September 10, 2008
Marlins stadium suit down to final count
The Florida Marlins are a step closer to getting their new publicly funded stadium after the judge in the lawsuit against the project ruled yesterday that the stadium serves a "public purpose," and so is a valid use of tourist tax dollars. "The law in Florida is clear that retaining a professional baseball team in Miami satisfies a paramount public purpose," wrote Judge Jeri Beth Cohen in the suit filed by former Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman against the stadium project. Of course, this assumes that the Marlins were going to leave town without a new stadium, but I guess Judge Cohen figured they'd threatened enough, so one of these times it might be true.
Braman's lawsuit is now down to one final count, but it's a doozy: challenging Dade County's game of hide-the-subsidy that involved swapping out funding sources for Miami's new performing arts center to free up tourist tax money for the Marlins stadium. No word just yet on when that ruling will come down, but when it does, you know all 584 Marlins fans will be waiting with bated breath.
