I need YOUR help!

[Guest guyman1966]

I know I've not been around much.... but things have been nutz.

I do need your help. The State Senate must approve before midnight Friday the Marlins Stadium deal. Please call your state rep and tell them to vote YES.

Senator Nan Rich is againsit it. Please call her office at (954) 747-4933 and tell her to vote YES.

You can also find your rep at http://www.flsenate.gov/Welcome/index.cfm

[V. Barbarino]

where will the stadium be???

[Guest guyman1966]

Near the Orange Bowl.

[V. Barbarino]

so it would be complete after 2018 after there is 4895723984579845734985 lawsuits due to displaced people and infastructure problems???

I'm all for them staying, but the orange bowl site will kill off the broward and wpb fans... Even from my house, it's a hike to the orange bowl, especially on game day..

but i sent your email like you asked...

good luck

[Guest mursa]

baseball's lame , and the state should invest that money into creating jobs.

[Guest macboy]

No offense Mike, but I am totally against it and I think it would be disingenuous for legislators in Broward County to vote in favor of funding a stadium in Dade when they went on the record against public funding for a stadium if it were to be placed in Broward. This is just another opportunity for Non-Dade people to shit on Dade county and I'm not happy about it. If it gets approved then not only is there state funds, but don't forget the county and city funds that were allocated for this. Dade can't afford it.

By the way, as I am too lazy to do a search on CJ, weren't you against the ballpark being placed in Broward with public funds going towards it?

[Guest JMT]

i really hope they stay, but i agree with saleen in that us northerners are going to be less likely to go to games in that crappy neighborhood.

again, i REALLY hope they stay, but the state cant even afford textbooks for kids. where have you gone joe robbie? there used to be guys who built stadiums with their OWN wallet and determination.

[Guest guyman1966]

I was never against a stadium in Broward. Here's where I stand:

My name is Michael XXXXXX. I live in District 34 and I am very active in the community as a recognized citizen and business leader.

I am urging you, as my elected State Senator, to actively support and vote in favor of the bill that will give the Florida Marlins tax support for a new stadium and keep the team in Florida. The political spin by the opponents of this bill are a deceitful sham to the public and I sincerely hope you do not participate in the oppositionn to this effort. The tax

rebate requested under this bill will be a percentage of the total tax revenue generated by the very existance of the stadium. If the Marlins leave Florida, that tax revenue base dissappears and the effect will be a net loss of tax revenue to the state.

If the Marlins leave Florida, will the state chase W. Huizenga to recoup the tax rebate he continues to receive for the Marlins and "Joe Robbie" Stadium ? Its a widely known fact that "Wayne" only spent $10-12 million on stadium

remodeling to accommodate the Marlins, yet he's still getting tax rebates that will total $30M over time. Will you support a bill to make Wayne pay the state back once the very revenue base generated by the Marlins, that funds the very tax rebate Wayne continues to enjoy, no longer exists? The fact that Wayne continues to get a tax benefit that exceeds his stadium

remodeling investment for a team he is largely responsible for running out of town is the ultimate sham on the public...and for our state government to allow this to go on is hideous.

South Florida (Miami, north to the Palm Beaches) is one of the largest media and economic markets in the USA. The current ownership group of the Marlins has stepped up big time, taking a huge personal risk, to demonstrate its commitment to the community. We should reward him for his commitment to invest in Florida. Its no different than the tax breaks and economic incentives afforded Scripps for relocating to Palm Beach....we should provide the same incentives to the Marlins.

Let's stop wasting time with ridicululous bills that make the orange the official state fruit or allow open, have consummed wine bottles to be carried out of restaurants...My God, is this what we're sending representatives to Tallahassee for? Are these the big legislative issues that will our elected officials are building their legacies on?

Support the Stadium!!

[V. Barbarino]

I'm all for the marlins staying, but NOT in Dade county...

[Guest guyman1966]

baseball's lame , and the state should invest that money into creating jobs.

Creating business creates jobs. Construction creates jobs.

[Guest LdySphynx]

I was never against a stadium in Broward. Here's where I stand:

My name is Michael XXXXXX. I live in District 34 and I am very active in the community as a recognized citizen and business leader.

