After years of wrangling the tax-payers, the Florida Marlins are now set to break ground on their new stadium in Little Havana, the project originally estimated to be around $1.8-2 billion has now seen cost estimates soar to approximately $2.4 billion. That seems like a lot.
Fortunately, the Marlins, awash in cash from their packed house every night are paying for the entire stadium out of their pocket.
Wait, I’m being informed that isn’t accurate. Oh, you’re telling me the Marlins are contributing $120 million towards construction and another $35 million to repay a loan from the county and that’s it? Seems to me that is a robust 6% of the ENTIRE construction costs. Wow, nicely done Marlins. I’m not quite clear how the team was able to swindle the city into giving them this deal, but it is an AWFUL one for the city. Even worse, the team is locking itself into a 40 year deal with the city, meaning that after the first season in the new park when the fans stop showing up, as they have done consistently in Florida, the city will be on the hook without gaining much back.
‘This is the sort of financing you do when you cannot afford it,” said Leo Guzman, president of securities firm Guzman & Co. in Coral Gables, who is not involved in the deal. Sounds like a ringing endorsement!
Also, the team is only building 37,000 seats, which is only a few hundred more than Fenway Park holds. The Red Sox sell out every game because their fans are passionate and so are able to contend thanks to high ticket prices and demand. The Marlins average 17K fans at their games, which is being VERY generous with counting, I simply don’t see how this will work out in the end for Miami, the Marlins or the citizens of Miami. Shame on the city managers who agreed to this deal in the first place.
Everyone would be best served by allowing the team to move to a market where the fans will actually show up to the games. Clearly the product on the field isn’t the issue because even when the Marlins were winning World Series the fans don’t show up until the playoffs.
The Slanch Report 
Stumbled into your website looking for Marlins’ pictures and I don’t think I’ll be coming back. See, the Marlins do have fans, but as I and many others don’t live in Broward (me, I’m in UF) we watch through a box in our houses houses called the television. Maybe at some point in time you’ll write something positive about my team, and then I’ll stumble into this place again. Because mean article after mean article does anger people. In case you weren’t sure, you’re not the only fan to live and breath their team…
Lastly, the deal you made for Hanley Ramirez worked for your team as well, or would you give up the ring (and 2007 WS MVP) and take Hanley back? Or what you’re implying is that since you have such a big market team you can go around and buy everything from everyone? The only reason I have some minuscule amount of respect for the Red Socks is that they have cultivated and taken care with their farm system. You want a great player? Make one and keep him next time.
I’m going to stop now, since there’s practically blood on the keyboard from having to “bite my tongue” while writing this.
Lisi, I don’t quite understand why you took this as me being anti-Marlin, I’m not, I actually really like the organization and think Larry Beinfast is one of the best GMs in baseball and pulls off regularly the finest trades in the league. My issue is more with the OTHER fans of the Marlins. Clearly you are passionate about the team and I respect that. Unfortunately, as you’ve seen on TV, there aren’t many others like you. For THAT reason I wrote this article blasting the city of Miami is because in a period of severe economic distress the city is just GIVING $2 billion to A BILLIONAIRE so that he can build a stadium and then reap the profits. I’m sure Miami’s new stadium will be awe-inspiring, you know what else is awe-inspiring? Spending $2 billion on schools and city infrastructure, on police and fireman salaries, hospitals and a myriad of other necessary and valuable city services that would benefit everyone in the long run. If the Marlins want a new stadium so badly, they should do as the SF Giants did, (a rarity in this day) and PAY FOR THE GODDAMN STADIUM THEMSELVES. Loria has the money he just doesn’t want to spend it on a team where no one comes out to see them no matter how good they are.
As for the Beckett/Hanley trade, obviously it has worked out extremely well for both sides. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a pang of regret whenever I see Hanley up at bat. I mean, he’s a perennial MVP candidate, and I’d have loved to see him play his full career with the Sox, but we got the WS out of it and I certainly am happy about that. It’s a trade that’s worked extremely well for both sides but that doesn’t mean either side wouldn’t be happy having their original players back too.
You should keep coming back because I rarely hate on the Marlins, I reserve most of that for the Mets, and let’s be honest, they deserve it far far more.