New Marlins Stadium

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Marlins Stadium

A previous proposal for a future Marlins Stadium
Location 1501 NW 3rd St
Miami, Florida 33125
Broke ground November 2008 (expected)[1]
Opened April 2011 (expected)
Owner Miami-Dade County
Surface Grass
Construction cost $525 million
Architect HOK Sport
Tenants Miami Marlins (MLB) (2011- )
Capacity 37,000 (Baseball)
Field dimensions Left Field - TBA
Left-Center - TBA
Center Field - TBA
Right-Center - TBA
Right Field - TBA
Backstop - TBA

The New Marlins Stadium is an approved ballpark that is to be built in the city of Miami, at the site of the former Orange Bowl Stadium. Demolition of the Orange Bowl Stadium began on March 3, 2008. It will become home to the Florida Marlins, who will change their name to Miami Marlins as part of the approved deal.[1] Groundbreaking and construction are tentatively scheduled for November 2008, with the Marlins moving into their new home in April 2011. The stadium would also become the sixth MLB stadium to have a retractable roof, joining Rogers Centre, Chase Field, Safeco Field, Minute Maid Park and Miller Park.

With a seating capacity of 37,000, it would be the third-smallest stadium in Major League Baseball by official capacity, and the smallest by actual capacity. If the proposed Cisco Field and Rays Ballpark are built, then it will become third-smallest by actual capacity as well.

Contents

[edit] Fight for a New Stadium

[edit] 1999-2004: New Ownerships seek to build New Ballpark

The development of a new stadium for the Florida Marlins began when Wayne Huizenga, in keeping with his previously stated intentions, sold the club to businessman John Henry during the 1998 offseason. Henry unveiled his vision of a new ballpark and revealed six possible sites which included Miami River, Bicentennial Park, Miramar, Davie, Lauderhill and Downtown Fort Lauderdale. During the 1999 season, the Marlins selected Bicentennial Park in Downtown Miami as their site for a new ballpark and named HOK Sport as design architect and architect of record. The Marlins continued to focus on the Bicentennial site in downtown Miami as the possible location for a new baseball-only ballpark. The team hosted a design charrette to further address concerns relating to the location of the ballpark and began to develop a site plan that addresses or mitigates core community concerns.

A month prior to the 2000 season, the Marlins hired Dave Dombrowski as the third President in club history, making him both President and General Manager. After the hiring, the Marlins announced their funding plan for a new, state-of-the-art, retractable roof ballpark in Downtown Miami. The key component of the proposed plan was the establishment of an independent "trust", empowered to initiate a tax referendum. The legislation allowed the right of self-determination for the citizens of Miami-Dade County by assuring that the plan can only be implemented by the vote of the people. A month later the Marlins announced they would no longer pursue a Cruise Passenger Surcharge as part of their financing plan for a new ballpark after Florida Governor, Jeb Bush stated his opposition to the proposal.

In June 2000, the Florida Legislature passed a bill that created a nine-member Community Improvement Authority in Miami-Dade County to study ways to finance a new ballpark. Two of the members are to be appointed by the Governor, three by the County Commission, two by the City Commission and one each by the Mayors of Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami.

After the 2001 season, the Marlins would face new ownership for the second time in three years. MLB Owners approved sale of the Boston Red Sox to current Marlins owner John Henry, pending the sale of the Marlins to Jeffrey Loria. Loria hired David Samson as President when Dombrowski resigned. Both looked forward to keeping the Marlins stadium hopes alive which Henry tried to but gave up after the state rejected funding earlier in the year.

In 2002, the Marlins were rejected state funding once again with new ownership.

After the Marlins won the World Series in 2003, the team and Miami Dade County announced plans to fund a new ballpark. Later in the year the city decided not to help the team pay for a new stadium. However, in January 2004, the City of Miami proposed building a baseball only stadium for the Marlins at the site of the Orange Bowl that would adjoin the existing football stadium along its northern flank. In May 2004, the Miami-Dade County commissioners agreed to fund their portion of a new Marlins stadium.

The Miami Dolphins notified the Marlins in December 2004 that they would end their lease at Dolphin Stadium after the 2010 season.

