Miami-Dade County Delays Sale Of Marlins Ballpark Bonds

County Will Delay Selling $405M In Bonds For New Marlins Ballpark For At Least Two Weeks

Miami-Dade County (FL) officials yesterday elected to delay selling $405M in bonds for the Marlins' new ballpark "in order to first resolve an emergency injunction filed Monday by civic activists trying to stop construction" of the facility, according to Matthew Haggman of the MIAMI HERALD. The county had planned to begin selling the bonds today, but now the effort is "on hold for at least two weeks." County spokesperson Victoria Mallette said that the delay is "driven by a concern" that the pending injunction could "scare investors, resulting in a higher interest rate on the bonds or an inability to sell all the bonds." Haggman notes a "successful sale of the bonds to cover much of the construction costs is considered the last hurdle" for construction of the new ballpark, and Mallette said that the scheduled July 18 groundbreaking is "unchanged despite a two-week delay in selling the bonds" (MIAMI HERALD, 6/17). The SOUTH FLORIDA BUSINESS JOURNAL's Oscar Pedro Musibay reported the closing date for the bonds remains July 14, and the county had "already planned to push back the bond closing date due to a request change on how some financing fees are paid to Wachovia, which has provided the county with a letter of credit for the project." If Miami-Dade County Commissioners approve Wachovia's request, all parties "would have until mid-July to close on financing, instead of the end of June," and each side will be "given until July 15, instead of July 1, to pull out of the deal." County Manager George Burgess in a statement asserted that the change "would not impact the projected financing expenditures the county commission already has reviewed" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 6/16).

HOT TICKET: The Marlins said that they will "open up as many as 60,000 seats" at Land Shark Stadium for this weekend's series against the Yankees, 22,000 more than usual. Most of the stadium's lower bowl is "sold out" for the series, and the "cheapest seats (usually $12) are $25 (in advance) or $30 (game day)" (MIAMI HERALD, 6/14).