Gimenez & Regalado support stadium at Downtown boat slip....

[PUNCICANE]

Downtown Boat Slip Becomes Frontrunner for MLS Stadium Site With Mayors' Support


So much for a soccer stadium at PortMiami. A plan to fill in a boat slip right next to American Airlines Arena now appears to be the favorite amongst shareholders for Miami's Major League Soccer franchise.

City of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez joined together today to officially recommend the site, and the proposed David Beckham-owned team seems to be on board.

Here's a statement from the Miami team:

"Miami Beckham United appreciates the vision and leadership that Mayors Gimenez and Regalado have demonstrated in identifying the best possible site for an MLS soccer venue. Both Mayors are in agreement that downtown Miami and soccer are a perfect match. Expanding Museum Park with the addition of the FEC slip and Parcel B will complete the vision of a continuous downtown waterfront anchored by world-class museums and a world-class soccer park. We look forward to working with the Mayors to make our case to their respective Commissions and the community over the coming months. Our collective goal is clear: Miami Beckham United will deliver a park and soccer venue that will make Miami proud."

The plan was originally suggested by Gimenez, and Beckham later replied that the idea would "be great."

Regalado's support is needed because the city currently controls the boat slip (which, obviously, would need to be filled in), while the county controls a plot of land behind AAA called "parcel B" which would also be needed for the construction. With Regalado on board, it's now just a matter of courting support amongst the public and the city and county commissions.

Though, the plan will also head to Miami residents as a ballot referendum in November.

Some residents and workers with offices in downtown aren't quite enthusiastic about the idea. Apparently people who bought property in a quickly expanding downtown urban hub are upset that, well, they live and work in a quickly expanding downtown urban hub.

"This will destroy the only small part of ocean front park, a park which isn't even finished yet, and create an eyesore of another stadium beside the AA Arena," reads a petition which currently has just 350 signatures. "We the residents of the surrounding area would loose our view and access to our building would be compromised by bringing 25,000 people's cars to the area. Traffic is already a huge challenge during concert and HEAT game events and this would create tremendous grid lock."



http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2014/05/downtown_boat_slip_becomes_fro.php

 

[Dingaan1828]

This will probably happen. But, it will have nothing to do with UM football.

Sad.

 

[PUNCICANE]

This will probably happen. But, it will have nothing to do with UM football.

Sad.

disagree..

if this is going to public vote as seems to be likely, involving UM is a huge positive for them. The big variable here is the buyout on our lease..

 

[3FW]

Going to be a referendum. If it does not included us, we need to create a huge grass roots campaign to vote no.

 

[hoops156]

Going to be a referendum. If it does not included us, we need to create a huge grass roots campaign to vote no.

UM is only interested if they build a 40+k stadium, correct? if UM chooses not to be involved bc of the small capacity, why would you vote against it?

 

[Dingaan1828]

Going to be a referendum. If it does not included us, we need to create a huge grass roots campaign to vote no.

UM is only interested if they build a 40+k stadium, correct? if UM chooses not to be involved bc of the small capacity, why would you vote against it?

Blake James was quoted at 45K-50K. That's pushing the envelope way out. I'd love to see it, but.........imo, ain't gonna happen that way.

 

[Cane7451]

Beckham is NOT going to build a stadium that fits UM's needs, no matter what the soccer fans on this site claim. Beckham's plan has always been to use Canes fans support to get what he wants with the public vote for the land. Where is the plans and models for a 40K plus stadium that Beckham refuses to discuss in public if he wants UM to use this site?

 

[Canes2082]

Beckham is NOT going to build a stadium that fits UM's needs, no matter what the soccer fans on this site claim. Beckham's plan has always been to use Canes fans support to get what he wants with the public vote for the land. Where is the plans and models for a 40K plus stadium that Beckham refuses to discuss in public if he wants UM to use this site?

He won't have our support unless it's going to be a stadium for soccer and our Canes. He will quickly lose support without us, although I believe the stadium will go through because they intend to use their own money and not the taxpayers.

 

[Problem2]

Beckham is NOT going to build a stadium that fits UM's needs, no matter what the soccer fans on this site claim. Beckham's plan has always been to use Canes fans support to get what he wants with the public vote for the land. Where is the plans and models for a 40K plus stadium that Beckham refuses to discuss in public if he wants UM to use this site?

This guy literally posts the same thing in every stadium thread.

 

[PUNCICANE]

n a major strategic shift, retired player David Beckham and his investors said Monday they no longer plan to pursue PortMiami land as their top choice for a Major League Soccer stadium.

Instead, the group will pursue a downtown location that is now a deep-water boat slip. Any plans there would require prior approval from city voters.

The decision to move away from the port site, a location that has drawn powerful opposition, came after Beckham’s group met at Miami City Hall with Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez.

