COUNTY COMMISHES GIVE OKAY TO MARLINS STADIUM

After three separate ownership groups had tried to gain approval for a new ballpark, the Florida Marlins appear to be on the way to getting a field of their own. Following a 3-2 Miami City Commission vote approving the Marlins’ proposed 37,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof, Miami-Dade County commissioners similarly gave a thumbs-up last Monday. The vote came after nearly ten hours of meetings.


Thousands of hours of negotiations have gone into the project, which will cost $625 million for the ballpark and a parking lot at the site of the former Orange Bowl football stadium. Officially, the county will own the new ballpark. The team, which will be renamed the Miami Marlins after moving into the stadium in 2012, is under a lease to play at Dolphins Stadium through the 2010 season.