As others point out, this deal stinks. It was struck in a back room and never exposed to public scrutiny; it’s a shell game whereby tourist tax dollars are siphoned into private hands at one end, while taxpayers donate to cover any defecits at the other; it effectively subsidizes the Marlins, a private, for-profit corporation trying to get an under-the-table public subsidy deal; it provides little in the way of direct benefit for the citizens of Overtown, who are the pawns in the recent lawsuit; and it’s another slap in the face for tax-paying citizens.

Check out this site: http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/index.htm
It shows that out of all the proposed stadiums, our local government is paying much more than other cities have paid. Think about it. Why should we overpay?

I think the plan is a distraction from the real needs that our transit system and community are facing right now. To be specific these are some of the problems with the plan:
1. The Orange Bowl (RIP 1937-2008) The fact that they tore down this structure is criminal to begin with. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a prominent civic symbol of our city, and we have so few to begin with. Aside from the demolition, the Orange Bowl Site is not currently well served by transit. A real win would be to use the dollars going to the streetcar to help fund the East/West Orange Line along NW 7th street. This, along with the other transit amenities that I have heard associated with this project (nicer bus stops, bike facilities), and changes to zoning to accommodate TOD’s will achieve the redevelopment that the site deserves, while also serving the need for more transit Countywide. Also, go ahead and protect the historic neighborhood to the East and South of the stadium so that future development saves this part of East Little Havana. (If you haven’t been there in a while, drive around. There are a wealth of great 1920’s bungalows, central halls, and other gems that need TLC, but are an important part of our past.
2.The Port Tunnel. Do we really need to spend this much money on a tunnel for truck traffic? I’ve said this in other posts on this subject: cities have trucks and they don’t kill pedestrian life. As far as priorities go, this one is very low on a very long list.
3.Shifty CRA boundaries, and funny funding. This is pretty obvious I think. The CRA has specific definitions (slum, blight, etc.), and they aren’t met when you shift around the boundaries to include non-blighted areas. Regarding the tourist tax dollars and where that money is spent, I certainly think that a functioning transit system would promote tourism, as currently tourists don’t have any other option than to rent a car. Transit needs to be funded by many different sources, and in creative ways. Why not by one of the five different tourist tax categories? (http://www.miamidade.gov/taxcollector/tourist_goes.asp)
4.The Marlins. What a shifty game they play. I wonder if strong arming the County and limiting the benefits of the stadium to the public is a winning PR move for them. My guess is no. I just can’t understand why our County and City government gave any concessions to the team, when we own the land. If the Marlins want to go, they can go. We shouldn’t be told by the Marlins when we can and cannot use a stadium that belongs to us. During the off season, the stadium should be available to the team for 16 days. In addition, the financial benefit to the County in the event of sale, or of events during the off season are really low, and not consistent with other teams that have recently built stadiums on public land or with public financing.

I think that our leaders need to prioritize transit. They would have a much better chance at convincing people if they looked at our transit woes and other large infrastructure projects (like this one) as a set of connected parts, and not individual projects. Rather than have the streetcar component in one place, and have the stadium in another, have that money help fund the Orange Line down NW 7th street, and as an added bonus let the Marlins help foot the bill for a great transit stop!

On top of that, the CRA money is specifically earmarked for blighted areas. Braman is right in saying that neither the PAC bond obligations, the museums or Watson Island really qualify as blight.

The problem with the Megaplan (some may say the genius) is lumping together all those projects which nobody agrees on. I’m pro-tunnel and museums but anti-stadium, for example. On top of that, mixing in a private, for profit entity like the Marlins complicates the issue.

That being said, the poll was whacked. I don’t need a poll to tell you people will always vote for schools if asked. But ask them to pay for them and see the protests that the government is corrupt.

I’m not arguing that building a ballpark with these funds is the best idea, I’m just stating the point that the funds can’t simply be moved elsewhere…

The tourist taxes could be used to, say, pay for beach replenishment (trucking in sand). Things that would actually bring in more tourists.

Also, eventually, our tourist economy is hurt when we tax it to death. People get their hotel bills and find on top of the already-high nightly rates an additional 13% - leaving them feeling ripped off and less likely to come back. If the only thing we have to spend the taxes tourists pay is on a baseball stadium to make the Marlins rich, maybe we’d be better in the long run lowering the tourist taxes.

–John

Very few people outside of public administration and newspapers actually know how local governments allocate all of the different taxes to all of the different priorities, and many of them don’t really stick to the funding rules much. The state raids its trust funds all the time when a political issue arises. And I doubt 800 Miamians would have stayed on the phone with a pollster long enough to learn.

I think part of the solution for better transit involves using the same “methods” our hustler-politicos use in order to drum up support. Maybe get companies like ZipCar and the French rent-a-bike thing out here to do demos in already transit-friendly communities and at the universities. And maybe throw some kickbacks or coke to ambivalent politicos to close the deal. These methods work!

Building the tunnel and stadium (as well as trying to get it done by 2011) would cause major disruptions in Miami, and all for two things that I don’t believe will really be worth what they cost. Also, who pays for the overruns? Anyone who thinks a project in Miami is going to both stay on schedule and within budget is kidding themselves.

We can’t just provide ourselves these luxuries because the money is there. You know what I’d rather do with the half a billion FDOT is allocating us? Use it to support the Miami Intermodal Center project, the Orange Line, as well as the current bus system. I believe we’re in a position where upgrading and improving our infrastructure is more important than getting involved in newer projects.

However, I’ll take a Braman stance on this. Give this to the people to completely decide. If they vote for it (which I don’t think they will), then it should be done. I would support the Museum Park proposal, but not if it’s tied to the other projects.