Stadium Arcadium

And so it continues. Miami's stadium development is like a game of hopskotch, jumping from one idea to another.

Miami Herald reports on the continual great flip flopping going on with the new Marlins stadium.

In the grand scheme of things are the issues of where the stadiums go a HUGE deal? NO. But ... a) it is important that we move forward on these stadium projects and get something done, and b) in the grand scheme of things it isn't the biggest deal, but some enormous benefits can come from certain decisions.

So Miami-Dade commissioners are continually flip-flopping on their support of different sites for the Marlins' stadium, and they now seem happy that UM is considering football reallocation to Dolphins stadium because they are eager to rekindle the Orange Bowl siting of the Marlins' stadium. So here's the play by play:

- Loosing the UM football to Dolphins Stadium is a horrible idea for the City of Miami, in my opinion, and not something for our commissioners to be happy and supportive of.

- The location of 2 stadiums, if UM doesn't move, in the medium-density residential neighborhood of the Orange Bowl is a dangerous decision that would need a lot of planning analysis to even begin to get my support.

- Miami-Dade Commissioners declare the following as issues with the downtown plan they had espoused in the past month:

- The 9-acre site is too small (County Commissioners should not be making these decisions/statements without proper analysis and cited evidence from qualified planners and architects, of which none is offered in the press at least)

- The new downtown stadium site will not reenergize the area (A. I can't offer a professional opinion on this, but the past 15 years I've been observing urban spaces, I'm pretty sure I've noticed urban stadiums have a lot more round-the-clock life to them than further removed stadiums. B. County Commissioners should not be making theses decisions/statement without proper analysis and cited evidence from qualified planners and economists, of which none is offered in the press)

- The new downtown stadium will rely on community development money that should be spent elsewhere (Fair point that I agree with, but whose to say the same issue will not apply to the Orange Bowl sited baseball stadium)

- The Commissioners are proposing to move forward with funding plans that are non-site specific. I think this is a good idea, but I can't say whether this makes the whole proposal too weak/vague to get County or State funding and tax breaks.

Pheww, I need to take a breather, as this can get quite frustrating. Ok, ...

- "The commissioner [Martinez] even doubted if the Marlins would be able to sell beer because of the site's proximity to a charter school." (Please, I implore our County Commissioners to do more research before their public hearings, so that a comment/concern such as this does not come up randomly. I'm pretty sure this wouldn't be an issue.)

- For those that don't understand, the Marlins are a client, a tenant, we are trying to attract/keep. We got the Marlins/MLB interested and in support of the downtown site, and when they go to a public hearing to show their huge support, our county commissioners 180 and tell them that the site that the Commissioners proposed no longer has the Commissioners' support. This is not how you keep a client interested.

In conclusion, I think Miami will continue to be a mess if comments such as this characterize our Commission: ''Let's hope and pray the Hurricanes do move . . . and let's put the Marlins where they belong, at the Orange Bowl,'' Martinez said.

Wow, yes, let's loose our historied excellent college football team, and push for a stadium site that has failed in the past. Please, someone with influence get behind these commissioners, and lets pull together meetings where more players (UM, City of Miami, MLB, Children's Courthouse, non-governmental professional planners and architects) are at the table, coordinating and compromising, to work for a better solution for both of these stadiums.