Marlins Stadium Sidelined

The fate of a stadium deal in Florida has been put on hold by Miami-Dade county commissioners, whose decision to postpone a recent vote could save the foundering proposal.

Plans for the $515 million, 37,000-seat Florida Marlins stadium have been in the works for years, but when commissioners gathered for what was expected to be the final vote on the project Feb. 13, questions arose regarding last-minute modifications to the deal, according to the Miami Herald.

One commissioner who sought concessions, Marc Sarnoff, asked to make the Marlins more accountable for the project’s cost overruns and requested that city and county governments be offered greater shares in future naming rights deals and team sales, the paper said.

Apparently, Sarnoff’s objections didn’t go over very well with team executives and other commissioners during the meeting.

Marlins President David Samson said the entire deal would have to be revisited if the changes were made, the Herald reported.

“The entire agreement, every single provision, would then be reopened,” Samson said.

Facing a 2-2 tie with the absence of one commission member, chair Joe Sanchez called the deal “dead” for the time being.

“I am appalled at how we have handled this,” Sanchez said.

Commissioners head back to vote on the deal March 12.