Miami commissioners approved parking for the Florida Marlins ballpark Thursday, but only after lowering the price tag and deleting a controversial piece of the funding puzzle that could have cut the cost even more over the deal's life.

In voting 3-2 to back funding to build four garages and a surface lot, commissioners agreed to drop the financing plan's cost from $135 million to $120 million.

Even with that decrease, the cost is still higher than planned. The funding blueprint initially called for Miami to issue bonds worth no more than $94 million.

The garage project envisions 5,780 spaces around the 37,000-seat stadium, slated to open for the 2012 season.

Commissioners Joe Sanchez, Angel Gonzalez and Marc Sarnoff voted in favor. Tomás Regalado and Michelle Spence-Jones voted against.

There were no cheers, however, a contrast to the show of support this March when city and county officials approved an overall stadium plan that had triggered fierce support and opposition.

Thursday's green light came after almost two hours of debate over perceived broken promises, and a controversial financial wrinkle that would have involved using a federal stimulus incentive to help fund the parking.

At one point, Sarnoff -- who had voted against the original stadium plan -- moved to accept the parking plan. But no commissioner would second his motion.

Sarnoff, a lawyer, then warned that if Miami didn't hold up its end of the ballpark agreement, the city could be in breach of contract and face a lawsuit from the Marlins.

``My day came and my day went,'' said Sarnoff, reminding commissioners of his earlier no vote. But this time, he said, if the city didn't cement the deal, the Marlins could eventually garnish the city's bank account.

Chairman Sanchez eventually seconded the motion, prompting discussion -- which led to changes to the funding blueprint that had initially called for Miami to issue bonds worth no more than $94 million. The debt will be paid off with taxes generated from hotel sales called a Convention Development Tax.

But Thursday, commissioners were confronted with a $135 million bond offering.

Part of that larger financial package included bonding out $6 million as part of a federal stimulus incentive, should Miami become an Economic Recovery Zone. That would have meant a part of the bond would have been tax-exempt, lowering the city's interest rate by up to two points.

Yet commissioners chose to kill that part of the plan.

Spence-Jones said the federal incentive was intended to help neighborhoods recover, not to help build a stadium.

``I don't want one penny, one quarter, one dollar, or one piece of lint to go toward the Marlins stadium, period,'' she said of the $6.2 million recovery act money administrators wanted in the bond offering.

Cutting the $6 million out means the city's debt payment will increase by $165,000 a year for the next 30 years, said Miami Chief Financial Officer Larry Spring.

Commissioners also focused on the proposed price tag, $41 million higher than initial estimates in February. City Manager Pete Hernandez said various ``soft costs'' like site and engineering plans, and obligations to place reserves, helped drive the figure up.

``You said if we use the $94 million, we stop,'' Regalado chimed in.

Said Commissioner Gonzalez: ``Two weeks ago we were fighting to find thousands to save someone's job. Now we're throwing away millions.''

The audience had its turn, with one speaker, Robert Fournier, saying: ``Make the Marlins pay the difference. That's the solution.''

Sarnoff suggested lowering the financing cost to $120 million. Hernandez said he'd negotiate terms with project managers and others to lower the cost. If it's not possible, he and Sarnoff agreed, the administration would return to the commission asking for more money.

Sanchez, Gonzalez and Sarnoff accepted the motion.

Also pledged, should tourist taxes not cover the debt: parking revenues, parking surcharge fees and general fund money not coming from property tax dollars.

The Marlins committed to pay the city about $10 for each parking space. While that guarantees the city's cost of the garage would be covered, it also means any money over the $10 stays with the Marlins.