Should they stay or should they go?
The Florida Marlins have till May 15 to commit to San Antonio. Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff is the point man in discussions on bringing the team to South Texas. He told newspaper reporters, he needed an answer soon because if he wasn’t going to get a bite in this pond he was going to find another place to fish. County officials offered to put $200 million toward a new baseball stadium which would approximately cost $310 million if voters approved extending a tax on hotel and car rentals. Wolff needs the Marlins’ decision by May 15 in order to get the issue on the November 7th ballot. This seems like a pretty tasty offer; just imagine the large revenues the team could be earning if the stadium has more luxury suites. We learned in class that no city is safe. What kind of an offer can the Florida Marlins throw out in order to keep the team put? From the voter’s standpoint, if they are willing to absorb some losses as long as the net gain is positive then the issue on the ballot will pass. Should the Marlins move to San Antonio? Is it good to have 2 firms (San Antonio Spurs and the Marlins) so close together and is it going to be a problem because their season’s will overlap a bit?
1 comment:
I think the Marlins going to San Antonio would be a great move for the franchise, the owner, and the City of San Antonio. The Miami market, while certainly big enough to handle having a baseball franchise, is just not working to accomodate the Marlins. I think the key to the Marlins remaining in Florida is getting a dedicated stadium built for the team. Playing in Pro Player Stadium is like playing in a dome on astroturf - the field conditions are terrible - and the stadium itself does not lend very well to baseball watching, given the fact that it was built primarily as a football structure. The climate, oddly enough, is an issue, as the Marlins suffer more rainouts in Florida than other teams experience in the rest of the league. For the Marlins to stay, they'd want some sort of ticket subsidation for rained out games or games where the attendance is lowered due to threat of rain. I think, however, that San Antonio would be able to support a team, even if the Marlins franchise had to come up with a good portion of the funds to build a stadium. The team would definitely benefit from being in the city, even if it means that there is a saturation of Major League Baseball teams in Texas as a result.
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