[edit] 2005: Marlins stadium hopes dissipate

One of the biggest steps in the Marlins getting a new ballpark came in February 2005. Miami-Dade County officials unveiled a financing plan for a $420-$435 million ballpark and parking garage for the Florida Marlins east of the Orange Bowl.

In May 2005, the Florida Legislature rejected a $60 million sales tax rebate that would have been paid at a $2 million a year clip for 30 years.

Soon after the end of the 2005 season, the Marlins reported that their proposal for a new stadium had died due to the rising costs of building a new stadium. This lead to the Marlins trading marquee players for young blue chip prospects. Team president David Samson stated that the Marlins would explore relocation, and mentioned San Antonio, Las Vegas, Orlando, Salt Lake City, Portland, Charlotte, Monterrey, northern New Jersey, Norfolk, and San Juan as possible places where they could move.[2]

  • On December 6, 2005, Marlins officials met with San Antonio city leaders, including Bexar County Judge Nelson W. Wolff, Mayor Phil Hardberger, and various city councilmen, concerning relocating the franchise to San Antonio. Potential sites for a new stadium were toured, and San Antonio leaders discussed various proposals for funding and building a baseball only ballpark. City leaders stated they were confident funding could be arranged using hotel/motel taxes to fund the city's portion of the stadium. Marlins officials stated at a press conference that they were serious about negotiations to relocate the franchise. At Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff's annual state of the county address in January 2006, he reiterated his desire to bring Major League Baseball to San Antonio.

[edit] 2006: Discussing Relocation

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Please consider copy editing to past tense if historic, present tense if not time-based (e.g. fiction), or future tense if upcoming.
  • On January 9, 2006, Marlins officials met with Portland city leaders, including Mayor Tom Potter. Following the meeting, Mayor Potter announced that the city would not finance a baseball stadium, despite the Oregon Legislature's 2003 approval of a plan to finance a stadium. Whether this has put Portland entirely out of the running is unclear.
  • On January 18, 2006, Terrie Suit (R-Virginia Beach) submitted a bill to the Virginia legislature at the request of William Somerindyke, Jr., who last year headed a group called Norfolk Major League Baseball Co. and led an effort to bring the Montreal Expos to Norfolk (which had failed when the Expos moved to Washington, D.C. to become the Nationals). Somerindyke has been in contact with the Florida Marlins about moving to Norfolk. Rep. Suit’s bill would require the state government to forward state taxes generated at a major-league sports facility to the city to pay off the arena or stadium debt. That would include income, sales and corporate taxes. The legislation was open to any jurisdiction in the state able to attract a major sports team. However, Norfolk was considered the likely site because of the large population in the Hampton Roads area and its centrally located downtown. Land for the new stadium is already owned by the city, adjoins the current Harbor Park stadium (home to Baltimore Orioles AAA-affiliate Norfolk Tides) and is located on the route of a planned commuter rail line. Marlins officials also planned to meet with civic leaders in Charlotte about moving to that city; the Atlanta Braves are the closest team to that state, and many of its residents are Braves fans. Attorney Jerry Reese had proposed building a 38,000 seat baseball stadium downtown on the site of a current park that will include a retractable roof to use for large-scale events such as concerts and the Final Four; the stadium, if built, will be privately funded and will be the anchor for a redevelopment of the former African American neighborhood of Brooklyn.
  • According to a March 2, 2006 report by the Miami Herald, the Marlins were focused on relocation to San Antonio. According to the published report, there were ongoing serious discussions 3-4 times per week between San Antonio and Marlins officials, and relocation efforts at this point are focused on San Antonio. Marlins officials expect to visit San Antonio for a second time in the near future. Marlins President David Samson said the Marlins are "very encouraged" about how aggressively San Antonio was pursuing the Marlins and that the city was "under very serious consideration."
  • On March 9, 2006, Bexar County (the county where San Antonio is located) presented a stadium financing plan to the Florida Marlins in which Bexar county would pay $200 million towards an estimated $300 million stadium in San Antonio. The financing plan would be put to San Antonio voters in November 2006, if accepted by the Marlins.
  • According to news reports, the Marlins and Major League Baseball were analyzing not only the stadium proposal from San Antonio, but also the San Antonio market viability to host an MLB franchise before continuing negitiations with San Antonio officials. If negotiations continued to progress, Marlins officials were set to make a second trip to San Antonio to discuss stadium locations and specifics of the stadium proposal.[3]

In addition, a recent economic study and report completed by Austin Economist John Hockenyos showed that the San Antonio area could support not only a Major League Baseball franchise (most of its residents are Houston Astros fans), but an NFL franchise as well (having served as a temporary home of the New Orleans Saints in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and also as a site for many NFL exhibition games), in addition to the NBA San Antonio Spurs.

