Reason Foundation  Reason Foundation  Miami Stadium Shows
Complexity of Crony Capitalism  Samuel Staley March 13, 2012,
10:20pm  When the city of Miami-Dade County, Florida decided it
wanted to build a new home for the Miami Marlins (formerly the
Florida Marlins), it sunk $347 million into the ball park (with
a total cost for the complex, including financing, amounting to
$2.4 billion). The Marlins fronted $155 million, which is
nontrivial, but still well short of the full construction cost
for a facility that was built almost exclusively for their
benefit. The deal and sports complex has been controversial
since the proposal was first floated by the city-county council
in the early 2000s, and has even been mired in an investigation
by the Securities and Exchange Commission.  What caught my eye
recently, however, was an interesting wrinkle in the contract.
Apparently, the county leases parking spaces to the Marlins on
game days for $10 a spot, allowing the team to sell them to fans
and patrons for a profit. I