Strange things happening around the baseball stadium financing deal

There’s something strange going happeing downtow at Miami’s county hall. As most know, a few months back county commissioners OK’d a plan to help finance the Marlins baseball team’s new stadium in the old Orange Bowl site in Little Havana. This occurred although polls showed Miami voters overwhelmingly against the idea. Almost half a billion of our dollars wasted on fiancing a stadium for a multi-millionaire owner. The deal struck between politicians, team owners and those interested with getting the stadium built was so sweet (for the owner), the city developed a huge cavity after the meeting — in its coffers.

Yesterday commissioners were supposed to have voted in favor of selling more than 400 million dollars worth of bonds. Sell-off was supposed to take place today and Thursday. In a strange and unforseen (by many of us anyway) move, the sell-off was delayed. According to The Miami Herald, the delay was “in order to first resolve an emergency injunction filed Monday by civic activists trying to stop construction of the stadium.” The mayor’s spokesperson cited caution as the reason. “In an abundance of caution to get the motion for injunction put behind us,” said Victoria Mallette to the Herald.

But what I found most interesting was the emergency motion (which was cited as reason for the delay) that was filed in a Miami court. The activists allege the “county is illegally using some of the proceeds to refinance existing debt rather than pay for stadium construction.”

It’s not that I’d like to see the stadium built with taxpayer dollars, but… in Miami anything is possible. It would not be the first time we saw money for one project go to another. (Remember the half cent sales tax and the transit plans we were once lied into voting for?)

Anyway, whatever is going on, we need to keep alert — eyes and ears open. I wouldn’t trust the great majority of our county commissioners with much… and the stadium deal represents more than a billion total dollars when all is said and done. I can imagine a few of them (and their friends) salivating at the thought… and the possibilities.

Alvaro F. Fernandez

6-17-2009