I am urging you, as my elected State Senator, to actively support and vote in favor of the bill that will give the Florida Marlins tax support for a new stadium and keep the team in Florida. The political spin by the opponents of this bill are a deceitful sham to the public and I sincerely hope you do not participate in the oppositionn to this effort. The tax

rebate requested under this bill will be a percentage of the total tax revenue generated by the very existance of the stadium. If the Marlins leave Florida, that tax revenue base dissappears and the effect will be a net loss of tax revenue to the state.

If the Marlins leave Florida, will the state chase W. Huizenga to recoup the tax rebate he continues to receive for the Marlins and "Joe Robbie" Stadium ? Its a widely known fact that "Wayne" only spent $10-12 million on stadium

remodeling to accommodate the Marlins, yet he's still getting tax rebates that will total $30M over time. Will you support a bill to make Wayne pay the state back once the very revenue base generated by the Marlins, that funds the very tax rebate Wayne continues to enjoy, no longer exists? The fact that Wayne continues to get a tax benefit that exceeds his stadium

remodeling investment for a team he is largely responsible for running out of town is the ultimate sham on the public...and for our state government to allow this to go on is hideous.

South Florida (Miami, north to the Palm Beaches) is one of the largest media and economic markets in the USA. The current ownership group of the Marlins has stepped up big time, taking a huge personal risk, to demonstrate its commitment to the community. We should reward him for his commitment to invest in Florida. Its no different than the tax breaks and economic incentives afforded Scripps for relocating to Palm Beach....we should provide the same incentives to the Marlins.

Let's stop wasting time with ridicululous bills that make the orange the official state fruit or allow open, have consummed wine bottles to be carried out of restaurants...My God, is this what we're sending representatives to Tallahassee for? Are these the big legislative issues that will our elected officials are building their legacies on?

Support the Stadium!!

Damn I wish I had a little Saluting Smiley to insert here......................very very well put Guyman!!!!

[Guest macboy]

Here you go Mike, seems as if it was $60 million, not 30 million that Wayne got, but I still don't support it. I'll back it if they would put the stadium in Broward. But if they approve funding for a Miami stadium, I may move to Broward.

http://www.macon.com/mld/miamiherald/news/columnists/carl_hiaasen/10773680.htm

[V. Barbarino]

awaiting guymans response....

[Guest guyman1966]

Mac - Dade has already approved it. The State House has already approved it. Its the State Senate that is the hold up.

I think a nice Jewish boy like you should live in Broward anyway - so please move up here.

and your right - it was 60Mil.

[Guest macboy]

Mac - Dade has already approved it. The State House has already approved it. Its the State Senate that is the hold up.

I know that, but if the Senate doesn't approve state funding, and the gap doesn't get filled up somewhere, the Marlins leave and Dade doesn't have to spend the money they approved for this. BTW, about $50 million of it belongs to Miami Beach which reluctantly had to give it up when Dade legislators agreed to provide public financing for the stadium.

[Guest LdySphynx]

You know what I wish the tables were turned, I wish the "Dolphins" were the ones that did not have a Stadium, I bet anything that stadium would have been built faster that a rabbit gets fucked, not to mention the support from the "Fans", but whatever it will be done!!!!

[Guest guyman1966]

I realize that MB is a major source for these dollars. But the rest of Dade needs the help to pull it off. I do believe that this stadium will benefit the community and even the rest of the state. And, people forget that the Marlins have put $197 million of their own money towards building this stadium... thats over 40% of the money needed. This is more than any other MLB team in history. Its not like they are just looking for a hand out. They are major investors as well.

[Guest guyman1966]

You know what I wish the tables were turned, I wish the "Dolphins" were the ones that did not have a Stadium, I bet anything that stadium would have been built faster that a rabbit gets fucked, not to mention the support from the "Fans", but whatever it will be done!!!!

I like your energy, but the owner of the Dolphins was the first to ever build a stadium with 100% his own cash. It ended up bankrupting his family and they had to sell the team to the evil H. Wayne.

You are not a Football person but you are my special and favorite Marlins babe.

[Guest LdySphynx]

You know what I wish the tables were turned, I wish the "Dolphins" were the ones that did not have a Stadium, I bet anything that stadium would have been built faster that a rabbit gets fucked, not to mention the support from the "Fans", but whatever it will be done!!!!

I like your energy, but the owner of the Dolphins was the first to ever build a stadium with 100% his own cash. It ended up bankrupting his family and they had to sell the team to the evil H. Wayne.

