If you’re mad at the Marlins, you’re an idiot too
From the Eye on Miami blog
I am dumbfounded at the vitriol and negative emotion being directed at the Florida (Miami?) Marlins over the recent revelation that they are making a tidy profit and aren’t contributing more to the construction of their new stadium at the site of the former Orange Bowl. If you believe in capitalism and the vagaries of a free market, you’re holding the wrong party responsible. At least two Miami-Dade County Commissioners and (then Miami Commissioner) Tomas Regalado have publicly stated on television that they asked the Marlins for their financials, but the Marlins refused to provide them.
Let me get this straight. [Miami-Dade Mayor] Carlos Alvarez, [County Manager] George Burgess, and city officials were in contract negotiations with the Marlins for financing a new stadium. The Marlins cried poverty and stated they needed help from the city and county to build. The city and the county asked to see their financials but the team refused, yet the city and county continued negotiating with the Marlins to craft the deal that was ultimately approved by the city and county commissions. During hearings ad nauseam, accompanied by loud wailing and gnashing of teeth, no one in the know brought it to the attention of either commission that financials were NEVER produced even though requested?
In case anyone hasn’t noticed, over the years the Marlins dismantle one home grown winner after another (even following World Series victories) to maintain their payroll as one of the lowest in Major League Baseball, the team is running a for-profit business. While some people feel the team “owes” it’s fans and the public at large some debt which obligates it to act adversely to its own interests, I’m pretty sure the Marlins don’t feel the same way, no matter what they say in public. Lying, not telling the whole truth by withholding information, and the softer “portraying things in the best possible light” are facts of business. Before signing a contract, it’s incumbent on both parties to be comfortable that they are entering into the agreement freely, with no reservations, and with all the accurate information necessary to ensure their interests and needs are satisfied.
While it is probably true that the Marlin’s could not currently finance the stadium on their own, the revelation of their $33 million net income in 2008-2009 makes it clear they could have contributed much more than they did, thereby reducing the burden the county and city would have to carry. In our current economy, cash strapped governments such as ours could certainly reduce or eliminate some service cuts with the revenue they wouldn’t have been spending on the stadium.
The sad part of this whole deal is the Marlins’ strategy involved public hardball from the start. They openly proclaimed they would leave the area if they couldn’t achieve public financing assistance to build the stadium. While the city and county have a vested interest from a revenue perspective to keeping a baseball team in the area. I could accept an explanation that this stance by the Marlins was not intended to be confrontational, but a clear public expression of what they felt was in the best interest of their business. Combining the threat of leaving with the Marlins refusal to open their books prompts me to ask why someone in government didn’t have had the balls to call the Marlins, to use a poker analogy.
The Marlins may well not have been bluffing when they threatened to leave Miami, but refusing to provide the financials when requested is the point where a responsible, competent public official who has the people he/she serves at the forefront of their concerns would have told the Marlins to “go ahead and go”, and let the chips fall where they may.
Our public servants were either complicit in not revealing the fact they were proceeding blind, didn’t have the testicular fortitude to stand up to the Marlins, or are too stupid to be engaged in the business they are. No one held a gun to the city or county and forced them to sign that contract. The Marlins did what they felt was in their best business interest, and apparently succeeded where our public officials failed. While we may not like it, there’s probably little that can be done to remedy the situation besides ensuring the gutless morons we call public servants never get the opportunity to be put in a similar situation again by using the ballot box for one of the purposes it was intended for — term limit by vote.
One long-established principle for breach of contract is misrepresentation of material facts. This is called fraud. If the Marlins made public statements that they couldn’t afford more than they ultimately put in, we may be able to fix the mess our elected failures and their minions have put us in.
May god help the Republic of Miami-Dade.
