Marlins Stadium Update No. 323,009.5
Miami-Dade County Commission Chairman Dennis Moss has just closed the public hearing portion of the meeting.
Nearly 80 people weighed in both for and against the stadium. Just as they did at the city, members of the public framed the discussion as one of creating much-needed jobs and keeping baseball in South Florida versus spending tax dollars on a private enterprise, particularly with no guarantee there will be enough bed tax to cover the project.
The public has jammed the commission chambers and another 60 or so spectators couldn’t even fit inside and instead were moved to the county hall lobby to watch the video feed.
Debate got feisty about halfway through the public hearing, when Reginald Munnings, representing a number of community organizations, reminded commissioners the now-demolished Miami Arena was supposed to bring jobs.
“There’s nothing wrong with saving until you can find a better way to spend it,” he said. “Financial resources should not be used to bail out a private enterprise.”
Munnings walked away with representatives of the Miami Workers Center and others who began shouting “Real jobs now,” and “Shut the stadium down.”
Moss told the group to settle down and ordered the group escorted out of the commission chambers not to return.
CRAIG DAVIS In more than 33 years at the Sun Sentinel, Craig Davis has written about a wide variety of sports topics from baseball to yachting, fishing to triathlons, and also worked as a copy editor and page designer. Recently he reported on local sports, including running, swimming, cycling, equestrian and beach volleyball. He enjoys sports as a participant as well as a spectator, is active in the South Florida running scene plays in the curling club at Saveology Iceplex. This blog offers a glimpse at the business side of sports in the interest of enhancing enjoyment of the games and sporting options as a spectator as well as a participant.
