Declaring that Miami is a "sports town that belongs in
the major leagues," Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas
signed a deal yesterday with the Marlins to build a $385M,
40,000-seat, retractable-roof ballpark in downtown Miami,
according to Finefrock & Spencer of the MIAMI HERALD. Team
Owner John Henry and Penelas signed a letter of intent which
gives "both sides 60 days to negotiate a final arrangement."
Under the deal, the Marlins agree to change their name to
the Miami Marlins and pay the county $6M per year for 40
years to play in the new facility. In exchange, Miami-Dade
County will put up $118M from an existing hotel tax to pay
for the ballpark. The deal still must be approved by the
Miami-Dade Commission, the city of Miami and the FL State
Legislature. The pact depends on financial participation by
the city of Miami and the state of FL, "commitments that
have not been secured." A number of details "have yet to be
hammered out," including the "exact location" of the
ballpark (MIAMI HERALD, 12/18). In Ft. Lauderdale, Sarah
Talalay writes that the ballpark will have a retractable
roof, air conditioning, 60 suites, 3,000 club seats and
1,500 parking spots. The deal also calls for a 4% surcharge
on tickets up to $6.5M per year, a "portion of the city's
parking surcharge," revenue from a naming-rights deal to be
shared by the team and Miami-Dade County, and new state
legislation will be created that would "allow the team to
keep the sales tax generated in" the new ballpark. The pact
"does not raise new taxes or require the approval of
voters." The team has also agreed to cover cost overruns.
Although it is "far from a done deal," officials said that
the announcement "represents a first step toward keeping"
the Marlins in South FL. Penelas said a name change for the
team was vital for a deal: "No name change, no deal." The
plan has "lots of political hurdles and will continue to
anger some fans, particularly those in Broward and Palm
Beach counties who have said they won't make the drive to
Miami" for ballgames (Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL, 12/18).
In Palm Beach, Charles Elmore writes that Miami-Dade County
has agreed to pay the team $3M per year "for control of the
stadium naming rights," which "cuts the team's net stadium
payments" to $3M per year. Penelas said that he "changed
his position" on supporting the ballpark because this deal
involved no new taxes. Penelas: "I am sure there will be
Monday-morning quarterbacks saying we need more police,
buses, etc. But none of this money can be used for that
purpose" (PALM BEACH POST, 12/18). Henry, on the plan: "It
means we can keep our team here, and keep our team together.
It means we can compete." The ballpark is tentatively
scheduled to open for the '04 season (MIAMI HERALD, 12/18).
MIAMI SOUND MACHINE: Henry: "Up until two months ago, I
started to believe there was no chance to get a deal done
here. I was very pessimistic" (MIAMI HERALD, 12/18). MLB
Commissioner Bud Selig said after news of the deal, "All of
a sudden, today [the Marlins are] a viable force in Major
League Baseball for the next two generations" (Ft.
Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL, 12/18). But in Miami, Linda
Robertson writes that a new ballpark "isn't necessarily the
cure" for the team's problems, and calls it a "clever but
flawed plan to bring baseball to downtown Miami." Robertson:
"This is a bad sports town filled with a fickle populace.
This isn't Detroit or Boston or Denver. Henry ...
overestimates the loyalty of his neighbors" (MIAMI HERALD,
12/18). In Ft. Lauderdale, Michael Mayo cautions residents
of Miami-Dade to "read the fine print" on the deal because
it contains "fuzzy math, vague and confusing numbers. If
the non-binding letter of intent signed Sunday is any
indication, the public better be on guard" (SUN-SENTINEL,
12/18). Also in Ft. Lauderdale, Peter Bernard writes that
Marlins fans living in Broward and Palm Beach counties feel
that the deal to build in downtown Miami "will hurt the team
in the long run" (Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL, 12/18).
