This isn't what I had planned to write today, but I guess it needs to be brought to your attention.
This was posted yesterday in the Miami Herald.
Braman, who filed a lawsuit in January taking issue with $50 million in bond money and how the negotiations for the stadium were conducted behind closed doors, added a pair of new claims Tuesday.
Now, he is asking a Miami-Dade Circuit judge to stop the race to build the team a $525 million stadium because, Braman contends, the city of Miami did not give the public proper notice before it voted to extend and expand its Community Redevelopment Agencies, and because redevelopment dollars shouldn't be used to substitute paying off a construction debt.
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With both the city and county having the chance to vote Thursday to help the team finance the stadium, Braman also said one of his attorneys will ask commissioners to cooperate in asking a judge to move the proceedings along as quickly as possible.
That way, Braman says, even if the judge rules against his case, it would give the team enough time to build the stadium for Opening Day 2011 -- the ballclub's stated goal.
But all that can be avoided, and the lawsuit dropped, if the city and county agree to a single stipulation, he said: ``I said from the very beginning, if they allow voters to make the decision -- as they should -- I'm prepared to drop the lawsuit.''
I'm not sure how many commissioners are willing to cooperate.
But I do know this, his legal team is busy writing letters to the editor in at least one local paper.
Getting a stadium built in South Florida, or probably anywhere else for that matter, never comes easy.
And trust me, there will be more about the stadium deal tomorrow.