You are not a Football person but you are my special and favorite Marlins babe.

Awwwwwwwwwwwww :-*, well I know all this I just wanted to ADD the Double standard issue in there !!!!

[V. Barbarino]

Public financing of stadiums unnecessary, study shows

March 24, 2004

SportsLine.com wire reports

DAYTON, Ohio -- Play ball, tax free.

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Click here to find out more!

A study by researchers at the University of Dayton concludes that large public subsidies for the construction of major league baseball stadiums are unnecessary.

Economics professors Marc Poitras and Larry Hadley examined the 13 stadiums built between 1989 and 2001 and concluded teams would probably recover all or nearly all the cost of construction if the ballparks were built with private money instead of taxpayer money.

"The bottom line is that these new stadiums generate sufficient revenue to pay for themselves," Hadley said Wednesday. "If the stadium pays for itself internally, that should be sufficient motivation for the owners to build it."

"Amen," said Jerry Geisel of suburban Kettering, a Chicago Cubs' fan and season-ticket holder for the minor league Dayton Dragons. He opposes public financing of stadiums.

"It's a business," Geisel said.

He said taxpayers wouldn't give a private company money to construct a new building, but they are willing to pay for baseball stadiums.

"People are stupid enough to fall for it. I think it's absolutely terrible," he said.

The only recent stadium built entirely with private money is SBC Park in San Francisco, built in 2001. Before that, it was Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in 1962.

In their study, the researchers took into account team performance, ticket prices, the honeymoon period of a new stadium, stadium capacity and player salaries.

With the first season in a typical $268 million stadium expected to produce about $33 million, half the cost of construction would be recovered in five years and all of the cost in 12 years, the study said.

After 20 years, revenues would exceed construction costs by more than $100 million and by $200 million after 30 years, the study said.

The study said that if teams were left to rely on their own funds, they would likely choose functional, no-frills stadiums that would make it even more likely to recover their costs.

Messages seeking comment were left for Major League Baseball and the Cincinnati Reds, who had their $280 million Great American Ball Park built mostly at taxpayer expense.

Andrew Zimbalist, a professor of economics at Smith College in Massachusetts and expert in sports economics, reviewed a draft of the study.

"It's done carefully," Zimbalist said. "But I'm not entirely persuaded that all of the assumptions they're using are accurate."

He said it might be possible in most instances for teams to privately finance stadiums if they are willing to live with declining rates of return as the stadiums age. But he questioned whether teams are able to do that in the current market.

Since 1990, he said, professional sports teams have gotten stadiums that are about 70 percent publicly financed, resulting in increased profits. Teams that need new stadiums could claim competitive disadvantage if they don't get public financing for their ballparks, he said.

[Guest LeVeL]

Dam I cant stand Huizenga for what he did to the Marlins. He first made it an expansion Team, then paid a whole shit load of cash for the team to win a championship. Then after winning our first championship, he destroys the Team by trading everyone in it.

After trading everybody and not making us a contender no more a couple of years later he decide's to sell the Team. Now he owns the Dolphins and has all the rights to Dolphin Stadium.

The Marlins Basically pay Wayne Huizenga the same person who owned this Team when they first came out to play at Dolphin Stadium.

Talk about fucking his own Team on the ass.

Wayne is a betrayer.

__________________________________________________

Now as far as the Marlins getting their Stadium..I personally would want that to happen. As fan I have gone to a load of Marlin games over the years and one thing I have to say as a fan is that with the Marlins getting their own stadium it would defintely benefit us because we would finally get better seats and be more into the game. Going to see a baseball game in a Football stadium is not the best situation over the years. The seats are good and all but not that good.

The thing that gets me is that all this money and revenue is coming from the city and in the long run the ones who will get fucked are the Dade County-Miami Residents. And Miami is not really a rich city as it is anyways just a couple of years ago we were almost bankrupt.

[bornslippy22]

I realize that MB is a major source for these dollars. But the rest of Dade needs the help to pull it off. I do believe that this stadium will benefit the community and even the rest of the state. And, people forget that the Marlins have put $197 million of their own money towards building this stadium... thats over 40% of the money needed. This is more than any other MLB team in history. Its not like they are just looking for a hand out. They are major investors as well.

i totally agree....