If Dade County voters decide November 5 not to build a new
arena for the Heat, the county may have to pay the team a fine
which could be as high as $3M, according to Don Finefrock in the
MIAMI HERALD. A provision in the arena deal, approved in June by
the Metro Commission, protects the Heat against a delay in
construction. If the facility is not ready by October 1, 1999,
the team "might be able to collect." The Metro Commission's
position is that since the June agreements "have never been
signed, the penalty provision does not apply." The June
agreements have "languished" due to several incomplete pieces of
the deal. Among the delays has been the inability of the county
to execute a lease agreement with the city of Miami, which owns
the land. Reportedly, the county agreed to pay the team "up to"
$3M if the arena were delayed for any one of six reasons,
including "failure to obtain dismissal of a challenge." The
arena referendum on the ballot, if approved, would block Metro
from using tax money to build the arena on waterfront property
north of Bayside Marketplace (MIAMI HERALD, 9/13).
