April 29, 2007
Legislative gridlock for Marlins, Magic subsidies?
Good news for the owners of the Florida Marlins and Orlando Magic: The Florida state house of representatives voted on Thursday to approve a $2 million a year tax break for 30 years to pay off $30 million worth of stadium costs for a new Marlins stadium in Miami. The next day, the state house voted to approve a similar package for the Magic. Both teams have already gotten tax breaks of this size, but former Marlins owner absconded with his, and the Magic, well, they figure why build an arena with just one tax break when two will do?
Bad news for the Marlins and Magic owners: The Florida state senate is considered unlikely to pass either measure before the legislative session ends this Friday. "There still is about half the chamber against this issue," Senate majority leader Dan Webster told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "It's an uphill battle, no matter what." Which would be either good news or bad news for Floridians, depending on how much public money you think it's worth to keep the local gazillionaire happy.
Ok... we need a David Sampson quote here.
Posted by: Jonathan on April 29, 2007 11:46 PM
