Liberty is for me…

MIAMI – Auto dealer and philanthropist, Norman Braman, recently filed a lawsuit against a pending $3 billion City of Miami and Miami-Dade County public works initiative, nicknamed the “Miami Mega Plan.” The plan would authorize the construction of a truck tunnel leading to the Port of Miami, a pair of museums inside Bicentennial Park, a public trolley transit system, and a new ballpark and adjacent parking garage for South Florida’s professional baseball team, the Florida Marlins. The trial opened on July 14^th.

Braman contends that the plan would draw improperly from funds designated to alleviate urban blight and develop impoverished areas, and states that he will drop the lawsuit if City of Miami and Miami-Dade County leaders would allow the public to vote on the initiative. City and county officials have refused the offer, stating that the Miami Mega Plan does not require majority approval, because it is intended for public benefit, will create jobs, and will revitalize the Miami area.

So, why not allow residents of the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County to vote for an initiative that will benefit them directly? The answer: It is becoming increasingly apparent that the Miami Mega Plan is comprised of a laundry list of public works projects, compiled for two reasons: 1) to garner support from a public that will support a bevy of plans to improve the community, and 2) to disguise the fact that the city’s primary interest is keeping the Marlins in South Florida, with a 37,000-seat retractable roof ballpark, nestled atop the remains of Miami’s historic Orange Bowl. Moreover, public reaction to the plan is less than stellar. The Marlins organization, which has threatened to relocate if unable to break ground on a new stadium, has already received approval from Major League Baseball, and now awaits word from the city and county.

The lion’s share of the revenue that would be generated by a new stadium would be retained within the Marlins organization. There have been whispers that the city would see only approximately $5 from each parking fee administered in the accompanying garage. Weigh that against the $525 million estimated cost of construction (roughly $350 million of which will be contributed from the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County) and the math gets ugly. Consider also the Marlins’ history of paltry attendance and the numbers get worse.

Since 2001, the Marlins have ranked no higher than 26^th in average attendance figures for the season, out of 30 teams. For the past three years, the team has ranked dead last. In 2007, the average attendance for major league teams was over 32,000. Currently, the team averages crowds of 15,029 for home games. A new stadium would keep the franchise in South Florida for 35 years, but is that a good thing? With the team struggling to fill seats and trading away talent left and right to remain in the black with the league’s smallest payroll, one wonders if the team has 35 years left at all.

Proponents of the plan are quick to point out that the majority of the of the funds needed for the stadium will be generated from a hotel and bed tax applied to tourists.  The point at issue, though, is not who or what generates the money, but what the money is permitted to be used for.  Will the construction of a new stadium for a team that already lacks any considerable draw (pick your demographic) fight urban blight?

Could the jobs generated by the construction of a new stadium and parking garage be enough to justify their inclusion in a massive public works initiative? Why not let the people vote? Could city and county officials be catching whiffs of the peoples’ collective negative sentiment? It seems that city and county officials have considerable interests vested outside the realm of public benefit. Nothing new there.