Fred Grimm has written a noteworthy editorial in today's Herald, on the stupidity of the unreformable majority of the county commission (my words) in approving the deal for the Marlins' stadium. But what is really notable is the opinion writer's criticism of the Herald editorial board. Congratulations, Fred. As far as I can remember: it's a first from any Herald opinion writer: "The Miami Herald's editorial page seemed to ignore the hard work of its own reporters to embrace the dream." Good for you, Fred, for saying what so many believe to be true-- and over a long, long period of time.
Posted on Wed, Mar. 25, 2009
Romanticism clouded Marlins stadium deal
By FRED GRIMM
The sobering facts were out there.
But they were obscured by a kind of dreamy denial that loomed over the stadium deal.
As if the unfavorable economics could be wished away.
As if the myth-laden sport of baseball (America's if not quite Miami's game), nurtured an ephemeral, unfounded optimism that this deal -- despite so many local public works projects that have gone badly -- will work out.
Call it the mendacity of hope.
County Commissioner Sally Heyman tried mightily to amend the lopsided contract. ''If this was any other public project . . . '' she said wistfully. But the stadium deal was insulated by what Heyman called ``the romanticism and aura of baseball.''
She and her fellow dissenters, Commissioners Katy Sorenson, Joe Martinez and Carlos Gimenez, were armed with the worrisome numbers and critical analyses, but they were fighting, Heyman said, ``a field of dreams.''
The Miami Herald's Charles Rabin and Jack Dolan had written disquieting assessments of the $634 million project ''with the public footing 70 percent of the construction bill but sharing none of the revenue.'' They looked at other Major League Baseball stadium projects since 2000 and found the average public contribution was 44 percent.
BED TAXES
Some $297 million of the stadium costs would be derived from hotel bed taxes. On the very day of the county commission vote, The Miami Herald's Douglas Hanks reported that Miami-Dade hotels had suffered a steeper drop in revenues in February ``than they did in the winter following the 2001 terrorists attacks.''
Drawing broad conclusions from a single month of lousy tourism would be like walking out on a chilly day and declaring an end to global warming. Still, the February report should have added an element of raw fear to the stadium considerations. A couple of hurricanes or a longer-than-expected recession and the county could find itself eating into the general fund to pay off stadium bonds.
But talk of giant risks were muffled by abstract arguments. There was talk of children attending baseball games, of how a new stadium was a necessary element for a ``world class city.''
Of course, there was much talk of jobs before Monday's vote, as if spending $600 million on any other public project wouldn't employ idle construction workers.
WARM MEMORIES
Magical thinking was not just confined to county commissioners or Marlins fans. The Miami Herald's editorial page seemed to ignore the hard work of its own reporters to embrace the dream.
So, thanks to warm memories of long-ago Little League games, the Marlins crafted a deal that, as Sorenson said, channels great gobs of public money ``to a private enterprise that pays virtually nothing.''
Approval of the generous deal had the immediate effect of raising the Marlins' market value from $250 million to $500 million. Heyman said that under the terms of the contract, team owner Jeffrey Loria could exploit the instant jump in value, sell a portion of the team, up to 49 percent, and easily cover the team's $120 million obligation to the deal.
''It's just profit,'' she said.
But the deal's opponents were flailing against memories, dreams, myths. The kind of illusions, Heyman said, that allowed the Marlins to create their own ``financial field of dreams.''
© 2009 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miamiherald.com
4 comments:
Long ago, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez decided there was a justifiable cause for a public-private partnership in the construction and management of a ballpark. Well meaning people can disagree on the merits.
We are not building a stadium for the Marlins. We are building a stadium for the enjoyment of Miami-Dade County residents. Tourist taxes, which have limited uses, will finance the majority of the County’s contribution. These are dollars, per state law, that cannot be used for affordable housing or education. No new taxes were created or raised to build a ballpark - a rarity among modern stadiums.
Financing will work even with a big drop in tourist taxes. Go to http://www.miamidade.gov/govaction/legistarfiles/Matters/Y2009/090732.pdf to see several scenarios - they start on page 10.
Using the general fund as a secondary pledge means we should be able to sell the bonds at a lower interest rate. On 17 other occasions, non-ad valorem revenues have been used as a secondary pledge, but the money has never been touched.
The construction industry is hurting and hundreds of jobs will be created. The cost of labor, materials and supplies is low. The timing couldn’t be better.
Thank you to Eye on Miami for hosting great discussion on issues of importance.
Vicki Mallette
Communications Director
Miami-Dade County
Miss Mallette is doing her best to spin a dreadful situation.
What she fails to disclose is that smart people throughout Miami-Dade County and the United States realize what a rip-off it is to use taxpayer money to fund privately owned companies.
What she fails to disclose is that any privately funded construction project or even any publically funded construction project would provide some temporary construction jobs.
What she fails to disclose is the obvious - that the taxpayers have all the risk (well 98% of the risk) and the Marlins get 100% of the profits.
What she fails to disclose is that the Marlins are broke and the reason they refused to disclose their financials are because they are laughable. The Marlins were dependent on the stupidity and inexperience of Miami-Dade County executives and elected officials. Obviously, a sure thing for the Marlins success and hence the $2 bil burden on taxpayers.
We are building the Stadium for the community??? If that is so, why are the Marlins keeping all the revenue Ms. Mallett??? This is your boss's last term! It couldn't have come soon enough!
As for the potential scenarios you are referring to, they are of little real value, as they include ridiculous assumptions, such as two consequetive years of 12% drops in "tourist tax" related income, and all of a sudden, and 24% increase thereafter. Did you guys just pull numbers from the sky? I would suspect you pulled the numbers from someplace with considerably less air!!! You, the Mayor, and moronic manager are going to leave my kids and grandkids with huge issues on the balloning debt that the County has incurred over the last 6 years. Pathetic!
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