Published by: The Miami Herald
Published: February 19, 2009
Written by: Charles Rabin and Jack Dolan

City and county commissioners will try to vote March 4 and March 5 on a final contract for the Marlins stadium.

The final votes on a new baseball stadium for the Florida Marlins have been moved up a week.

Miami commissioners will attempt to vote once again on the final contract pieces of the stadium puzzle on March 4, while Miami-Dade commissioners have set March 5 for their vote.

An attempt to pass twin votes at the city and county failed Friday, setting off a scramble in which Miami Commission Chairman Joe Sanchez continued the city's meeting until March 12.

But when City Manager Pete Hernandez received word from Sanchez that March 4 was acceptable, the date was changed.

The move signals that Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones, a potential crucial swing vot attend the meeting in two weeks.

Spence-Jones was absent on maternity leave Friday when city commissioners deadlocked 2-2 on a stadium vote, leaving the final verdict in limbo. She was among the city commissioners who endorsed the stadium during initial votes in 2007 and 2008.

The upcoming votes are required to approve a handful of stadium-related contracts. If they are ratified, the retractable roof stadium would open in 2012, at a cost of $609 million for construction of the ballpark and connected parking facilities.

But a move Friday by Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff to gain a series of concessions from the Marlins derailed the project -- at least for now. Once the city's vote failed, county commissioners canceled their Friday vote.

County Commission Chair Dennis Moss said he refused to schedule the county vote on the same day as the city's out of frustration over what happened last week, when the drama at Miami City Hall rendered the county's special hearing pointless.

“I just wanted to make sure that we didn't run into the same scenario that we ran into last time,” Moss said. “I had county commissioners and members of the public here all afternoon waiting for a decision.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, city, county and Marlins officials were still negotiating the final contract terms.



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