MLS in Miami...Orange Bowl saga continues

[SoccerPrime]

http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/071213/story1.shtml

League officials have "been in discussions with Miami City Mayor Manny Diaz to secure funding for a soccer stadium that would serve as home to an MLS expansion team," said Dan Courtemanche, senior vice president of marketing and communications.
The Orange Bowl site is "the one they've [city officials] initiated interest in," he said. And soccer officials agree the Little Havana neighborhood would allow the league to "closely connect to our core soccer audience."
An 18,000- to 27,000-seat stadium would cost "generally $85 million to $125 million," he said.

[trip76]

this topic is exactly why i ventured into the florida subforum.

are there any investment groups, or single qualified investors, that have showed any desire to pick up an MLS franchise?

personally i think the SE USA is sorely lacking in the MLS presence map.

[VioletCrown]

Thanks to My Soccer Blog (http://mysoccerblog.blogspot.com/)

Miami, Dade leaders reveal multibillion-dollar downtown plan (http://www.miamiherald.com/457/story/342749.html)

Wowzer.

Still, no indication of an ownership group. But it sure would be bizarre for the Fusion to return from the dead.

[pb9000]

I dying to know who the potential owners would be and why no mention. Usually there are some rumblings from MLS FO about possible investors. Could they be Traffic Sports, who own Miami FC. And if not and this goes through someday what happens to them?

[Fusion Logix]

An article came out on the front pages of the miami herald today detailing this out.

It would be two stadiums with the soccer venue holding 25,000?(not sure) and the marlins having 35,000. Plus resturants & shopping centers would be part of this deal.

The MLS would be willing to pay half of the cost for the soccer stadium.

AWESOME NEWS!

[trip76]

An article came out on the front pages of the miami herald today detailing this out.

The MLS would be willing to pay half of the cost for the soccer stadium.


the league itself?

[pc4th]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/2007/12/14/a6c_MARL_stadium_1214.html


MIAMI — By a 4-1 margin, city commissioners in Miami approved a sweeping financial agreement with Miami-Dade County on Thursday that paves the way for a new Marlins stadium along with a port tunnel, museum park, soccer stadium and other projects.

A mix of county and city revenue, largely from tourist taxes, will pay for about 70 percent of projected stadium costs, with the Marlins agreeing to cover construction-cost overruns.

The team would agree not to relocate for 30 years or until the stadium debt is paid off.

The lone commissioner to vote against the plan, Tomas P. Regalado, objected to the lumping of so many projects together. He said he was not opposed to a baseball stadium itself, but wanted to consider it separately.

"That's very unfair to put the commissioners in this position," Regalado said.

The global plan allows for a $100 million, 25,000-seat soccer stadium next to the baseball stadium. Major League Soccer would reportedly contribute half the money toward the stadium, although there is not a team in place at the moment. The Orange Bowl would be demolished.

The baseball plan would not require state money, eliminating a financial hurdle that has stopped Marlins stadium efforts five previous times in the past eight years. That means Tuesday's vote puts the Marlins as close as they have ever been to playing in a new stadium.

But it is not a done deal yet. Regalado hinted at least one county commissioner is also concerned about the bundling of the public projects. A motion to consider the baseball stadium on its own is being prepared in case the global plan runs into trouble.

MLS has to make sure this 'global plan' does not run into trouble. $50 million in FREE GOVERNMENT GRANT is at stake. This is one of the best SSS deal in the history of MLS.

This deal would be better than SSS deals of Chicago, Real Salt Lake, Columbus, Los Angeles, New York, Colorado, Kansas City (and St. Louis).

Only Toronto and Dallas have better deals.

So any potential investors want in? Miami is your market. Put up $50 mil and get a $100 mil stadium. Kerfoot should call MLS HQ tomorrow. Miami would be 10 times better than Vancouver. $50 mil gov grant is up for grab.

Oh, the baseball team gets $155 mil in gov grant (free money). Well, not truly free since it is a tourist tax.

