The Heat "may be about to lose a discounted deal on public waterfront behind the team’s county-owned arena," according to Douglas Hanks of the MIAMI HERALD. Miami-Dade County officials said that they "now realize the county is significantly undercharging the team to rent a five-acre wedge of land next to the AmericanAirlines Arena," which the Heat use for "valet parking, event staging and even elephant habitat when the circus comes to town." A recent county study "recommended nearly tripling the rent." The team is "pushing back against higher rent, and the issue promises to revive tensions over a vacant lot that has drawn controversy since the early days of the AmericanAirlines Arena." County Commissioner Juan Zapata said, “If we’re going to sacrifice that park space, I want to be compensated for it." Heat lobbyist and lawyer Jorge Luis Lopez "promised to fight higher Parcel B fees if the new rate structure seems unfair." Lopez said the county "has some duty to help us operate efficiently and cost-effectively." Lopez: "We’re not just going to take what the county tells us and have them raise our rates" (MIAMI HERALD, 2/26).
