Miami and Miami-Dade commissioners are expected to be briefed Sunday or Monday on an agreement reached by the city, county and the Florida Marlins that could supply the team with the money it needs for a new baseball stadium.All indications point to a pair of votes late this week by both commissions that would finally put an end to the decade-long search for funding that has plagued all three owners the team has had.
Though commissioners have not yet seen copies of the stadium deal, meetings have been scheduled for a possible vote. Miami commissioners will meet at 9 a.m. on Thursday; the County Commission will gather at 1 p.m. the same afternoon.
''They reached agreement and want to brief us,'' said Miami Commissioner Tomás Regalado. ``I was told they won't be able to deliver it [the stadium financing contract] today, but to be set for a briefing tomorrow [Sunday], or Monday.''Sources familiar with the negotiations between the three sides said Saturday that a deal on the stadium financing was completed late Friday, but the official word was that no deal had been reached.
Reached Saturday morning, Miami City Manager Pete Hernandez said a deal was very close, but as far as he knew, not completed. He said he hoped a deal could be ironed out later in the day.
County spokeswoman Victoria Mallette echoed Hernandez on Saturday morning, saying there is ``no deal yet.''
Mallette did not return e-mails seeking clarification Saturday afternoon.
When complete, the document outlining the newly structured $525 million stadium deal would place the new stadium essentially in the footprint of the Orange Bowl in Little Havana.
The plan is for the team to change its name to the Miami Marlins, break ground in November or December, and begin playing at the new ballpark by Opening Day April 2011.
The agreement will bring to completion two months of tense, detailed, last-round negotiations. The ballpark would have 37,000 seats, 60 suites and a retractable roof to shield players and fans from South Florida's summer thunderstorms.
The agreement also is expected to leave space on the 40-acre site for a $100 million Major League Soccer stadium that would seat 25,000 fans, retail shops and restaurants, possibly even a hotel.
The Marlins are expected to pitch in $155 million out-of-pocket, Miami would spend $121 million in mostly tourist tax dollars, and the county would pitch in $249 million mostly from tourist tax dollars, with a smaller amount coming from bond money.
Sticking points on the proposed stadium that have delayed votes since the plan surfaced in mid-December include who receives revenue from a 6,000-car parking garage that would cost $94 million, how to pay for $2 million a year in stadium improvements, and office space the team is requesting in downtown Miami.
The city would own the garage. The county would own the stadium. The Marlins would be responsible for any construction cost overruns.
