SPORTS AND THE CITY: HOW TO CURB PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAMS’ DEMANDS FOR FREE PUBLIC STADIUMS

On February 21, 2008, the thirteen commissioners of Miami- Dade County approved a plan to spend $347 million in taxpayer money to build a new 37,000-seat retractable-roof ballpark for the Florida Marlins baseball club. The plan requires the county to contribute roughly two thirds of the cost for the new ballpark, with the city of Miami contributing three percent ($10 million) and the team owner, Jeffrey Loria, contributing the remaining thirty percent ($155 million). Loria would then defray most, if not all, of his costs by selling stadium naming rights to a third party. View More