Furthermore, San Antonio officials had received and accepted an invitation to join Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria in the owners' suite at the season opener against the Houston Astros, to meet and discuss the relocation option to San Antonio. During the meeting, owner Jeffrey Loria stated that the Marlins were very serious about relocation talks with San Antonio. However, Major League Baseball was concerned with the TV deal the Marlins would receive in San Antonio, and San Antonio's market size. The Marlins would need the go ahead from MLB, before finalizing any deal with San Antonio.

Bexar County (San Antonio) Judge Nelson Wolff had stated there was a May 15, 2006 deadline for the Marlins to accept the proposal, that way a suitable stadium site can be found, a memorandum of understanding can be reached, and a campaign can begin before he submits the proposal to Bexar County taxpayers, by putting the item on the ballot by August 15, 2006.[citation needed] The Marlins have indicated their first choice would be to remain in south Florida.

Reports indicated that the San Antonio option ran out of steam. Soon after telling San Antonio officials that they were explore that option another time if a stadium deal in Maimi was not possible, the team instead looked at building a stadium in Hialeah, Florida, a predominantly Cuban-populated city in Miami-Dade county.

  • On May 4, 2006, Florida state senator from Hialeah Rudy Garcia and Miami senators Alex Villalobos and Alex Diaz de la Portilla quietly collected votes for their plan for a $60 million subsidy to build a new ballpark and tacked it onto a bill that guarantees the Orlando Magic basketball team the same type of tax break. City officials were also considering using property taxes from a proposed industrial park to finance construction of a stadium with a retractable roof. "Hialeah is a baseball town," Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina said. "Baseball is in our culture. Hialeah will support the Marlins." Governor Jeb Bush, who killed the first Marlins tax-break plan in 2000, supported the subsidy concept last year. And the Florida House of Representatives would have likely approved it as well, said Miami Rep. David Rivera. "Just as the House led the way to support the Marlins last year, I'm confident we'll do it again," Rivera said. "As for the Senate, better late than never." The Senate passed the proposal, 20-16, but at 11:45pm EDT on May 5, 2006, the last day of the Florida Legislature's regular session. The session closed before the House could vote on the measure. Marlins executives pledged that they would continue to work with Hialeah on a new stadium, and rumors of the issue of the state tax subsidy being revived should a special session be convened keep hopes of state support alive.[4]
  • On May 15, 2006, MLB President Bob DuPuy informed San Antonio in a letter that San Antonio's offer would be declined at this time, but left open the possibility of relocation in the future, if talks in south Florida did not lead to a stadium deal.[5] Talks about locating a stadium in Hialeah began, even though a $100 million funding gap for the possible ballpark remains that neither the Marlins nor the Miami-Dade County government appear ready to close.
  • On November 22, 2006, talks again centered around the City of Miami, when the city offered nine acres of public land for an urban ballpark.[6] The site in question is between NW 3rd St. and NW 5th St., between the headquarters of Miami-Dade Police Department and the Miami Metrorail line. Use of the site would be contingent on moving the site of a proposed juvenile courthouse to a suitable alternate location. Another concern was that the site may not be of a suitable size for a ballpark.[7]

[edit] 2007: Staying in South Florida after all?

