If the Florida Marlins end up getting their new stadium, the baseball fans of this area, if there are any left, are still likely to have contempt for the ownership. They'll probably resent them more when they find out the total cost of this project.
The proposed state-of-the-art baseball stadium and parking complex will probably cost the tax payer close to a billion dollars when completed. We're in a recession, remember, or haven't your checked for 401K lately?
The Marlins are hoping the 13 member Miami-Dade County Commission gives them the approval they have been seeking, for what seems like almost a decade. The final vote could come on Monday, March 23.
If it passes, they'll get their wish. Their own baseball-only stadium, with a retractable roof, to be built on the same location where the old Miami Orange Bowl once stood.
On Thursday, the team cleared what was becoming a huge hurdle, when the Miami City Commissioners voted in favor of the project, 3-2. Michelle Spence Jones was the swing vote they were waiting for, and she came around.
The city debated this thing for a long time and listened to the union workers, who wanted the jobs it will hopefully produce and they listened to those who wanted the money to be spent in other places, like schools.
They listened to fans from Palm Beach and Broward Counties complain about driving an extra 25 miles to the new loction.
Getting approval from the County for the 37,000 seat stadium is expected to be a lot tougher because it's the County that will be asked to cough up most of the $634 million that the project is said to cost.
They will have to fund it through a $310 million bed tax and a $50 million bond. And, who are we kidding...nobody really knows just how much this will end up costing!
This is a town where people haven't forgotten how the Marlins' ownership, after they won a World Series in 2003, went on to dismantle the team.
Disdain for owner Jeff Loria and team president David Samson runs high and public trust runs low.
Most of the people you talk to say that, "if this thing was pt to a public it would fail by a huge margin."
The fans are especially bitter because the dismantling of the team came only six years after the previous owner, Wayne Huizenga, did the very same thing.
After winning their first World Series in 1997, he claimed he couldn't afford to pay for premium talent and sold off the experienced players.
Ever since the Marlins came into the league in 1992, they have been "second class citizens." They've been playing baseball in a football stadium (Dolphins' Stadium) and have never got the kind of deal on concessions they need to increase revenue enough to buy good players.
The team really does need their own stadium if they're going to make it in the long run. They also need the retractable roof.
They need the roof because the threat of rain turns fans away just as much as the oppressive heat does. No doubt a roof would help.
With all that said, it still boils down to the fan's feelings about this ownership. Will they support them or have they had enough?
They've been slapped in the face twice now and I'm not sure if this town wants to support Major League Baseball anymore...at least not with this ownership!
Last year, the Marlins put a great product on the field. They stayed in the pennant race all season and had young players, the kind fans could really get behind.
Last year, the Marlins also had the lowest attendance in all of baseball.
The fans having nothing against the players—they're likable, especially since they don't make a lot of money compared to league standards. It's the ownership they have the problem with.
Monday could be a historic day around here. If the county gives the Marlins the stamp of approval, attitudes could change. It could be the catalyst this town needs. A new beginning! Forgive and forget!
Will it pass? I wouldn't hold my breath, but I'm not a fish!
- Login to post comments