. As a commissioner, Regalado voted against the stadium deal. Now, citing leaked financial reports showing the team turned a $49 million profit the past two years, the mayor wants the city to receive 100 percent of the advertising revenues from signs that would adorn the garages. The deal now calls for a split. ``If the answer is in the positive, I would like to bring this issue to the city commission in September or October,'' Regalado wrote to Bru. ``If the answer is in the negative, what recourse do we have to expose those who misinformed the commission and public during a public hearing?'' There was no word Thursday on when the city attorney would reply. Regalado and some other public officials are angry the team kept the public in the dark about its profits. The Marlins say turning a profit is necessary to secure their end of the financing deal, and the team won a court order to keep its finances secret. The mayor's question comes a day after Miami-Dade Commissioner Rebeca Sosa asked whether county administrators could reopen the Marlins deal and get the team to contribute more to the stadium. Sosa voted in favor of the stadium project. Team President David Samson, who spoke with Sosa, said: ``I think she understands a contract is a contract.'' In March 2009, Miami and Miami-Dade commissioners ratified an agreement with the Marlins that called for a lion's share of the project to be bankrolled with public money. The city will contribute about $125 million for the garage and infrastructure; the county's end is about $362 million; the Marlins would spend $155 million, with $35 million of that a loan from the county to be repaid through rent payments of some $2 million a year. A Miami Herald examination last year found that the Marlins' share toward the stadium was below average compared with what other franchises contributed to new parks built this decade. The city gave the ballpark footprint to the county to avoid a yearly property-tax bill, and the county would own the facility. Most revenues generated from the stadium would go directly to the Marlins. This is not so good news. Can someone please tell me if these apparent profits of the marlins included revenue sharing and such. if they do, how can people say the marlins should be responsible for more than what they are putting into the stadium? also, i just read in another article that that the 49 million dollar profit over the 2 years was inflated by about 100 million from revenue sharing which is basically charity money. the commissioners need to get their facts right.
August 27, 201014 yr Jesus H., I think it's evident why the franchise wanted to keep the financials secret. People are stupid, and they are going blindly believe a political figurehead on this...I think any chance of a major attendence boon is all but a pipe dream at this point. The real question is now whether this news is worse than the firesale news in the scope of public perception. For what it's worth, I don't know of a company that "profits" when the overall investment is in the red, I just don't understand it.
August 27, 201014 yr There's already a thread about this: http://www.marlinsbaseball.com/topic/93133-city-of-miami-reopening-parking-garage-contract/page__pid__1968698 And if you want to understand the financials better read Fishes on the Pond's posts in the first few pages of that thread.
