Thursday, April 22, 2004
Marlins Extend Deadline for Stadium Deal
Marlins President David Samson is willing to give taxpayers one last chance to contribute more money towards a new ballpark. He has extended his own artificial deadline for passage of stadium-financing legislation from May 1 to May 6.
The latest discussions between the Marlins and the City of Miami involve a proposed retractable-roofed park to be built in the southwest corner of the Orange Bowl lot. State legislative leaders continue to say they won't consider a stadium bill this year -- and even if the proposed $60 million tax rebate sought by the Marlins were to pass, the club would still be $55 million short of the money it needs for the proposed park. A new poll conducted by Florida International University won't help, either:
"The study, commissioned and paid for by FIU, found that 80 percent of the 600 respondents considered themselves Marlins fans and that 73 percent believed the Orange Bowl to be the best site available.
"Still, nearly 55 percent of those polled either opposed or strongly opposed using public money to build a baseball stadium."
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Marlins President David Samson is willing to give taxpayers one last chance to contribute more money towards a new ballpark. He has extended his own artificial deadline for passage of stadium-financing legislation from May 1 to May 6.
The latest discussions between the Marlins and the City of Miami involve a proposed retractable-roofed park to be built in the southwest corner of the Orange Bowl lot. State legislative leaders continue to say they won't consider a stadium bill this year -- and even if the proposed $60 million tax rebate sought by the Marlins were to pass, the club would still be $55 million short of the money it needs for the proposed park. A new poll conducted by Florida International University won't help, either:
"The study, commissioned and paid for by FIU, found that 80 percent of the 600 respondents considered themselves Marlins fans and that 73 percent believed the Orange Bowl to be the best site available.
"Still, nearly 55 percent of those polled either opposed or strongly opposed using public money to build a baseball stadium."
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