October 28, 2004
Marlins: We'll pay bigger share of larger pie
The Florida Marlins owners have told the city of Miami that they'll increase their payments to a new stadium from from $157 million to $192 million ... while simultaneously hiking the building's estimated cost from $367 million to $420 million. Marlins prez David Samson explained that the rejiggering of the numbers was designed to "allay the public's concerns that the Marlins will be unable to cover any cost overruns. By increasing the project cost from the beginning, it is reducing the potential cost overruns."
Of course, this also means an additional $18 million that the Marlins wouldn't cover, and that would have to be paid by county hotel taxes. Other outstanding issues include the $30 million in state funding that both the Marlins and Miami plan to lobby the legislature for next year; and Tuesday's mayoral election, where one candidate, County Commissioner Jimmy Morales, is an outspoken opponent of public stadium funding.
Meanwhile, the Marlins appear to be taking one bargaining chip off the table, offering to extend star third baseman Mike Lowell's contract for another two years. Lowell's current contract is set to make him a free agent on Monday if no stadium deal is in place, but with state legislative action stalled until at least next spring, the "Send money or we'll shoot our third baseman" strategy wasn't working out too well.
