Commissioner: Financial situation will delay, perhaps kill new Marlins ballpark

We may have our first high-profile casualty in the sports-facilities world directly linked to unrest in the world’s financial markets: Miami-Dade County Commissioner Katy Sorensen says decreased tax revenues and issues with raising money may delay or even kill a proposed new Florida Marlins ballpark on the site of the former Orange Bowl.
We may have our first high-profile casualty in the sports-facilities world directly linked to unrest in the world’s financial markets: Miami-Dade County Commissioner Katy Sorensen says decreased tax revenues and issues with raising money may delay or even kill a proposed new Florida Marlins ballpark on the site of the former Orange Bowl. The issue: much of the financing for the new ballpark comes from hotel and tourism taxes, which have declined markedly over the year. Decreased tax revenue decreases the amount of money that can be borrowed toward the $515-million project. And if bonds cannot be issued against the taxes, then the ballpark cannot be built. In addition, there’s no final approval yet regarding the project, and commissioners will need to approve on at some point. With everyone nervous about the state of the economy, you can expect many citizens — and some former supporters — to stand up and demand the ballpark project be scrapped until the economy improves. Not necessarily good public policy, but a political reality. Bruno Barreiro says he expects to present a final budget plan and lease for the new ballpark, but even he admits it may be delayed because of the current financial atmosphere.