Florida Marlins Stadium Deal Passes the County!

enjoy Stockholm…they tell me it is beautiful.

MLB was doing all it could to help Loria and company get out of Montreal. MLB had long since given up on Montreal themselves, which is why they allowed that insane Puerto Rico/Montreal time-sharing deal for a couple years.

Contrast that with the Marlins. MLB was always behind the team staying and has always said South Florida is vital for their interests, being the gateway to Latin America and all. And as you know, they sent DuPuy out to get this deal done, and he’s like MLB’s number 2 guy.

I don’t really trust Loria or Samson myself, but they always said things would change if they could get a permanent home and a real revenue stream from it. Well, now we’ll find out.

I just hope all the Marlins brass and politicians realize that this is going to be a long slog. Fans probably will not flock to the new stadium once the novelty wears off. There’s clearly a lot of community animosity toward the Marlins, and to sports owners in general. Pushing this stadium through probably hasn’t helped much, even if it’s delighted us real fans. It will take years before people trust the team again and move past the fire sales.

Forget the disgruntled, cynical fans. They may well be a lost cause (it’s always cool to complain). But at least their children might grow up more innocently, being able to watch their favorite Marlin for more than a few years. Without having their team be the butt of jokes on Baseball Tonight. A kid’s first visit to the ballpark is one of their most lasting memories, and now that first visit will be to the team’s own stadium rather than an institutional, converted football stadium with 20,000 roped off seats.

Especially considering all the benefits. I mean, maybe it’s different being all the way up in St. Lucie, such that it’s not all the much relatively speaking, but jeez, in all my years going to UM games and Marlins games, I don’t think I’ve ever thought “god, the OB is so far away.” It’s practically all I-95 miles anyway.

The only significant difference is that the stone’s throw that Pro Robbie is from the Turnpike is dedicated to getting there, whereas the stone’s throw that the OB is from 95 is residential streets. Which makes for a bit longer wait getting out, but in all honesty, is made up for in having actual character. One of the best parts about going to UM games, especially in the last few OB years, is the walk from above the river to the stadium. Now, the biggest reason for parking up there is skipping all of the traffic getting back on 95, and perhaps the new parking structures and improvements will negate the need. But the fact remains, the OB is in a real neighborhood, the kind of thing that fosters the community atmosphere of baseball. If that means less people from Palm Beach, so be it. If people from Broward think it’s too far because god forbid it’s not twenty feet from the county line, then I seriously question their commitment. I would venture that the majority of attendees at the majority of MLB parks travel further than the average Broward resident’s trip to Miami.

Ah, nothing like turf wars. My town is better than your town, rawr!

Did Broward make a big push to move the stadium near downtown Ft. Lauderdale or Hollywood? I don’t remember anything about that at least during the last year. But anyway, look at the bright side, Dade countians like myself will now be able to make more mid-week games. Hooray!