It will be interesting to see if Mickey Arison (he of the recently reported $5.6 billion - yes, billion - net worth) will try to block the Marlins' attempt at a new stadium as he did last time with John Henry.

 

And BTW, there's an odd twist to this. Sopher ran for but was defeated in his attempt to be elected a city commisioner in Miami Beach last fall. The campaign goes down as the dirtiest, ugliest campaign ever in Miami Beach. Considering the part that city plays in the funding of a new stadium there is a cruel irony at work here should he succeed to put together a deal for the Miami Arena and aggregating land for the Marlins new stadium at the expense of Miami Beach.

 

From Sunday's Miami Herald...

 

Parking magnate, arena may be keys in stadium deal

 

The Florida Marlins are talking with businessman Jacob 'Hank' Sopher about a proposal to erect a stadium in the Miami Arena area, sources tell The Herald.

 

BY KARL ROSS AND OSCAR CORRAL

 

[email protected]

 

 

Parking magnate Jacob ''Hank'' Sopher has emerged as a potential player in the Florida Marlins' latest bid to build a downtown baseball stadium, sources familiar with the ongoing talks have told The Herald.

 

Sources have linked Sopher to a deal involving the Miami Arena site, saying he was scheduled to meet privately in recent days with Marlins President David Samson, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and City Manager Joe Arriola.

 

They say the Marlins prefer the arena area to the Orange Bowl site that has been proposed by the city of Miami.

 

The team's long-standing objective is a downtown stadium with a retractable roof, elements executives say are vital to the team's financial success. The Marlins set a March 15 deadline for coming up with a stadium plan.

 

Marlins executives declined to comment Saturday. Sopher could not be reached Saturday but said earlier in the week that he has a long-standing bid to buy the Miami Arena. He said his interest had nothing to do with baseball, though.

 

''I would turn it into a major shopping center; I would build another Bal Harbour,'' Sopher said from his office at the Port of Miami Hotel.

 

Sopher said he is friends with Samson and that the baseball executive regularly ''bounces ideas'' off him regarding the stadium. He said last week they have not discussed the matter for six months.

 

The owner of QuikPark, which operates numerous parking lots in Miami, said he holds about 500,000 square feet of land, much of it downtown in the Park West area, near the arena.

 

He owns land a block east of the arena, between Northeast Seventh and Eighth streets, that could be acquired by the team. He also owns a parcel across the street on the south side of Seventh Street, property records show.

 

RUMBLINGS IN PRIVATE

 

Two Miami city commissioners said that, while they lacked specifics, they had learned of efforts involving the team and private investors to build a stadium anchored by the arena site.

 

''I have heard about Sopher buying the arena, but I have not been informed officially,'' City Commissioner Tomas Regalado said.

 

Regalado is vice chairman of the Miami Sports & Exhibition Authority, which owns the old arena, used sparingly since the departure of the Miami Heat basketball team in 2000.

 

The authority's board meeting was canceled Feb. 24 at Diaz's request and rescheduled for Tuesday. Diaz, who chairs that board, could not be reached.

 

City Commissioner Johnny Winton, whose district includes downtown Miami, said there is a private group at the table working to put together a deal. He said he'd be happy to see a Marlins stadium replace the old arena.

 

''Right now, we're just listening,'' Winton said. 'It would take me all of about three seconds to contemplate it and say `yes.' The Miami Arena is a money-losing venture.''

 

Arriola could not be reached Saturday, but early last week he insisted the city would not be directly involved in such an arena deal, saying it would cost too much to acquire surrounding parcels of land. ''The site is not an option for the city unless the Marlins are going to buy it privately,'' Arriola said.

 

Arriola has repeatedly stated the city would only be willing to provide the team land at the Orange Bowl site in Little Havana.

 

Miami-Dade County Manager George Burgess said that he is aware the Marlins have been studying the arena site but is not involved in recent talks. He did say land east of the arena would be needed to build a baseball stadium.

 

''You'd have to go east because of the rail lines,'' Burgess said. ``So we're really precluded from going west.''

 

WHO OWNS THE LAND

 

The land immediately adjacent to the arena going east toward Biscayne Boulevard belongs to Properties of Hamilton Inc. and Calor Development Ltd., both of which are partially controled by Miami Heat owner Micky Arison, records show.

 

The middle section of that block belongs to the Cromer family, which runs a T-shirt factory there. The westernmost properties are operated by Camillus House, a nonprofit agency serving Miami's homeless.

 

Sopher owns several parcels on the next block over, through three corporate entities, as well as parking lots in the vicinity.

 

Arison was in Japan last week for the launch of a new cruise ship and could not be reached, said a spokesman for Carnival Corp.

