Proposed new stadium in Uptown Charlotte.
Posted on 01/21/2006 12:51:35 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
Could we hear the call of Play Ball on site of Hialeah Race Track or could the Florida Marlins be looking at the hills of North Carolina as their new home? Representatives of the team apparently will visit the city of Charlotte, and officials in Hialeah, as they consider moving the team from Miami.
A Marlins spokesman said Thursday that it'll be the first meeting between the team and Hialeah, the state's fifth most-populous city and one located just a few miles northwest of downtown Miami.
"I'm not looking at it as a long shot. I want to do everything possible to keep the Marlins in South Florida," Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina said. "I've been approached by residents and people in the community who have reached out to me."
Robaina mentioned three potential sites where a ballpark could be built, including the famed Hialeah Park thoroughbred track, which has not hosted live racing since May 2001.
In North Carolina, Real estate attorney Jerry Reese spoke last night to the Mecklenburg County, Carolina commissioners, telling them the visit to their city is scheduled for February or March. He is promoting a 38-thousand-seat stadium as a centerpiece for what he calls The Brooklyn Renaissance Project. He says the stadium would be built with private funds.
Sports marketers and civic leaders have said Charlotte doesn't have the population to support a major-league team. However, Republicans and Democrats on the board of commissioners unanimously agreed to look into the proposal.
The Marlins -- winners of the World Series in 1997 and 2003 -- say they need a new stadium to generate revenue streams not available to them in their current lease with Dolphins Stadium and that facility's owner, H. Wayne Huizenga, the baseball team's original owner.
Florida has lost an estimated $40 million over the past two seasons alone, and either traded or failed to re-sign most of its highest-priced players from last year's $60 million payroll -- harkening memories of the team's fire sale following the 1997 World Series victory. The Marlins won only 54 games the following year.
The Marlins' lease with Dolphins Stadium is in effect until 2007. The team has a series of one-year options that could keep it there through the 2010 season, but will not extend the lease any longer than that.
Marlins president David Samson has toured Portland, Ore. and San Antonio in recent weeks, exploring potential relocation sites
Proposed new stadium in Uptown Charlotte.
Great. Because traffic in Charlotte isn't bad enough.
Huh. Interesting possiblity. I thought they were seriously looking into Las Vegas. I guess they'd consider a host of possibilities. Why not Charlotte? Football has founda most welcoming home there.
ML/NJ
Charlotte is one of the fastest growing regions in the United States and the fans are going to be much more supportive of baseball than they were in Florida.
I won't be surprised if Tampa Bay Devil Rays eventually move to San Antonio, Texas. After all, all the people in Tampa were from New York and they remained Yankees fans to this day.
BTTT
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