Five key votes next month will determine the fate of a new Florida Marlins ballpark.
Five crucial voters concerning the future of a proposed new Florida Marlins ballpark are scheduled for rapid succession in December, as city of Miami and Miami-Dade County elected officials work to get the project approved. The pair of governmental bodies and the Marlins have been negotiating the contracts, which are sure to generate some serious debate during any public hearings. We don’t actually expect any problems with the actual ballpark lease — we’ve been told the basic outlines to the deal have been set for some time now — but the real issues will center around revenues and financing of a large adjacent parking ramp. The estimated construction costs are far above the initial estimates, so governmental bodies will need to step forward with more money.
A potential complication — or, really, a minor irritant — is yet another lawsuit threatened by Norm Braman, again attempting to scuttle the larger $3 billion bonding/redevelopment project. Braman lost on his initial attempt to halt the project financing, but he thinks he has a new twist and will again try to persuade the court to stop the project.