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Ballpark about to make a big splash
OUR OPINION: Two-thirds complete, Marlins Stadium showing promise for a new era
BY THE MIAMI HERALD EDITORIAL
HERALDED@MIAMIHERALD.COM
When the sun hits the silver dome just right it can look like a gigantic spaceship hovering over Miami. Some see it as a concrete and steel whale, complementing another public project with a humpback look, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, to the east in downtown. Others will see it as the white elephant that delivered public money to a well-off sports team.
Whatever your view, the Marlins Stadium going up in Little Havana has brought a decidedly new and exciting look to the Miami skyline where the Orange Bowl once rose. And if Miami-Dade’s tourism economy continues to buzz as it has been lately, there should be no problem in the immediate future paying off the debt on the stadium bonds through the use of the county’s hotel bed tax. Just two years ago, at the height of the Great Recession, the county’s hotel tax revenue had plunged by 24 percent.
Today, the three types of bed taxes that will pay off the stadium’s debt have performed better than expected, according to county budget officials. A $45 million reserve that is being set aside for any future dips in revenue should be funded 10 years earlier than had been projected — if tourism stays strong.
Of course, our economy is cyclical. That’s why it’s so important to save during the flush times for those rainy days. With proper reserves from the hotel tax that tourists pay, the county will not have to dip into general revenue from property taxes to pay down the stadium debt. We have full faith that Miami-Dade’s new mayor, Carlos Gimenez, who voted against the stadium deal when he was a commissioner, will keep an eagle eye on revenues to protect local taxpayers from having to contribute.
Miami-Dade is facing another $400-million revenue hole in its upcoming operating budget. Despite the hot tourism sector, South Florida’s housing market remains tepid and property values stagnant or worse, which has plunged property-tax revenue for three years in a row. Building up a rainy day fund will be crucial.
As for rainy days at the ball park, they won’t matter because the stadium’s glitzy retractable roof will be used for most every game, rain or shine, to ensure a perfect 75-degrees while watching baseball during humid 90-degree summer days.
The one gray cloud over the stadium is the parking garages. Blame the city of Miami, which is overseeing the garages’ construction. Cracks in the concrete now have to be fixed. By contrast, stadium construction, overseen by the Marlins and project managers Hunt/Moss, remains on time and slightly under budget, with any savings going into a fund that will pay for future maintenance. About 60 percent of those working on the stadium live in Miami-Dade, including 30 percent from Miami.
The Marlins now rank last in attendance among the 30 major-league teams. That’s to be expected at the too-large-for-baseball Sun Life Stadium. But now, the new 37,000-seat, energy-saving stadium has been energizing fans with season-ticket buys for the grand opening in April, Marlins President David Samson says.
A recent tour of the ballpark, now almost two-thirds complete, showed off the modernistic design with a fabulous view of downtown. From the pool that will be dug behind the left field wall for fans to splash around in to plazas on the east and the west, which will be open for neighborhood use daily, the stadium captures the imagination. With time, it may just capture residents’ hearts.
OUR OPINION: Two-thirds complete, Marlins Stadium showing promise for a new era
BY THE MIAMI HERALD EDITORIAL
HERALDED@MIAMIHERALD.COM
When the sun hits the silver dome just right it can look like a gigantic spaceship hovering over Miami. Some see it as a concrete and steel whale, complementing another public project with a humpback look, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, to the east in downtown. Others will see it as the white elephant that delivered public money to a well-off sports team.
Whatever your view, the Marlins Stadium going up in Little Havana has brought a decidedly new and exciting look to the Miami skyline where the Orange Bowl once rose. And if Miami-Dade’s tourism economy continues to buzz as it has been lately, there should be no problem in the immediate future paying off the debt on the stadium bonds through the use of the county’s hotel bed tax. Just two years ago, at the height of the Great Recession, the county’s hotel tax revenue had plunged by 24 percent.
Today, the three types of bed taxes that will pay off the stadium’s debt have performed better than expected, according to county budget officials. A $45 million reserve that is being set aside for any future dips in revenue should be funded 10 years earlier than had been projected — if tourism stays strong.
Of course, our economy is cyclical. That’s why it’s so important to save during the flush times for those rainy days. With proper reserves from the hotel tax that tourists pay, the county will not have to dip into general revenue from property taxes to pay down the stadium debt. We have full faith that Miami-Dade’s new mayor, Carlos Gimenez, who voted against the stadium deal when he was a commissioner, will keep an eagle eye on revenues to protect local taxpayers from having to contribute.
Miami-Dade is facing another $400-million revenue hole in its upcoming operating budget. Despite the hot tourism sector, South Florida’s housing market remains tepid and property values stagnant or worse, which has plunged property-tax revenue for three years in a row. Building up a rainy day fund will be crucial.
As for rainy days at the ball park, they won’t matter because the stadium’s glitzy retractable roof will be used for most every game, rain or shine, to ensure a perfect 75-degrees while watching baseball during humid 90-degree summer days.
The one gray cloud over the stadium is the parking garages. Blame the city of Miami, which is overseeing the garages’ construction. Cracks in the concrete now have to be fixed. By contrast, stadium construction, overseen by the Marlins and project managers Hunt/Moss, remains on time and slightly under budget, with any savings going into a fund that will pay for future maintenance. About 60 percent of those working on the stadium live in Miami-Dade, including 30 percent from Miami.
The Marlins now rank last in attendance among the 30 major-league teams. That’s to be expected at the too-large-for-baseball Sun Life Stadium. But now, the new 37,000-seat, energy-saving stadium has been energizing fans with season-ticket buys for the grand opening in April, Marlins President David Samson says.
A recent tour of the ballpark, now almost two-thirds complete, showed off the modernistic design with a fabulous view of downtown. From the pool that will be dug behind the left field wall for fans to splash around in to plazas on the east and the west, which will be open for neighborhood use daily, the stadium captures the imagination. With time, it may just capture residents’ hearts.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/1...#ixzz1SPbqrqQO
What the hell? Did Bob write this?
I'm not surprised about the tourist tax money. The assumptions that were made in projections were below the historical average.