The Marlins finally got the new stadium the team has sought for a decade, meaning the team will now depart the State of Florida for Little Havana. The team will leave Dolphin Stadium, with its proximity to Broward and Palm Beach counties, in 2012. And with the stadium approval, the team agreed to change its name to the Miami Marlins, forever forgetting about the Broward and Palm Beach fans who used to sometimes go to games.
Team owner Jeffrey Loria gave this barely intelligible quote to the Sun-Sentinel afterward:
"I'm slightly numb, but I just feel good for everybody involved. It's not about me; it's about what we do. I'm thrilled for everybody, whether it's somebody it's going to get some work or the ultimate satisfaction that it left a legacy for people after you."
At the end of that quote, Loria hits on the good news for the few Broward- and Palm Beach-based Marlins fans, because the legacy he left is a whopper of a tax bill. Miami-Dade County hotel bed taxes are supposed to pay a vast majority of the $609 million of the project. That means we won't pay for the Little Havana Marlins' new stadium unless you're in the habit of driving a bit south to shack up in Miami hotel rooms. In which case, thanks for paying for the team's relocation.
Before the stadium's approval yesterday, Major League Baseball President Bob DuPuy told commissioners:
"Today you have a chance to choose whether or not Miami remains a major-league community or whether you choose to be the only major city in America without Major League Baseball."
Well, now that the Little Havana Marlins have moved on, the only major city without Major League Baseball has become Fort Lauderdale.