  • On February 28, 2007, Miami-Dade County unveiled a plan for a retractable-roof stadium at the Metrorail site, with a total cost of $490 million. The county and team hope to have a deal finished in April. The deal remains contingent on locating an alternate site for the juvenile courthouse and securing state funding assistance. Officials state that it is the closest they have ever been to keeping the Marlins in Miami.[8] As the deal was submitted to the Florida Legislature, however, rumors began to surface that the City may permit the University of Miami to leave the Miami Orange Bowl, which they have threatened to do by the end of April if a reconstruction plan is in place, and then tear down the Orange Bowl and replace it with the new stadium for the Marlins.[9] The Hurricanes said on March 12 that they would move to Dolphin Stadium if they do not get renovations for the Orange Bowl. When some asked new Florida governor, Charlie Crist, who actually agrees that the Marlins ought have to a new stadium due to the revenue it can bring the city and the good it would do, said that the Marlins should keep trying despite the latest failed attempt.
  • On April 26, 2007, the latest attempt for state funding, the final hurdle that killed the 2006 Stadium push, was approved, 86-24, in the Florida House of Representatives. The bill is HB 323.[10] The Senate version of the $60-million tax subsidy, is SB 544.[11]
  • On August 21, 2007, the Miami Hurricanes officially announced that they were abandoning the Orange Bowl for Dolphin Stadium, and immediately went into negotiations to end their lease after the 2007 football season.[12]

The club released this statement on the day the Hurricanes made the decision: ``The Marlins remain focused on building a retractable-roof, baseball-only facility in South Florida. We will continue to work diligently with both the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County. The urgency of the situation has been further crystallized by today's decision by the University of Miami.

With the Miami Hurricanes moving to the Dolphin Stadium in 2008, the city is left with the $88 million that the city and Miami-Dade County had identified as money for renovating the Orange Bowl to keep the Hurricanes there. This would almost certainly go toward closing a $30 million gap in a $490 million plan to build a retractable-roof ballpark for the Marlins in place of the storied football stadium instead of turning to the state government which has denied Marlins countless times before.

The Orange Bowl is only a mile and a half west of downtown Miami, the preferred site of the Marlins and MLB. Building a baseball stadium at the 40-acre Orange Bowl site would likely require demolition of the current stadium, mainly because of the lack of the space in the surrounding area. One of the criticisms of the current Orange Bowl stadium has been the lack of parking, where many fans must resort to paying homeowners to park on nearby lawns. Parking would also be another top priority, but one of the things said in the past when the Marlins tried to push for a new stadium next door to the Orange Bowl was a parking garage which could come up. If it ever does happen, the Marlins would be one of the first MLB teams to have a parking garage for its fans. The San Diego Padres, with the 2004 completion of Petco Park in downtown San Diego, have built multiple parking structures to accommodate their fans. Yankee Stadium also has a parking garage outside of Gate 6 and several new garages are being planned for the New Yankee Stadium next door.

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz said he hoped a Marlins stadium -- and the 81 annual home games it would bring -- would lead to improved retail and restaurant offerings in the surrounding Little Havana area. The redeveloped stadium site could also include public green space, he said.[13]

The latest revelation in the Marlins pursue in having a new stadium in south Florida had Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig and MLB president Bob DuPuy come to South Florida to try to push ahead the plans for a new Marlins ballpark, preferably in the downtown Miami site. This would marked Bud Selig's first trip to South Florida in trying to resolve the Marlins' stadium conflict.[14]

  • On December 11, 2007, months after Selig's visit to South Florida, Miami-Dade County Manager George Burgess offered the Florida Marlins a revised plan for the Orange Bowl site. This shifts a large out-of-pocket cash burden to the ball club, yet costs the county more in the long term. The Marlins would have to come up with $155 million on the front end, more than triple the $45 million previously discussed. Yet the team would end up paying less in the long haul for the facility, now budgeted at $525 million. Before, the team's overall burden over many years would total $207 million. Now, it stops at $155 million. When complete -- the goal is to open the gates by April 2010 -- the 37,000-seat stadium would feature 60 private luxury suites, a retractable roof and natural grass. The Marlins would be responsible for cost overruns, and the city of Miami would be on the hook for building a 6,000-car garage. The county would own the stadium. The team would be required to enter into a non-relocation agreement. [2]
  • On December 13, 2007, two days after the new Marlins stadium plan was unveiled, Miami commissioners approved a historic public works package that would build a new Florida Marlins stadium. The 4-1 vote, adopted after hours of debate, embraced Mayor Manny Diaz's vision of a new Miami glittered with billions of dollars' worth of projects. The package included money for a $914 million tunnel to the Port of Miami, a Museum Park downtown and a $525 million baseball stadium on the site where the Orange Bowl now sits -- all tied together in one basket through a plan to expand city Community Redevelopment Agency districts. [3]
  • On December 18, 2007, Miami-Dade commissioners on Tuesday approved a multibillion-dollar deal to build a future Marlins ballpark, soccer stadium for a future MLS team, downtown streetcar, museum campus and an underwater tunnel to the Port of Miami on a 9-4 vote. Along with the deal, team President David Samson has said the Marlins will change their name from the Florida Marlins to "Miami Marlins." Tuesday's vote moved the Marlins closer than ever before to landing their own stadium.

