Miami Baseball Team Lobbies State for More Funding to Build New Stadium.

Publication: The Miami Herald (Miami, Florida) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

Bookmark this article Print this article Link to this article Email this article Digg It! Add to del.icio.us RSS

COPYRIGHT 2001 The Miami Herald

Byline: Steve Bousquet and Marika Lynch

Mar. 22--TALLAHASSEE, Fla.--Fresh from double victories on home turf -- a site for a new baseball stadium and a promise of $118 million in county tax dollars to help pay for it -- the Florida Marlins and their political supporters came to the state capital Wednesday seeking the rest of the money to build the ballpark.

What they got, instead, was a lukewarm reception from state legislators from Miami-Dade -- most of whom skipped the weekly county delegation luncheon at which the team spoke -- and an unexpected curveball from a lawmaker they expected would be on their side.

The Miami-Dade contingent, including Mayor Alex Penelas and several Marlins executives, are pushing to get $148 million from the state to complete the stadium financing package. Most of that money, $122 million, would come from a sales tax rebate, amounting to $6 million a year for 20 years from the tax collected by the team on sales at the stadium, from tickets to hot dogs. The rest would come from a surcharge for parking at the ballpark.

Sensing little support for the tax rebate...

Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.