March 23, 2005

Marlins stadium bill gets more, less likely

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that Florida House tourism committee chair Nancy Detert has thrown her support, or at least her prognostication skills, behind a $60 million state subsidy for a Florida Marlins stadium: "I think they have a better chance this year," said Detert. "They're in essence being evicted and I think people understand the issue." See, up here in New York when you tell a prospective landlord that you're being evicted, they tend to see that as an excuse to raise the rent they're demanding, not lower it, figuring they have you over a barrel. Clearly I need to move to Florida. Or own a major sport franchise.

Anyway, not all the predictions were sunny for the Fish, as two paragraphs later house speaker Allan Bense said the length of the line for public subsidies makes it less likely that the Marlins will get their money this year: "We've got Grapefruit League issues. We've got NASCAR, the Marlins, the Orlando Magic. I'm glazing over. My own personal political instincts are that the more you have out there, the more mathematically difficult it is to pass."