“Our goal has always been to build a great stadium along the waterfront,” John Alschuler, Beckham’s real-estate adviser, said afterward. “We view this as a meaningful step in the right direction.”

Gimenez had proposed the slip site two weeks ago and asked Beckham’s group to quickly determine if filling the water basin and building a stadium would be feasible. It is, Miami Beckham United said Monday, though the stadium might be smaller than originally thought — closer to 20,000 seats than to 25,000.

“I honestly have to say this is Plan A,” Gimenez said outside City Hall. “And now, the port is Plan B.”

Beckham’s group must still work out the details of a potential deal. Stadium agreements are always complex, but this one would be further complicated by the referendum required by city charter and by the fact that both the city and county commissions would have to approve.

Both governments are involved because the city owns the water basin, known as the Florida East Coast Railway slip, and Museum Park north of it, and the county owns the property known as Parcel B behind AmericanAirlines Arena to the south.

As part of a possible agreement, the city would turn over the land on which the stadium would sit to the county. That way, Beckham’s MLS franchise wouldn’t have to pay property taxes on the facility, though the city would require some sort of annual payment in lieu of taxes, possibly to benefit parks, Regalado said. Gimenez said the county would require a rent payment.

Then, in a sort of land swap, the county would turn over Parcel B to the city so that the newly filled slip could connect the parcel to Museum Park.

The result, according to both mayors, is a net increase of 20 percent — a little more than four acres — of park land, between Parcel B and filling the nine-acre slip.

“What I like of the project is that Museum Park will be bigger, and will be more waterfront park,” Regalado said.

The stadium would encroach on about four acres of Museum Park, home to the recently opened Pérez Art Museum Miami and the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science, which is under construction. It cost the city more than $4 million just to design the park, without counting any construction, and Miami has spent nearly $12 million upgrading the slip.

Still, some downtown regulars say the basin is underutilized and the waterfront lacks public access.

“It’s a piece of unused property,” said business owner Jose Goyanes, a member of the Downtown Development Authority. “What are we going to do — wait another 30 years to see what they do in that slip?”

An early conceptual design of the stadium envisions it next to the basketball arena and to Biscayne Boulevard, with the long side of the field parallel to the street behind an existing water pump station. Such a placement would leave a green corridor along the waterfront and keep most bay views from the museums unobstructed, according to Beckham’s representatives.

The stadium would be shorter than the arena — up to 100 feet, compared to 150 feet, Alschuler said. Like at the port, it’s possible that a second level of seats could be added in the future if the facility is successful.

Early plans suggest the stadium would be smaller than at the port. Though Beckham’s representatives wouldn’t say as much, that could doom any idea of having the University of Miami football team play there; football would require some 40,000 seats, according to earlier estimates.

The port location has drawn sustained criticism from the Miami Seaport Alliance, an organization headed by Royal Caribbean Cruises, whose headquarters are adjacent to the potential site. Several county commissioners had expressed skepticism about putting a stadium next to one of Miami-Dade’s chief economic engines.

Filling in the boat slip has its share of opponents as well, including environmental activists — who say the water basin, part of the Biscayne Bay Aquifer Preserve, is protected by state law — and former city leaders, led by ex-Mayor Manny Diaz, who say Miami should safeguard public access to the bay.

In a letter published Sunday in the Miami Herald, Dalia Lagoa, of the Downtown Neighborhood Alliance questioned the wisdom of building on what is now water. “Most of us are struggling to accept the use of preciously scant waterfront public space to house a soccer stadium, irrespective of how beautiful or interesting its architecture may be,” she wrote.

City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, whose district includes downtown, said Monday that the port remains his favorite location because it doesn’t crowd the waterfront.

“The port is where [the stadium] belongs,” he said. “It’s got the size, it’s got the majesty to it.”

Gimenez, who had sounded excited about the port, said Monday that the location hasn’t been dismissed entirely. When asked why the slip would be a better site, he answered with a long pause.

“It creates a better park,” he ultimately said.

The new location will likely delay the timeline Beckham’s group outlined when the former player exercised his contract option earlier this year to purchase a new franchise at a discount.

The group had hoped to have a stadium plan in place by the summer, but no referendum is likely until the November general election. Beckham’s group would prefer a vote during the August primary, but that would require a question be placed on the ballot next month.

Regalado said Beckham’s group said it will not seek an alternative if the voters don’t agree to a potential deal.

“If they fail the referendum, they will leave,” said Regalado, who, like other elected officials, has said he hopes not to lose Beckham and his international cachet.

MLS requires a new stadium as part of an expansion franchise. A league spokesman told the Herald on Monday that Beckham’s stadium has to be in the city of Miami; Alschuler said MLS leaders have made clear that they expect the facility to be downtown.

