The Miami Commission voted last night to build a $165M arena
for the Heat, according to Don Finefrock of the MIAMI HERALD.
The Commission approved the measure after getting "two key
concessions" from the team. The Heat agreed to provide "an
additional guarantee that the county would never have to tap
general tax money to pay for the arena," and the also to provide
over $500,000 over five years for Metro parks. Commissioners
then voted to build a second Miami arena three blocks away from
the existing facility. The team will contribute $50M, or 30% of
construction cost, with the rest of the money coming from public
sources such as a hotel tax. The project must still be approved
by the city of Miami, but that is considered an "easier hurdle to
clear." With the deal on tax money, the team will help fund the
project if hotel tax funds fall short. The county had proposed
to back $7M in case of a shortfall, but commissioners were
against that part of the deal until team's financial adviser
Howard Frank advised the board the team would make that
commitment (MIAMI HERALD, 6/19).
