From looking at the last thread about stadiums, some people were wondering why they couldn't build in bicentenial park, and like Hank said on his show, it is an enviromental reason. Back in the old days, the old Miami News building was there, and this was back in the day when they used lead lettering for the paper. Well instead of disposing of it properly, it was all buried at the site. If there was to be building there, as soon as they started digging, the EPA would shut them down, and it would become a Superfund site, pretty much adding about half a billion dollars in clean up costs.

Is this a real reason, or a political excuse by the City of Miami to give the Marlins the worst deal possible?

Is this a real reason, or a political excuse by the City of Miami to give the Marlins the worst deal possible?

It is a real reason... the only reason I know is I work in retail, and one of my customers is an enviromental lawyer who happens to be a big baseball fan. We were talking about different ideas for a stadium and I told him my dream was to have like a pac bell out on the water in the park and he told me that. Look at it this way; with all the million dollar condos going up all over the place, don't you think the money grubbing politicans of miami would of sold that land 10 years ago if they could of?

It's a darn shame. Even I would wholeheartedly support a ballpark in Miami if it was that.

actually, i looked it up. hank was 100% wrong.

 

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/5765646.htm

 

Environmental OK helps Bicentennial Park project

By ANDRES VIGLUCCI

aviglucci@herald.com

 

The ambitious plan to overhaul downtown Miami's semi-derelict Bicentennial Park cleared an important hurdle when the site received a relatively clean bill of environmental health after months of testing.

 

Except for some relatively low levels of soil contaminants that can be easily removed, the site will not require a major and costly cleanup, the city's scientific consultants have concluded.

 

Some had feared an environmental disaster lurking beneath the 25-year-old park, which covers parts of what used to be Miami's seaport, an old fuel-storage facility and several gas stations.

 

''It's much better than everyone expected,'' said Robert Weinreb, a city consultant who is helping coordinate plans for the park's makeover. ``The best news is, there isn't a $50 million cleanup to be done in Bicentennial Park that's going to break the project. We got lucky on that.''

 

With those fears allayed, the project can now embark on its next phase, Weinreb said -- a $9.4 million reconstruction of the park's crumbling seawall, and demolition of the berms, walls and abandoned buildings that block water views and have discouraged public use of Bicentennial.

 

At the same time, the city will hire designers and consultants to develop a long-range economic and master plan for the park redo, which is expected to take years to complete. The city's eventual goal is to convert Bicentennial into a cultural park with new homes for the Miami Art Museum and the Museum of Science, a costly plan still in its infancy.

 

The results of the environmental testing, released during a public presentation Wednesday, were accompanied by another piece of good news for a city committee working on the park plan:

 

The Florida Department of Transportation appears to be retreating from a controversial plan to widen several blocks of Biscayne Boulevard along Bicentennial. City officials vehemently opposed the FDOT plan, saying it would undermine their park plan by turning the boulevard into a speedway and making it impossible for pedestrians to cross.

 

Instead, FDOT officials said they are working on a new plan based on a pedestrian-friendly city proposal. The city plan calls for wider sidewalks, broad tree-lined medians and safe crossings at every intersection between the AmericanAirlines Arena and the Interstate 395 overpass at Bicentennial's northern border. It would add a lane on the western side of Biscayne to be used for on-street parking in the daytime and be open to traffic in the evening.

 

If approved by the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which doles out the funding, the $7 million Biscayne reconstruction would begin next year, said Yuanet Letzelter, FDOT project manager.

 

In the meantime, some environmental cleanup work has already been done. Testing uncovered two abandoned underground gasoline tanks in the park, remnants of service stations once located on Biscayne Boulevard. Both tanks were dug up and removed earlier this week.

 

Eventually, renovation of the park will require removing some contaminated soil.

 

In the northeast corner of the park, once part of a Belcher Oil facility, soil is contaminated with petroleum residue, according to tests by Evans Environmental & Geosciences, a consultant for the city.

 

Also, soil throughout the park was found to have elevated levels of arsenic, a common finding in Florida, said Craig Clevenger, director of hazardous substances for ES&S.

