San Antonio, Marlins end courtship for now

[marlinfan]

San Antonio, Marlins end courtship for now

By Carlos Frías

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Thursday, May 11, 2006

The Marlins won't be moving to San Antonio, at least not any time soon.

Officials in Bexar County, Texas, had set a May 15 deadline for the Marlins to pledge a move west. But the team this week declined to meet the deadline, saying its preference was to work out a deal in South Florida, according to a San Antonio official.

"Major League Baseball wants them to exhaust all the possibilities in South Florida. That's what the Marlins indicated they want to do. That's their preference," Bexar County Commissioner Lyle Larson said Wednesday.

The Marlins made the decision despite a recent setback in their quest for money to build a South Florida stadium.

Friday night, with less than half an hour before the end of the 2006 legislative session, the Florida Senate passed a bill to give the Marlins $60 million in subsidies to help build a stadium. But as the clock struck midnight, the session ended before the House could vote on the bill.

Judge Nelson Wolff, who presides over the Bexar County Commission, spoke with Marlins President David Samson after the no-vote and Samson said they still were intent on working out a deal in South Florida, Larson said.

San Antonio, which has failed to land baseball and football teams in the past, again feels like it has been rejected, Larson said.

"We're going to stop courting them for now," Larson said. "As in a classic courtship, we're hurt and they're getting what they want."

Wolff wanted a written commitment from the Marlins by May 15, expressing their intention to move if voters in November approve $200 million in rental car and hotel taxes to help build a stadium.

Wolff did not return calls Wednesday and a Marlins spokesman said the team had no comment.

South Florida leaders hoping to work out a deal with the Marlins remain confident, despite the recent failure in Tallahassee.

Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina, who approached the Marlins about building a stadium in his city on land east of Florida's Turnpike, said he was told there were sufficient votes in the House to pass the bill. That legislation would have offered up to $60 million in subsidies to the Marlins and Florida's eight other professional teams.

The Marlins remain at least $100 million short of the $420 million the team says it needs to build a retractable roof stadium, although recent cost estimates have the project reaching $500 million.

Robaina said they will eventually need that $60 million commitment from the state for the deal to happen.

"I think our doors are open for next year," Robaina said. "It's important to have that component. I wish we had it today. I'm sure we'll get it next year."

Bexar County's Larson said the courtship of the Marlins is "definitely over this year," but San Antonio will reconsider the Marlins' interest if a deal reaches an impasse in South Florida.

"I don't think that door is closed completely," Larson said.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/...ADIUM_0511.html

To bad San Antonio, but thanks for the stadium in Hialeah!

[The_Admiral]

Extortion rocks!

[RickV]

Extortion rocks!

True dat. We were used like a cheap $2 dollar whore. Check that, .75 cent whore.