January 27, 2009

Marlins tweak stadium plan, release sketches

Mark your calendars: The Florida Marlins stadium votes that were postponed last week have been rescheduled for Friday, Feb. 13. Miami-Dade County Manager George Burgess also revealed what he called concessions by the Marlins to make the agreement tastier for the public. To wit:

• If team owner Jeffrey Loria sells the team within seven years, the county "would almost double its share of any profits." Analysis: This seems to actually mean that the county would get an increased cut of profits from a sale of the team. Given how clever corporations are at hiding profits, though, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a windfall.
• The team's rent of $2.3 million a year will now go up by 2 percent each year. Analysis: This sounds trivial, but thanks to the magic of compound interest, could actually be worth close to $8 million in present value over time. So, no great shakes, but not chicken feed, either.
• Cost overruns thanks to scheduling problems or conflicts with contractors will now be paid for by the team, not the public. Analysis: Nice, but again, I trust the Marlins can figure out how to push any overruns into other columns on the cost spreadsheet - say, "infrastructure," which the county and city are still on the hook for.

In related news - you know it wasn't a coincidence - the Marlins released new renderings of their proposed $455 million stadium, which make it look a bit like Houston's Minute Maid Park, and a bit like... a Palm Pilot with a sliding cover? Bagel slicer? Futuristic bidet? FoS readers, I leave it to you to finish the joke.