• UM May Decide Soon; County Thinks Orange Bowl is “Urban”

  • If you’re familiar with our frustration over UM’s impact on the ballpark situation, you can imagine our dismay as we read the latest updates.

    First, we are reminded that the ballpark is on hold while the world waits for the University of Miami to make up its mind on whether to renovate the Orange Bowl or move to Dolphin Stadium.

    [T]he University of Miami’s indecision over whether to stay in the Orange Bowl is stalling arrangements to move the Marlins into a Miami home, says Ian Yorty, who handles baseball negotiations for Miami-Dade County

    And of course, the County wants the Marlins to play at the OB site:

    Major League Baseball is “willing,” Mr. Hernandez said, to bring the Marlins to the Orange Bowl should the university choose to leave … Orange Bowl still fits the Marlins’ desired bill of “an urban ballpark setting.”

    Really? More

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    • Go Canes
    • RETWEETED
      19 years ago

    • To answer your question….because baseball sucks. I can’t wait for the Marlins to become the Las Vegas Slot Machines. i’m sure they’ll be able to get their stadium right on The Strip – next to the Mandarin.

      Go CANES!!

  • MLB Throws a Ballpark Tantrum

  • Scale Model of Proposed Florida Marlins Ballpark next to the Orange BowlAt least the Florida Marlins are getting some attention at this year’s All-Star festivities.

    The Palm Beach Post is reporting that the MLB brass is disappointed at the Marlins ballpark situation:

    “The commissioner is very upset,” MLB President Bob DuPay said before the All-Star Game. “We really thought we were going to get something done this year and we spent a lot of time down there and we had a lot of reason to think we were gong to get something done.”

    Sounds like MLB thought everything was going well but for some reason seemed surprised when the Florida Legislature didn’t act for the millionth time. Also, as we mentioned yesterday, the Orange Bowl and University of Miami situation has been a huge distraction and has knocked everything off course.

    “We had a great downtown site and all of a sudden the news developed that the Orange Bowl might be vacated and the commissioners got very concerned about a vacant Orange Bowl and a white elephant, so people turned their attention back to the Orange Bowl site,” DuPay said.

    The good news is that both MLB and the Marlins are bullish on the South Florida market and probably realize that there is nowhere else for the team to go. The bad news is that for some reason UM is seen as a higher priority than the Marlins.

    Oh, and one more thing. We now know that MLB’s disappointment and anger is worth less than $60 million since they could easily help finance that number and resolve this alleged economic obstacle.

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  • The Slow Trickling Sound of a Ballpark Deal Going Nowhere

  • The Miami Herald chimes in with more unproductive ballpark news:

    Just when MLB thought something was close, the stadium deal is again on indefinite hold, exasperating MLB executives determined to keep a team here. Though the Marlins want a downtown site, Miami city manager Pete Hernandez said the city won’t deal with the Marlins issue until UM decides whether to move to Dolphin Stadium. (There’s no timetable for that.)

    Once again, the Marlins have to play second-fiddle to the Hurricanes who play 6 games a year in front of 30,000 to 60,000 fans. No one can deny the University of Miami’s importance to the South Florida sports market, but unlike the Marlins they do not bring major league events and money into town. The Marlins can bring the World Baseball Classic, the National League playoff series, the World Series, and the All-Star game (in addition to 81 dates a year).

    Now we hear the noise that the >Dolphin Stadium lease may not be extended beyond its 2010 termination. Wayne would love to build a roof over his palace and add other elements around the parking lots to make the facility some kind of magical convention site.

    Marlins president David Samson said in recent months, a Huizenga Holdings official reaffirmed Wayne Huizenga’s earlier written notification that the lease would not be renewed.

    There is no doubt that Samson is trying to put pressure on Miami, but Wayne has publicly said this too (and we know he has no interest in helping the Marlins’ cause).

    [Huizenga:] “I don’t want to do anything to hurt the Dolphins’ chances of winning. We miss field goals on dirt. [Still], we’re the family that brought the Marlins here, and the last thing we want to do is hurt the team.”

    So what does this all mean?

    Miami needs to get its act together and the Marlins need to decide if they are ready to contribute a bite more. If this, as we’ve been told, comes down to $60 million, then the parties (including MLB) need to step up and make it happen. MLB should understand that it will not get another DC sweetheart deal and that they can help close this by, once again, “lending” money to Loria and the Marlins.

    Also, lets not underestimate the negative distraction caused by some people’s obsession with the Orange Bowl site. We know the Marlins will take whatever they can get, but everyone involved would benefit from a downtown site. Maybe the best way to close the gap and solve everyone’s problem is having UM buy the Orange Bowl.

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  • Video of the Day: That Wooden Model of the OB Ballpark

  • For our first video post, we picked out this footage of what the Marlins new ballpark by the Orange Bowl would have looked like. Based on images and tidbits that surfaced online, we believe this large wooden model was built by Scale Models Unlimited and housed in HOK’s Kansas City offices.

    We don’t know the status of the ballpark at this time. Many in Miami-Dade are still pushing for the OB site and no one has indicated that the ballpark deal is dead. Regardless, lets enjoy what could have been and what could still be.

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  • “A Sloppy, Back Water Town”

  • It’s been tough to read between the tea leaves when it comes to the Miami-Dade/Marlins ballpark discussions. The lack of news could be good or bad. That being said, you have to think that the recent resolution passed by the Miami-Dade County Commission is a positive step.

    The resolution, adopted on June 5th, calls for the following:

    RESOLUTION DIRECTING MAYOR OR HIS DESIGNEE TO INCLUDE AMONG TERMS TO BE NEGOTIATED BY AND AMONG COUNTY, CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA MARLINS, LP, AND MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FOR DEVELOPMENT OF NEW BALLPARK A NAME CHANGE TO MIAMI MARLINS AND AGREEMENT TO PLAY MARLINS’ SPRING SEASON GAMES AT HOMESTEAD BASEBALL COMPLEX

    This tidbit is not new, but we did want to point out a funny note from the Committee Hearing on this resolution:

    Commissioner Moss noted, for the record, he was misquoted in the May 17, 2007, “Miami Today.” He clarified that he did not call Homestead a “sloppy, back water town” but said Homestead was not the “sleepy, back water town” it was viewed as in the past.

    Link:  Miami-Dade Legislative Item 071464

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  • Bicentennial Park – Next Home of the Florida Marlins

  • The Marlins have selected the Bicentennial Park in downtown Miami as their site for a new ballpark. The team wil dedicate the next 45-60 days to discuss the ballpark with the city. If it appears after that period that Miami is not a viable option, then Fort Lauderdale will be reconsidered. In addition, the Marlins named HOK as design architect and architect of record. The announcements were made by Marlins Chairman John W. Henry. New Ballpark Page.

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  • 90% of Ballpark Revenues To Go to Community

  • In an unprecedented move, Marlins owner John Henry has offered to return 90% of profits from the new stadium back to the community. Once again showing that he owns the team for non-business reasons, Henry suggested today that the revenue from the stadium will first go to pay expenses, then payroll (which will increase to $50-$60 million). The remainder would then be split 10% to the team (for expenses and future use) and 90% invested in the community. This is the first time a team has offered to share all of the revenues with the public.

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