[wufc]

Well, Kerfoot is Vancouver-or-bust so don't count on him. But wow, this deal came out of nowhere and it seems to good to be true. I'm telling myself there must surely be more hurdles to go through. But yea, MLS should get on the move about finding the right investor.

One possible problem is that the mayor wants this stadium to be named the "Orange Bowl", and this would mean the loss of tens of millions of dollars in naming rights for an MLS owner.

[SoccerPrime]

No way MLS (the League) pays a dime. I think they meant a MLS investor.

Am I the only one that finds it odd that the soccer stadium portion of these plans comes down to either a one sentence comment or none at all (depending on the article you read)?

[SMUPlayer]

One possible problem is that the mayor wants this stadium to be named the "Orange Bowl", and this would mean the loss of tens of millions of dollars in naming rights for an MLS owner.

Eh, not a big deal. "The Waste Management Orange Bowl" or the "Orange Bowl by FedEx" wouldn't sound too bad. Corporate sponsorship always ruins a name, but I think that people could live with it.

What about Wayne Huizenga. Surely he knows an opportunity when he sees one. I think that the owners of Miami FC are out, but they might have changed their tune. What about Jeffery Loria? I am not in tune with the Miami scene, so I don't know all of the high rollers. However, you would think that some wealthy, forward thinking person would be able to see the opportunity.

[SoccerPrime]

First off, discussion already started here: http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=633358

Second, Chicago had a fantastic deal. Bridgeview paid 100%, AEG paid 0%.

[pb9000]

This is awesome! The fact that there was just a small mention doesn't concern me. What concerns me is Edmonson questioning why a soccer park. He doesn't seem to be too keen on the idea.

We need an owner to step up NOW to get the soccer part of the deal moving ahead. Mr H would be interesting, he certainly has enough money. But forget about Loria, he's cheap. Just look at how he sells off all the best players for the Marlins.

This whole thing really came out of nowhere. When Garber talks about expansion, Miami is always at bottom. It just shows "build it and they will come", or at least get some attention from MLS FO.

[Fusion Logix]

Well the palm beach reported that mls would put up half the money. Granted its not a true local newspaper, but there must be something behind that report being printed.

[pc4th]

First off, discussion already started here: http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=633358

Second, Chicago had a fantastic deal. Bridgeview paid 100%, AEG paid 0%.

LOL. Please read the 'How MLS SSSs are financed!'

The deal is good but not fantastic because REVENUE FROM THE STADIUM pays off the bonds. 8% of ticket revenue, 50% of parking, 50% of concession, 50% of naming rights, percentage of signages etc...

The bond payment is around $8 mil per year.

[SoccerPrime]

Not really sure why you quoted my post, but I think many here, including myself see the pitfalls of this Miami stadium deal (which is what I hope you are referring to).

For those that haven't noticed it, the City of Miami is offering a great deal on building the stadium, only $50 million, but Miami wants most of the revenues including parking to pay off their own committment. Seems there might not be much revenue streams left over for a MLS investor/operator in the current project.

[pb9000]

Found another article about Miami and MLS.

"Major League Soccer president Mark Abbott spent Wednesday in Miami meeting with Mayor Manny Diaz and city commissioners, and said he left feeling ''very pleased'' with what he heard about plans for a 25,000-seat soccer stadium at the Orange Bowl site. The $100 million stadium would receive half of its funding from an MLS ownership group."

"Asked if there are serious investors on board who would consider bringing a franchise to Miami, Abbott replied with an emphatic, ''Yes.'' He said MLS will continue discussions with Diaz in the coming weeks."

Sounds promising.

Here's the link:
http://www.miamiherald.com/628/story/344334.html

[SoccerPrime]

When Abbot was asked further "who is the investor", Abbot responded "we get lots of interested investors from BigSoccer".

:rolleyes:

[pb9000]

When Abbot was asked further "who is the investor", Abbot responded "we get lots of interested investors from BigSoccer".

:rolleyes:

I'll put in my 2 cents.

[trip76]

i'll kick in a tenner. what are we up to?

[VioletCrown]

i'll kick in a tenner. what are we up to?

$10.02, I believe.