 

The levels are low enough, however, that if the park were to remain as it is -- without any digging -- nothing would have to be done about it.

 

the park is fine to build on and the city is saving it for its more prized projects (see: museums). that was the whole point of my phone call... i can guarantee you that voters would rather have a marlins stadium built on that site than a museum. hands down.

a museum instead of a stadium???

why?

if you're in a museum it could be located in Overtown for all I care because you're indoors

 

outdoors is location, location, location

I totally agree that it is a sham that an art museum and a science museum is going there instead of a baseball park. the science museum already exists and what kind of art are we going to have. paaleeease!

 

I have always thought that the seaquarium should be sold to a developer with the proceeds going to moving the seaquarium to bicentennial park along next to a new ballpark. Make it a joint facility. Is there any reason Miami should not have the best seaquarium in the world? the current seaquarium is a dump!

 

BTW, I think the Miami news used to be in the Freedom tower. The contamination rumors were bsed on the fact that standard oil used to have tanks on the property about 50 years ago.

A museum in that location is pretty idiotic. I wonder how much dough are these polititians planning to stele on the museum project.

A museum in that location is pretty idiotic. I wonder how much dough are these polititians planning to stele on the museum project.

What's new?

what kind of art are we going to have?

what about all that great cuban art?

 

 

/sarcasm

if they put an art museum on bicenttenial park I might go there and urinate on it!

if they put an art museum on bicenttenial park I might go there and urinate on it!

 

why is it i could see you pull a najeh and defacate on it?

najeh...what a clown

As I understand it the primary reason why the Bi-Centennial site doesn't work is the steam (yes steam), electrical and telecommunications infrastructure under it and Biscayne Blvd.

 

In order to build the stadium and facilitate easy access to 95 Biscayne Blvd. would have to be moved west approximately half a city block. The costs involved are simply prohibitive.

 

All this came to light when John Henry was try to build on the site several years ago. I'm sure if someone wants to research it, or has an archival news account ith the Herald they can find it.

There is a very large sewer lift station on the site that abutts biscayne blvd. That is why it always smells like crap. It is too costly to move but a stadium could still be built there. I think. They are still building the museums there.

There is a very large sewer lift station on the site that abutts biscayne blvd. That is why it always smells like crap. It is too costly to move but a stadium could still be built there. I think. They are still building the museums there.

 

You're right.

There is a very large sewer lift station on the site that abutts biscayne blvd. That is why it always smells like crap.

 

Why does that make so much sense?

There is a very large sewer lift station on the site that abutts biscayne blvd. That is why it always smells like crap.

 

Why does that make so much sense? dont the heat play near bicentenial?

 

maybe thats why it smells like crap

Don't they already have an Art Museum a few blocks to the North? :banghead

I may be the only one who thinks this way here, but I LIKE the idea of a museum park at Bicentennial. The Art and Science Museums are in either outdated or small buildings and need to relocate. This along with the Performing Arts Center going up further north on Biscayne Blvd would make downtown Miami a true cultural center. What's wrong with a little culture?

 

That's what we need downtown. Frankly, we need that more than a monolithic baseball stadium which would likely devour whatever little bayfront land we have left (see American Airlines Arena). Yes, I've dreamed of balls landing in Biscayne Bay a la Pac Bell, but the developers have eaten up all the other available bayfront land years ago. Too late for a baseball park, but not too late to make downtown a destination once again.

I may be the only one who thinks this way here, but I LIKE the idea of a museum park at Bicentennial. The Art and Science Museums are in either outdated or small buildings and need to relocate. This along with the Performing Arts Center going up further north on Biscayne Blvd would make downtown Miami a true cultural center. What's wrong with a little culture?

 

That's what we need downtown. Frankly, we need that more than a monolithic baseball stadium which would likely devour whatever little bayfront land we have left (see American Airlines Arena). Yes, I've dreamed of balls landing in Biscayne Bay a la Pac Bell, but the developers have eaten up all the other available bayfront land years ago. Too late for a baseball park, but not too late to make downtown a destination once again.

i think it would be quite a lot more money for miami if we put a stadium there, instead of a museum. Unless we make the smithsonian