January 27, 2009
Marlins tweak stadium plan, release sketches
Mark your calendars: The Florida Marlins stadium votes that were postponed last week have been rescheduled for Friday, Feb. 13. Miami-Dade County Manager George Burgess also revealed what he called concessions by the Marlins to make the agreement tastier for the public. To wit:
- If team owner Jeffrey Loria sells the team within seven years, the county "would almost double its share of any profits." Analysis: This seems to actually mean that the county would get an increased cut of profits from a sale of the team. Given how clever corporations are at hiding profits, though, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a windfall.
- The team's rent of $2.3 million a year will now go up by 2 percent each year. Analysis: This sounds trivial, but thanks to the magic of compound interest, could actually be worth close to $8 million in present value over time. So, no great shakes, but not chicken feed, either.
- Cost overruns thanks to scheduling problems or conflicts with contractors will now be paid for by the team, not the public. Analysis: Nice, but again, I trust the Marlins can figure out how to push any overruns into other columns on the cost spreadsheet - say, "infrastructure," which the county and city are still on the hook for.
In related news - you know it wasn't a coincidence - the Marlins released new renderings of their proposed $455 million stadium, which make it look a bit like Houston's Minute Maid Park, and a bit like... a Palm Pilot with a sliding cover? Bagel slicer? Futuristic bidet? FoS readers, I leave it to you to finish the joke.
I thought the renderings were bad until out of morbid curiosity I clicked the "Economics" link and saw this: http://www.marlinsnewballpark.com/economic_facts.php
Joe the Bagel Slicer.
Posted by Thomas on January 27, 2009 07:24 PM
So if the Marlins can have a retractable-roof park built for $455 million today, how come the Mariners couldn't do it 10 years ago?
Posted by MarkH on January 28, 2009 08:51 AM
Look at the ~8-foot wide column stuck in the lower section of the left field stands.
That's a pretty strong indication that this is a seriously flawed design.
Posted by Douglas on January 28, 2009 10:15 AM
If you look at the computer rendering, the seats behind the pillars that are there in the sketch have been removed. Probably just an indication of sloppy draftsmanship - my guess is they rushed this thing out to coincide with the vote announcement.
Posted by Neil on January 28, 2009 11:11 AM
The lines on the roof from the computer rendering reminds me of SkyDome's roof (now called rogers centre).
Posted by Daniel Francis on February 1, 2009 01:36 AM
