Miami Marlins

Miami-Dade challenging $1.7 million of Marlins expenses at new ballpark

 

The county is disallowing $1.7 million in spending claimed by the Miami Marlins as construction costs for their new ballpark.

 

The Marlins' temporary sales office during a media tour prior to the ballpark's completion.
The Marlins' temporary sales office during a media tour prior to the ballpark's completion.
Pedro Portal / El Nuevo Herald

crabin@MiamiHerald.com

Other, mostly more expensive items, weren’t questioned by the county.

The team lists $856,447 it paid the Holland & Knight law firm, and $694,310 to Proskauer Rose, a worldwide legal management company, as expenses. There’s also the $73,419 Bobble head display case that by all accounts is quite popular.

Marlins President David Samson wouldn’t answer specific questions about the team’s soft costs. Asked if he would concede to the county’s challenges, he said, “That’s something that during the course of the process will be dealt with.”

The latest disclosure irks some critics of the ballpark who have complained all along of a lopsided deal.

Public money covered more than 80 percent of the $634 million stadium and parking garage construction deal.

Broken down, the county spent $376.3 million. Miami, which was responsible for the four parking garages, spent $132.5 million. And Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria ponied up $125.2 million. The Marlins also received an interest free, $35 million loan from the county that it will pay back through yearly rent beginning at about $2.3 million and increasing 2 percent each year.

The deal also gave the Marlins almost every penny of revenue created at the ballpark, from ticket sales and food and drink concessions, to parking spaces selling above $10, to gate receipts from concerts when the ballclub isn’t playing.

Public backlash against the project led in large part to the recall of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez last year. His manager George Burgess, who engineered the deal, left soon after. County Commissioner Natacha Seijas was recalled alongside Alvarez.

All that is now a side note.

The stadium opened in April to much celebration. A recent winning streak has the ballclub well above the .500 mark, and the crowds have been steady — a big improvement from years past.

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