[4], [5]

[edit] 2008: Life long stadium dream comes true

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Artist rendering of the future Marlins stadium with roof closed and open.
Artist rendering of the future Marlins stadium with roof closed and open.
  • On January 4, 2008, former Philadelphia Eagles owner and current luxury auto dealer Norman Braman announced that a political action committee he created has purchased 175 spots on English and Spanish stations in advance of the county commission vote Thursday. The ads attack the recent vote that the Miami-Dade commissioners passed which paved way for future projects like a New Marlins Stadium, a soccer stadium for a MLS expansion team, a tunnel that leads to the Port of Miami, and streetcar among others. Braman has pointed out that Dolphin Stadium was built without taxpayer dollars, the Marlins should do the same. These property taxes were intended for the poor. The Marlins are not poor. Braman has a reputation for digging into his own pockets to battle tax increases and fight government waste. One of reasons Braman seeking to stop this is because some of the land that is being used is land the Braham had been considering for the use of his own private projects. [6] Despite his public rant against the Marlins stadium deal and new downtown developments, its highly unlikely that the deal won't get done mainly because of approval to the outline of a deal and prior passed votes.
  • On January 23, 2008, Norman Braman fired his the first legal action against a $3 billon major remake of Downtown Miami. He filed suit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court against major George M. Burgess *and notably the Florida Marlins themselves, seeking to nullify key pieces of the deal that would be made possible by an expansion and extension of the city's Omni and Overtown Community Redevelopment Agency districts. Braman is asking a judge to declare the reallocation of the $50 million unconstitutional and prevent the county from spending it on a 37,000-seat, retractable-roof ballpark or anything else without putting it to the voters. Miami Mayor Manny Diaz says he's confident we will prevail against a Norman Braman lawsuit that potentially threatens the Marlins' stadium, and adamantly defends the controversial decision not to let the public vote on building the $525 million ballpark.[7], [8]
  • On February 7, 2008, the Miami Dade commission said that negotiations between Miami-Dade County and the Florida Marlins over the cost of building a new ballpark in Little Havana must be complete by the end of the month, county commissioners, led by Jose Pepe Diaz, demanded. Miami-Dade County commissioners voted to give the Marlins and county officials a three-week timetable to finalize details on a retractable-roof stadium at the Orange Bowl site in Miami. Momentum started building on earlier in the week, when all sides reached common ground on key issues, and negotiations have continued to move along nicely. A vote on the county's end of the deal has been deferred three times, mainly over differences between the Marlins and the two governments over how to pay for a $20 million parking garage. Miami commissioners also must still vote on their end of the financial package. Other sticking points in the negotiations: What type of roof to use on the stadium and Miami Mayor Manny Diaz's plan to build a $100 million soccer stadium adjacent to the proposed stadium.[9], [10], [11]
  • On February 17, 2008, the Marlins, Miami-Dade County, the city of Miami and Major League Baseball reached agreement to finance a $515 million ballpark at the site of the Orange Bowl. Financial details are in place, and now the Marlins are a couple of final votes of approval away from securing a new stadium. To be finalized, the plan needs the approval of the city of Miami commissioners and Miami-Dade County commissioners. The city of Miami has scheduled a special commission meeting to consider the deal at 9 a.m. Thursday, February 21. Miami-Dade County commissioners will discuss the stadium at a 1 p.m. ET meeting the same day. The stadium deal calls for the county and city to contribute $360 million mainly in tourist taxes and a $50 million general obligation bond Miami-Dade voters approved in 2004 to renovate the Orange Bowl, but which will instead be moved to the ballpark project. The Marlins are to contribute $155 million. [12], [13], [14], [15], [16]
  • On February 19, 2008, Norman Braman asked 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. Either commission could delay its vote until later this month, putting further pressure on a timeline that has the team launching its 2011 season at the new field. Also lingering: auto magnate Norman Braman's lawsuit challenging the complex financial deal that underpins the stadium and other major downtown projects. If a judge blocks that deal or orders a public referendum, the new stadium agreement might be unworkable. Commissioner Joe Martinez said he planned to vote against the deal because, in a roundabout way, it uses tax money earmarked for curing slum and blight in neighborhoods far from the stadium.
  • On February 20, 2008, Miami city commissioner Marc Sarnoff stated that he felt Braman was incorrect and that the city commissioners found no legal backing to his statement.
