April 28, 2006
Fish trouble in River City
That May 15 deadline for the Florida Marlins to decide on moving to San Antonio has worked out about as well as expected: Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff says he hasn't heard from Marlins execs since then, and that "every day that goes by, I think there is less and less chance of getting anything done." Wolff also canceled an upcoming meeting with the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce to discuss luring the Marlins, explaining, "I don't think there is any reason to meet until we know if this thing is going to go any further."
The dalliance with the River City may have paid off for the Fish, though: The city of Hialeah and Miami-Dade County are now floating the idea of a tax-increment financing district to skim off property taxes from new development and redirect them to pay off a Marlins stadium. I've harped on the pitfalls of TIFs before, so suffice to say this is one battle that San Antonio could end winning by losing.
