I almost missed this brief story, which was published earlier in the week, about the Marlins' and Hurricanes' stadium plans. Apparently one option that had been discussed was to move 'Canes football to JRS and to knock down the Orange Bowl in order to replace it with a new ballpark for the Marlins.
As much as I'd like to see the Fish get a new stadium, if it comes at the expense of the Canes and the OB, I'll probably be done as a Marlins fan. I don't think I could ever attend a baseball game on that piece of ground. It was bad enough that they considered (are considering?) putting the baseball stadium adjacent to the OB.
Aside from the emotional part of it for me (pathetic, I know), the Orange Bowl location doesn't solve the Marlins current problem. Yes, they could get something shiny and something new - maybe even something with a roof. But the location -- which is great for football -- doesn't really work for baseball. There's traffic all around it getting in and out. Parking is limited, etc., etc.
Yes, the government could throw time, money, and resources at it to improve the situation; but no matter what is done, a new baseball stadium in the Orange Bowl area merely moves the Marlins current woes to a new location. A new stadium in that neighborhood would not create the atmosphere that has been created in places like San Francisco, Phoenix, Baltimore, or any number of other places where new ballparks have been built. The Orange Bowl neighborhood isn't a place where people go to have a good time (other than when there's a sporting event) and the area is so developed, yet not quite central, that it's not likely to turn into anything either.
Oh well, I hope we can believe our elected officials when they say this option really isn't going to come to be.