And even more Stadium News

by craig on Mar 9, 2007 7:23 AM EST in News and Rumors

The Miami commissioners approved a non-binding resolution to support a stadium for the Marlins at an undisclosed location.

Following the lead of Miami-Dade County commissioners, the Miami City Commission voted unanimously Thursday to support a $490 million plan to fund a ballpark for the Florida Marlins somewhere in Miami and expressed support for placing it on the site of the Orange Bowl.

The Miami commissioners are hopeful that their vote along with that of the county's will be enough to persuade the state legislators to follow suit.

City commissioners and Mayor Manny Diaz said they hope the vote will convince the state Legislature to approve a $60 million state sales tax rebate to close the financing gap. Bills that would provide the rebate are making their way through the Legislature.

As you probably already know the potential stadium deal breaks down thusly:

The ballpark proposal calls for the Marlins to contribute $207 million mainly in rent payments; the county to chip in $145 million in hotel bed taxes; and the city to contribute $108 million in hotel bed and tourist development taxes. The $60 million state sales tax rebate would cover the remainder.

Assuming the local government entities hold true to their word, which isn't always a guarantee, the fate of stadium once again rest in the hands of the state.

And maybe, just maybe, it will pass this time. We should know within a few months.

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Oh, brother...

All right, I'm going to need some help here, from people who know the geography of Miami better than I do.

Where is the Orange Bowl in relation to downtown Miami, or in relation to the current stadium? And keep in mind if you want to give me that answer in terms of minutes of driving time, I refuse to drive like the @$$h013$ who populate most of South Florida that I've seen so far, and adjust your answer accordingly.

What kind of neighborhood is the OB in? I hear it's very residential, though the person who tells me that admits she hasn't been there in twenty years. And you hear lots about how it's a high-crime area; true or not?

If it's a residential area, has anyone considered how different it is to have big crowds rolling in six or seven times a week (with some weeks off) as opposed to once a week every other week? Can that possibly be good for a neighborhood?

What about all the other stuff that usually pops up around a ballpark--the restaurants, sports bars, etc.--as it should? Is there room for that? Or are we going to get into one of those ugly situations where people are being uprooted from homes and all that?

And finally, which members of the Miami-Dade commission or the Miami City Commission are going to make a killing when this deal goes through, and are therefore pushing hard for this site over downtown? I've come to understand this is how things operate down here...

The Kids Are Alright. More Often Than They Used To Be.

by Dr F on Mar 9, 2007 9:59 AM EST reply actions

In my experiences...

distance is like a mirrored version of the Triple A. Which is to say, the same distance south (which, let's just go ahead and say it, significantly further south than Joe Player) but just as far west of 95 as the Triple A is east. So in terms of comparing the two proposed sites, location is negligible in terms of driving time.

It's most certainly a residential neighborhood, though one that knows it's living in the shadow of a large stadium. I don't know the crime statistics, and when you consider that Miami in general is a relatively high crime city, I don't know if it's better or worse to be in the midst of downtown. I know that most every day game I've been to at the Orange Bowl, we're part of a large group of people who have realized it's just easier to park in public lots closer to 95 and walk the maybe 10-15 minutes. It's actually a pretty nice walk crossing some river/canal, and the business have certainly acknowledged how many people do it, moving inventory like cold drinks outside so people can save time. Would I do it at night? I can't say. But it should say something about it not being any kind of especially bad neighborhood.

Restuarants and sports bars, forget it, at least in the parts of the surrounding area I've been to. Not too far south you've got your standard US1-type strip, with the fast food and the like that comes with it. Closer to the stadium, you're looking at vendor fare.

by dan 2.0 on Mar 9, 2007 1:23 PM EST up reply actions