  • On February 21, 2008, Miami city commissioners approved the plan for the stadium by a 4-1 margin, moving the vote to the Miami-Dade County Commission.[17]. After eight years of searching and frustration to find a long-term home, the Florida Marlins Thursday ecstatically found the answer to their dreams. Miami-Dade County commissioners, some doing so grudgingly, voted 9-3 Thursday night to approve a basic plan for a $515 million, retractable-roof stadium that would open in time for the 2011 season. Later the three negative votes were changed to make the decision unanimous while one commissioner was absent. But several issues, including the particularly thorny matter of deciding if city or county police and fire departments will be patrolling the new facility, remain unresolved. An agreement on the police-fire staffing front must be struck within 30 days, or the plan - and maybe the Marlins franchise - would likely be doomed. Miami mayor Manny Diaz, though, sounded certain that all further roadblocks can be cleared. "This is a binding agreement," Diaz said. "This is it. We have a deal. There will be baseball in Miami." By July, Miami-Dade county manager George Burgess said he hopes to have the other aspects of the agreement in place. He mentioned a construction administration team, a stadium manager, a design-revue committee and more specific hiring practices. Bob DuPuy added that MLB intends to help locally in several other ways as well. He said MLB will make its first $1 million contribution to help ensure the Marlins' new stadium is green, for a healthy building, and the league also plans to start a youth baseball academy in nearby Hialeah. The team's name change to Miami Marlins will not happen until their first year in the new ballpark, which DuPuy said has not been assured an All-Star Game. He suggested it was likely along with World Baseball Classic games. In addition, David Samson has said the ballpark is expected to be pitcher-friendly and that besides the retractable roof being closed on rainy days, he envisions it being shut on summer afternoons, when air conditioning is preferable. Samson also addressed that the payroll is expected to be "middle of the pack", an estimated $60-80 million.[18], [19], [20]
  • On February 28, 2008, Miami police and firefighter unions grabbed commissioners' attention, protesting in front of City Hall and arguing they should win sole patrolling rights inside the new Florida Marlins stadium in Little Havana. The issue of who would patrol the proposed ballpark and with it receive coveted off-duty pay came into focus last week when Miami and county commissioners voted to finance a Marlins stadium but only after language saying the county would patrol the grounds had been removed. Police in black and firefighters in yellow, marched along the circular driveway in front of City Hall, chanting City yes, county no, and, ``Hey, hey, what do ya say, don't let the county take our pay. [21]
The last remaining pieces of the Orange Bowl before it was totally demolished in May 2008.
The last remaining pieces of the Orange Bowl before it was totally demolished in May 2008.
  • On March 18, 2008, Miami-Dade county commissioners voted to extend a Friday deadline for Miami and Miami-Dade police to settle a rancorous dispute over who will patrol a new baseball stadium for the Florida Marlins. The debate mainly rages over which agency would receive the valuable off-duty pay that comes with policing ballgames. The county is still upset years after American Airlines Arena was built that Miami police patrol the site, and Miami police are demanding they secure command rights at a new Marlins stadium even though the agreement calls for the ballpark's footprint to be deeded to the county. Commissioners agreed to give the sides more time, and no one took issue with Commissioner Jose Pepe Diaz's motion to extend the deadline. No new deadline was given.
  • On April 8, 2008, the County Commission approved the compromise which in turn could make the city vote later this month. Nevertheless, the true test will come this summer, when both the city and county commissioners need to approve a detailed management agreement with the team, which will include security arrangements. Under the compromise, police from the county would handle the stadium building and the 100 feet around it, while the city department would oversee traffic on the surrounding streets. The city would also handle proposed retail and commercial projects at the site, as well as a parking garage and possible soccer stadium. The compromise would apply to all baseball games and almost all other events. The construction agreement lets city and county governments each use the stadium for a handful of events each year -- on those dates, the host government can use its own police and fire both inside and outside the park.
  • On April 9, 2008, Marlins executives toured Nationals Park, gaining insights on various layouts and amenities like the plaza area between the garages and stadium that may ultimately be incorporated into Florida's recently approved stadium. Team president David Samson added that the Marlins facility will more closely resemble Minute Maid Park in Houston than some of the other retractable-roofed stadiums, like the ones in Milwaukee and Arizona. As for the dimensions of the stadium itself, the team makes it clear it will be more favorable to pitchers than hitters. The team will have a better indication of exactly how its home at the Orange Bowl will look in the summer, when sketches are expected to be released. The goal is to break ground in November. [22]
  • On May 8, 2008, a Miami-Dade judge handed down two rulings that had both parties claiming victories. Giving Norman Braman's challenge to some parts of the funding to move forward to a trial on July 1. But the judge also dismissed the argument by Braman that Miami-Dade county manager George Burgess was in violation of Florida's public records law by negotiating the stadium deal in private. The trial in July 1 is about the $50 million that voters approved in the past that was designated for renovations to the Orange Bowl which in turn got shifted to the Marlins' new stadium. Norman Braman is challenging the designation of that money. Furthermore, this month, representatives from the team, the city of Miami and the county are meeting with the architect, HOK Sports which is going over how the park will look on the outside and inside. The Marlins are also taking suggestions for fans on what they want to see in the new stadium.
  • May 8 was also the day that the final pieces of the Orange Bowl were torn down. By the end of May 2008, the Orange Bowl site was cleared save for the trees in the parking lot and the scoreboard. The "Miami Orange Bowl" sign atop the scoreboard has been claimed by the Marlins, with the intention of incorporating it into the new stadium. The scoreboard itself will be taken by Miami-Dade County, which hopes to re-use it, likely at a school.[15]