Still unclear is how much a stadium at the slip would cost. A county estimate projected that just filling the entire basin would cost about $20 million.

Beckham’s group estimated a port stadium would cost $250 million, to be mostly privately funded by the investors. They also plan to apply for a state subsidy.

Miami Herald staff writers Douglas Hanks and Andres Viglucci contributed to this report.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/05/19/4124978/downtown-miami-boat-slip-now-top.html#storylink=cpy

 

[PUNCICANE]

City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, whose district includes downtown, said Monday that the port remains his favorite location because it doesn’t crowd the waterfront.

hate a lot of these ****ers, but none more than that douche(well, he's tied with Frank Carollo)! He's showing slight opposition now, as to get some incentive, as usual with him..

 

[rsa coral gables]

does anyone have a footprint of the stadium and how it will fit on the subject site?

 

[dmcanes]

How bout we leave both in zones open keep the view. Just build two 25k sides each 50k total

 

[BigCaneAl]

I think Blake said recently they need 45-50k minimum. Not sure how that would fit on that site.

 

[pbcup]

I think Blake said recently they need 45-50k minimum. Not sure how that would fit on that site.

It wouldn't

 

[Copeseticman]

To confirm, this "boat slip" and Museum Park is immediately on the north side of the AAA, right?

 

[PUNCICANE]

The Miami Dolphins plan to abandon their push for tax relief in favor of asking Miami-Dade to pay the team for recruiting Super Bowl and other major events to a renovated Sun Life Stadium, according to three people familiar with the team’s plans.

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross had been negotiating with Miami-Dade, the school system and Miami Gardens to have the county take over ownership of the stadium, which would free the team of a yearly property-tax bill worth nearly $4 million. The Dolphins are Miami Gardens’ top taxpayer, and the team faced resistance from both the city’s mayor and the superintendent of the county school system, which receives about $1 million yearly in Sun Life taxes.

Details of the new plan weren’t available Tuesday morning. The broad outline of the plan is that Ross would use private dollars to renovate the stadium, and Miami-Dade would then pay the team an unknown amount of money for each major event the stadium brings. Those events would include Super Bowls, World Cup soccer, and national college championship and play-off games, according to people familiar with the talks between the Dolphins and Gimenez. Miami-Dade would make the payments after the event, a source close to the team said.

Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert confirmed that the Dolphins are not likely to pursue the ownership swap that Ross proposed earlier this year. “I don’t think they’re going forward with tax relief,’’ he said. “I don’t think there is the will for that.”

The change by Ross comes as David Beckham backed off his pursuit of PortMiami for a new soccer stadium in favor of a downtown site, and as the Miami Heat said it would take lower subsidies than the team first proposed in renegotiating its current operating agreement at the county-owned AmericanAirlines Arena.

The new Sun Life proposal also comes as NFL owners prepare to choose finalists to host the 2018 Super Bowl. The Dolphins used Miami’s role as finalist for the 2016 game as the centerpiece of the team’s push for government renovation dollars last year. The NFL in the past has used owner meetings to select finalists for consecutive years as well, so the 2019 game could be in play, too.

Dolphins executives plan to discuss the proposed funding plan at the owners’ meeting, which is taking place in Atlanta.

A Dolphins spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Local governments typically contribute money and free services, including police staffing, to Super Bowl, which also brings significant fund-raising obligations by local organizers. In 2010, South Florida’s last Super Bowl, Miami-Dade estimated it contributed about $5 million to the game, including $1.5 million in cash. Broward contributed $2 million. For the 2016 Super Bowl, organizers said they planned to raise about $20 million for the festivities.

Organizers tout a Super Bowl’s spending infusion, and cite studies showing the game’s local economic impact approaches $500 million.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/05/20/4126102/dolphins-abandoning-tax-relief.html#storylink=cpy

This is a positive for us in regards to breaking our lease. If Ross doesn't get some tax relief or backside event money from the city, he will not do the proposed improvements, thus not have the stadium up to standards to host Super Bowls and other meaningful events. And I'd imagine UM can make the argument that this affords them an some out on their lease... I know its a stretch but, lots of variables have to line up for us to get in a new downtown stadium, and getting out of that lease is one our the biggest obstacles.

 

[112_cane]

They would fill in the water next to the arena

 

[Waffle Honcho]

I wish I were as optimistic as you guys on this. Those articles don't even mention us.

 

[Kirijax]

At first I had hopes but now I don't think the Canes will benefit from any of this. They won't build a stadium for 45,000 when all they need is one that seats 20,000. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if in ten years we are talking about the failed experiment that was soccer in Miami and the unused soccer stadium that sits unneeded in Miami.