Stadium News - Sort of

by craig on Feb 28, 2009 11:35 AM EST in News and Rumors

Once again, a baseball only stadium for the Marlins is being held hostage.

Miami City Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones has been quiet about the Marlins ballpark issue since her absence at the city commission meeting on Feb. 13 left the ballpark deal deadlocked 2-2 and almost derailed it completely before the meeting was continued until March.

That is, until Friday.

On Friday, Spence-Jones, who had been on maternity leave, issued a statement titled "Commissioner Michelle Spence Jones Says Marlins Must Hit a Home Run for Her District." In the release from her office, Spence-Jones says times have changed since she supported the ballpark last year.

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Spence-Jones' statement listed several. She wants to ensure improvements and jobs for her district. Among her demands: preserving property tax dollars raised in the Overtown Community Redevelopment Agency for the Overtown neighborhood; "authorize a half billion dollar bond issuance to fund the redevelopment of the historic Overtown community," and that the Marlins and Major League Baseball pay for a "mini-baseball youth academy located in the inner city."

Three times the statement says the Marlins "will strike out" on March 6 -- when the commission is to vote on the ballpark agreement -- if changes are not made to the deal.

I guess this is natural for a politician who all of a sudden discovers they possess the swing vote. However, given that Samson wasn't the least bit willing to give into Sarnoff's demands on a complete point-by-point basis, I doubt the organization will give into Spence-Jones' either. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am.

There is still some time before the vote to try and negotiate. But if the city is being this difficult, I can't imagine what the county will be like, assuming the deal can somehow get passed by the city.

Why am I reminded of this Paul Simon song?

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nothing like kicking off the weekend with depressing news.

by Fishcrazy on Feb 28, 2009 11:59 AM EST reply actions

Stadium

does not look good now.

And as the season goes on and they see (once again) that Mets and Cubs fans way outnumber Marlins fans here in South Florida, support will continue to erode.

Looks like a lost cause now.

If I were the Marlins, I would just throw in the towel

Possibilities:

White Knight to the rescue and build the stadium entirely with private funds (the best but least likely possibility.

Find somewhere else to move to.

Just do nothing and let the Dolphins kick them out onto the street.

Well anyway Samson gave it the good old college try. I actually have grown to like and admire him. This debacle wasn’t for lack of his trying.

All of those Mets, Cubs, Braves, Yankee, Red Sox, Phillies, Cardinals, etc etc fans down here who never supported the Marlins ought to look themselves in the mirror. When the Marlins move elsewhere and they can no longer drive to see MLB, they have only themselves to blame.

That fundamentally is the problem. Plenty of baseball fans in South Florida but very few of them are Marlins fans.

Want to get a good idea of what those Mets and Phillies fans (that live in South Florida) really think of the Marlins and their fans:

http://ladiesdotdotdot.wordpress.com/2007/05/29/i-was-there-phillies-mets-marlins/

by jrhana on Feb 28, 2009 12:37 PM EST reply actions

anything positive to add?

Looks like a lost cause now.

If I were the Marlins, I would just throw in the towel

With comments like those, who even needs the Mets and Phillies fans?

by Fishcrazy on Feb 28, 2009 2:01 PM EST up reply actions

Dude...

That is really sad. Mark my words, we are getting a stadium. The MLB is behind the stadium. And the marlins organization has some very intelligent people behind the front doors. Just throw in the towel? If that was the case, the Heat should’ve thrown in the towel after game 2 of the finals two years ago. The marlins should have thrown in the towel before the whole Bartman debacle being down all those runs. We are getting a stadium my friends.

by GMFB on Feb 28, 2009 2:30 PM EST up reply actions

The deal may not be dead but it sure is on life support

In case you haven’t noticed 3 out 5 commissioners are placing impossible conditions on the deal. That is a majority in case you haven’t noticed. And unfortunately the general public could not care less.

Don’t talk to me about a bad attitude.

I have stuck with the Marlins and attended about 220 games since 2004. I have supported them with my presence and my wallet. I arrive early and I stay till the last out no matter what the score. Don’t blame me if this deal doesn’t get done.

But I often feel like I’m the only Marlins fan there.

Once again

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKxyoud_c-E

BTW Am I the only that is bothered by the fact that Mets fans way outnumber Marlins fans in the Marlins own home town? The players I have spoken to say they try and ignore it but it is discouraging to play at home and have most of the crowd route against you.

For me that is the single biggest problem baseball faces here in South Florida. The fact is that there are plenty of baseball fans here but most of them support other teams.

by jrhana on Feb 28, 2009 3:14 PM EST reply actions

And I'm sure it was originally the same with the Heat, and maybe even the Dolphins.

It takes time to grow generations of fans. Forget about the adult Met fans down here and concentrate on making their children Marlins fans. That’s how it’s supposed to work. Sadly, kids who watched the ’97 and ’03 Series wins were soured on the team by the fire sales, instead of becoming lifelong fans.

It’s hard to really adopt a team and cheer for it when everyone (especially the media) ridicules the team and makes it “uncool” to be a fan. Not to mention, it’s hard for young fans to ever become to ever get attached to their favorite Marlins when they all get traded or leave every few years.

Thanks to Huizenga and now this stadium issue, there’s a “lost generation” of fans. Undoubtedly, it’ll take a whole lot of time and team goodwill to win back a big fan base (not to mention success on the field, of course). The Marlins always have strong TV ratings, which means fans are out there—they’re just not coming out to the park. If the team gets a stadium, it can finally stabilize itself and start attracting real crowds.

by Fishcrazy on Feb 28, 2009 9:47 PM EST up reply actions

Fans and Pols

I see more Marlins gear now than I ever did. Granted, I wasn’t here for ‘97, but I can’t help but think the fan base of Marlin rooting fans is here. Why we don’t go to games, I’ll leave to others to figure out.

As for Spence-Jones, that’s just disgusting. At least Sarnoff was looking out for the city and not just his district or neighborhood. Right or wrong, he wanted a better deal. Jones just wants her piece of the pie. I’m sure she’ll get promises from the Marlins or Mayor Diaz. That’s all she really needs. She is up for re-election after all. No one will remember there’s no actual baseball academy 2 years from now.

by brickell on Feb 28, 2009 11:59 PM EST reply actions

Nice post

<It’s hard to really adopt a team and cheer for it when everyone (especially the media) ridicules the team and makes it "uncool" to be a fan.>

I do blame the media in large part. They have done a very poor job in explaining what a great franchise we have here. There is no organization that works harder in finding and developing talent. Stanton Morrison Volsted Coughlin etc etc etc these guys have futures.

Yeah but that is the only way the Marlins can compete. They develop talent and then trade it away for more and better talent to develop. Those guys that have left. I really don’t miss any of them.

by jrhana on Mar 1, 2009 7:58 AM EST reply actions

Sounds worse then it is

The Heat had similar tasks to complete in order to get their new arena in 2000, including the whole ‘inner city park’ thing. They opened up a b-ball park in the downtown area.

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by David Dwork on Mar 1, 2009 1:43 PM EST reply actions