 

Miami Heat executive Eric Woolworth, an officer along with Arison in Calor Development, said he was unaware of any attempt by the Marlins to acquire that parcel.

 

Al Coletta, who owns a small parcel of land across from Camillus House, said he has seen surveyors two blocks east of the arena.

 

Coletta, owner of Al Coletta properties, said he hasn't been approached about selling his land. Dale Simpson, executive director of Camillus House, said he has also seen teams of surveyors in the area recently.

 

''They've surveyed everything down in there,'' Simpson said, noting the agency is eager to relocate to a site near Jackson Memorial Hospital.

 

Herald Link

I would defintely prefer the Miami Arena over the Orange Bowl Site because of its Metro Rail accessibility.

easy public transportation equals steady flow of fans. And then you have the office buildings right near there with all the law firms who can buy boxes, cruise lines offices, corporations etc. The Miami Arena sight would be a boon for the Marlins and the whole area as well would benefit.

A few thoughts on the story.

 

Most of the land WEST of the Miami Arena, between it and 95, is owned by the City of Miami. Most of the land EAST of the Miami Arena is owned by individual entities and would be difficult and time-consuming to acquire.

 

There are three major lots WEST of that could easily house a baseball stadium and with the help of the state have access to and from 95. The railroad tracks would be easily dealt with a skywalk between a stadium and the Arena and the lots controlled by the railroad, one would think, are acquirable.

 

The link below is to the Miami Dade Property Appraiser's mapping system. You can see for yourself where the lots in question are and who owns them. Use the tool above the map to zoom in, zoom out, and by clicking on the arrowhead tool, you can identify who owns what.

 

One last thing. This could be a win-win for the City of Miami. A0 they could get the Miami Arena off the books, B) they could turn from a non-taxable propert into one that pay property taxes, C) pay off the debt owed on the Arena and improve their bond rating.

 

Highway access is a problem (there already is a on ramp north and an exit ramp but no onramp south) but with the land available in the area, while time is a factor, it appears doable. All ramps would have to be widedened to handle the traffic flow.

 

Link to Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Map

The Miami Arena site has its problems, but most people will agree that it is clearly better than the OB site. The Miami Arena has much more parking, simple access to MetroRail, access to Downtown and overall is a much more logical site.

Arison won't stop it this time because there is no cruise ship tax like Henry wanted that would have hurt his Carnival Cruise Lines.

 

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see a YankeeNets type merger between the Marlins, Heat, and Panthers if the ballpark is built downtown. That way they can share revenue between the three, bargain for tv and radio contracts together, and sell season ticket packages for all 3 teams together like the Dolphins/Marlins/Panthers packages back when Wayne owned the three.

interesting...

Arizona's MLB, NHL, and NBA teams have a similar arrangement. Coangelo owns the D-Backs and Suns, and part of the Coyotes.

 

It works there, why not here? BTW, they also have seperate, new facilities for each team like here. D-Backs and Suns in Phoenix and the Coyotes in Glendale.

and this year Mr. Coangelo also signed the D-Backs and Coyotes to new deals with Fox Sports Net Arizona and moved the Suns from Cox Sports Arizona to Fox Sports Net Arizona.

 

Can we say bargaining power?

sorry for the rant...but Mickey did build the AAA with his own money and is being repaid by Dade County over 30 years I believe.

I don't know about that Cape but I think it be easier to do it with the Panthers and Marlins since they are already both on FSN. The Heat have a fairly lucrative gig with Sunshine Network but that might work in their favor and ultimately all the teams because of the bargaining power of threatening to jump ship to another station.

...and did anybody notice the Marlins have their cruise with Carnival, that Heat players appeared at Marlins events, Marlins players at Heat events, and that Mr. Loria and Mr. Arison get along very well?

Marlins and Panthers are in long term with FSN, the Heat have a contract to buy time on Sunshine and CBS4/UPN33 and produce their own telecasts.

 

Let me find the details of the Heat TV Contract.

Marlins and Panthers are in long term with FSN, the Heat have a contract to buy time on Sunshine and CBS4/UPN33 and produce their own telecasts.

 

Let me find the details of the Heat TV Contract.

Alright thanks Cape.

The Heat don't have anything on the TV contract other than the CBS4/UPN33/TVX34 agreement. Looks like they will soon be a cable free agent.

The Heat don't have anything on the TV contract other than the CBS4/UPN33/TVX34 agreement. Looks like they will soon be a cable free agent.

Alright so that means that nows the time for a merger like this.

this thread feels hijacked... nice going, cape

 

anyways, getting back to the article, i'm pleased that we have verification that the marlins are in discussions with the private sector.