[edit] Funding

Total: $515 million

Not included is the extra $10 million to go toward the demolition of the Orange Bowl and the site preparation that is outside the construction budget.

[edit] Demolition Photo Gallery

Early stages of demolition on Miami Orange Bowl site to make way for the new Marlins Stadium- 4/7/08.

Press Box of the Miami Orange Bowl being torn down on 4/7/08.

Machinery tearing down a portion of Orange Bowl. 4/9/08

The last remaining pieces of the stadium before being completely demolished in May 2008.

[edit] Relative location

[edit] References

  1. ^ Enough with the whining: Stadium plan will work fine - 02/20/2008 - MiamiHerald.com
  2. ^ The Official Site of The Florida Marlins: News: Marlins will explore relocation
  3. ^ The Official Site of The Florida Marlins: News: Marlins, MLB looking into San Antonio
  4. ^ The Official Site of The Florida Marlins: News: Marlins denied state funding for stadium
  5. ^ MySA.com: KENS 5: Sports
  6. ^ http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16071489.htm
  7. ^ http://www.miami.com/multimedia/miami/news/ballpark_update.pdf
  8. ^ http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/local/sfl-cmarlstad28feb28,0,7339057.story
  9. ^ http://www.miamiherald.com/591/story/38641.html
  10. ^ CS/HB 323 - Professional Sports Franchises
  11. ^ CS/SB 544 - Professional Sports Franchises [EPCC]
  12. ^ http://www.miamiherald.com/598/story/210237.html
  13. ^ http://www.miamiherald.com/591/story/211037.html
  14. ^ http://www.miamiherald.com/589/story/218008.html
  15. ^ http://www.marlinbaseball.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=80859&st=50&start=50

[edit] See also

List of Major League Baseball stadiums

[edit] External links

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