Broadcast by: CBS-4 – WFOR Miami

Posted: 2/16/09

MIAMI (CBS4) — No baseball umpire would want to call this game: the political one involving the bid by the Florida Marlins to build a $515 million ballpark on the old Orange Bowl site in Little Havana. Three days after a late-innings battle at Miami City Hall, the man in the middle of the latest drama over the stadium says a compromise was in reach.

“Sometimes I thought we were ten minutes away,” said Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff. He stalemated the crucial city vote that would have allowed the baseball franchise to take the next step toward building its dream ballpark.

When the words “no deal” echoed across the commission chamber, Marlins president David Samson darted to various city hall offices and, according to Sarnoff, the two ended up having a frank, open discussion.

Sarnoff says he has worried the Marlins are getting the better end of a public/private financing plan for the stadium. At its core, that plan includes spending $347 million in tourism tax dollars to fund the bulk of the construction costs.

Sarnoff demanded more guarantees to come with that offer, arguing it was in the best interest of taxpayers. Sarnoff said, “I don’t think he (Samson) wants me to discuss it publically but we were close on the numbers and unfortunately we needed to be a little more mature as a commission and let it play out. Part of negotiating is timing and we could have finished a deal that day.”

CBS4 News has not yet been able to reach Samson for comment, but Sarnoff’s view suggests room for a deal when Miami commissioners regroup and take up the stadium vote again on March 12th. Sarnoff demanded and got a cap on the city's costs for a $94 million stadium parking garage. He also demanded the city get all revenue from the naming rights for a new stadium.

Instead, Sarnoff says, the Marlins counter-offered on that issue. The team offered to contribute $500,000 annually to after school programs in Miami. The biggest sticking point is over Sarnoff’s insistence that the Marlins pay back public money first if team owner Jeffrey Loria sells the team and earns a big profit. Even on that point, the commissioner says the Marlins are willing to find a middle ground.

The next few weeks will determine whether such optimism is justified. The bottom line: the Marlins hope for a new baseball stadium remains a matter of a razor close vote by Miami commissioners. If the team clears that hurdle, they will then have to convince Miami-Dade commissioners to put their stamp of approval on the deal. That, too, remains highly uncertain.

Supporters of the deal say a new baseball park will create badly needed construction jobs and be a tonic for redevelopment in and around Little Havana.

Opponents say there are much better ways to spend tourism tax dollars, and South Florida's economic crisis is creating growing caution about this particular big ticket project.



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