December 18, 2007
Dade County approves Marlins stadium
At 6:57 pm, the Dade County commission voted 9-4 in favor of a new Florida Marlins stadium project, part of a $3 billion package of projects that include a new performing arts center, museums, and other gewgaws. The vote, coming five days after the Miami city commission approved its own stadium bill - and barely a week after the new stadium-funding deal was first proposed - effectively would commit local taxpayers to plunk down $370 million of the $525 million cost of a new Marlins stadium on the site of the Orange Bowl.
What happens next is slightly unclear: There doesn't appear to be a lease agreed on, for one thing, and while Miami Herald adds that the two commissions still must approve the stadium project in further votes, and that "some of those votes could happen later Tuesday, some not for years." Marlins execs have talked about opening a new stadium by 2010, which would seem to require that the team put shovels in the ground, like, yesterday. More news as it develops, but clearly this is the closest that Jeffrey Loria and David Samson's stadium quest has come to fruition in their many years of trying.
—Neil deMause
The level of poor research on your part is astounding, but then again never let the facts stand in the way of an agenda.
For starters, the "Global Interlocal Agreement" was part of an overall program by both the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County to re-allocated existing funds to projects throughout the urban core of the city. The re-allocation of funds has provided funding to pay down the debt of the already constructed performing arts center (and not the "new performing arts center" as you write). The redesignation of Community Redevelopment Agency boundaries allows property taxes already collected in those areas (not new taxes) to be spent in those districts to alleviate urban blight and spur redevelopment (which includes a needed Port of Miami Tunnel to divert truck traffic to the port away from residential communities in the urban core).
Finally, your characterization that "city taxpayers [are] to plunk down $370 million of the $525 million" in stadium costs is incorrect (if not false). The monies that are part of the $370M come various funding sources that are earmarked BY FLORIDA LAW for facilities such as stadiums and other "convention related facilities." Those funds are collected by both the City and County from convention and hotel tax receipts and are to be redistributed to convention related activities. The only way a City taxpayer would be "plunking" down his money for this is if he stayed in a Miami hotel or spent money related to a convention in Miami-Dade County.
Hopefully that clarifies things for you. Use some facts and not the "knee jerk" reaction of "taxes for stadiums not schools."
Posted by Michael A.R. on December 19, 2007 01:38 PM
I based my initial post on early reports, which misconstrued what the vote was about. As you were typing your missive, I was posting a followup, which I hope will meet your standards for accuracy.
As for the rest of it, what's basically going on here is that Miami is considering spending property tax money on the arts center debt and other existing projects, so that the tourist tax money previously slated for them would be freed up for the Marlins. No matter how many pockets it's laundered through, it's still public money paying for the bulk of the Marlins stadium costs.
Posted by Neil on December 19, 2007 01:59 PM