 

i also think it's funny that this sopher guy's big issue during his campaign was his opposition to the miami beach trolley/light rail thing... he happens to be a parking lot guru.

it isn't hijacked. Mickey has the money, has dealt with the County before in the middle of the night, and has an arena with his team playing in it.

 

A merger would be great for all sides because it would allow fans to buy one big season ticket plan, allow the teams to share resources, buy things together, and negotiate together.

 

Plus, Mickey has the money to backup the stadium and Sopher has the money to buy the arena.

 

Can we say ballpark village?

The Marlins are no sooner going to join Mickey "The Snake" Arison in anything remotely resembling what's being discussed as I am ever going to be able to hit a 90 mph fastball. The Marlins are out to capture every sports entertainment dollar they can from anywhere they can and if that means they can convince the Jones or Gimenez families to drop their Panther or Dolphin or Heat season tickets and buy the Marlins instead they will pounce at the chance.

 

With the debt service the Fish will face to get this deal done they aren't about to spend one second worrying about whether the Heat are prospering or not. Not after what Mickey did to the Fish the last time. There would be already be a Marlins stadium in place were it not for the unholy alliance between Arison and the Herald.

 

There's a finite number of sports entertainment dollars available and capturing them is all important. This is a zero sum game.

Marlins executives declined to comment Saturday. Sopher could not be reached Saturday but said earlier in the week that he has a long-standing bid to buy the Miami Arena. He said his interest had nothing to do with baseball, though.

 

''I would turn it into a major shopping center; I would build another Bal Harbour,'' Sopher said from his office at the Port of Miami Hotel.

 

People will go to see a baseball game in Overtown because it will be the only place, but if you enjoyed shopping and you had a choice of Overtown or Bal Harbour, what would you choose? Who is he kidding?

He can have the mall and the Marlins can have the ballpark. San Diego and St. Louis will have ballpark villages like Main Street in Miami Lakes or Sunset Place with theathers and shops alongside the ballpark.

Al Coletta, who owns a small parcel of land across from Camillus House, said he has seen surveyors two blocks east of the arena.

 

Coletta, owner of Al Coletta properties, said he hasn't been approached about selling his land. Dale Simpson, executive director of Camillus House, said he has also seen teams of surveyors in the area recently.

 

''They've surveyed everything down in there,'' Simpson said, noting the agency is eager to relocate to a site near Jackson Memorial Hospital.

If I'm right, that means that they're looking at properties situated between NE 1st and 2nd Avenues, between 7th and 8th Sts. NE, from the map you provided. Home plate might be on the corner of 7th and 1st and if they build the retractable roof would start the platform from across 7th. I don't know if they'll be able to knock down the office buildings on that block.

 

Maybe someone would give a better idea as to what acquiring those properties would be like.

Al Coletta, who owns a small parcel of land across from Camillus House, said he has seen surveyors two blocks east of the arena.

 

Coletta, owner of Al Coletta properties, said he hasn't been approached about selling his land. Dale Simpson, executive director of Camillus House, said he has also seen teams of surveyors in the area recently.

 

''They've surveyed everything down in there,'' Simpson said, noting the agency is eager to relocate to a site near Jackson Memorial Hospital.

If I'm right, that means that they're looking at properties situated between NE 1st and 2nd Avenues, between 7th and 8th Sts. NE, from the map you provided. Home plate might be on the corner of 7th and 1st and if they build the retractable roof would start the platform from across 7th. I don't know if they'll be able to knock down the office buildings on that block.

 

Maybe someone would give a better idea as to what acquiring those properties would be like.

Regardless of what the story says, if you look on the map link I provided with my second post what you see is huge amounts of vacant, city-controlled land WEST of the Arena between it and 95, with close proximity to the available ramps.

 

Check out the map.

just to put in my two cents: if we're getting a stadium without a roof, why not try to negotiate a better lease at the Pro. I don't know if this has been posted, but I came across it on ESPN.com:

 

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/ballparks/proplayer.html

 

It puts Pro Player right in the middle of the pack for ballparks, and it actually has us higher than the White Sox, Yankees, D'back, Padres (old park), etc...

 

Also, the fans get a perfect score: :Somehow or other, the few fans in attendance managed to make Pro Player sound like it was packed. Incredible enthusiasm in all sections of the park, and a real knowledge of the game -- cheers/applause for all the hard but "routine" plays, appreciation for an excellent pitching duel between Josh Beckett and Houston's Tim Redding. In the fifth, a Beckett sacrifice bunt rolled right along the first-base line, literally on the line, and Jeff Bagwell waited it go foul. It never did. Beckett had a bizarre base hit, and the crowd just went crazy. 5" :thumbup

i loved that stadium thing, i was surprised to see the pro so high