Venue News: Oakland Strives to Keep Raiders with New Stadium Proposals; Miami Taxpayers Burdened by Marlins Park

Compiled by Karen Hogan, Associate Editor, Sports Video Group

Oakland’s dream of remaining the home of at least one professional sports franchise continued Friday as the governing board overseeing the coliseum complex agreed to spend $1 million studying new stadium proposals. Dubbed “Coliseum City,” the proposal calls for a construction of an entertainment and sports district on the 1,000 acres of land where the O.co Coliseum and Oracle Arena now stand. The project models itself after the vibrant L.A. Live development in downtown Los Angeles anchored by Staples Arena that houses three professional sports teams. The development also has several entertainment options including a theater, restaurants and bars. Although the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum complex currently houses three professional teams, only the Oakland Raiders appear willing to look at future options at the site…

…Miami-Dade county taxpayers must be wishing Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria had stuck with his original game plan. For years Loria ran a low-budget baseball franchises and made a fortune by successfully maneuvering through Major League Baseball’s financial system. But then Loria decided to switch to a different form of welfare: taxpayers. Last year, the Miami Marlins opened $639 million, publicly financed  ballpark and parking complex. Usually teams thrive when they first move into a new stadium because of higher attendance, splashy amenities, and luxury seating boost revenue. But the Marlins stadium has been a disaster and Miami-Dade county taxpayers are getting hosed like nobody before them…

…How can you turn $91 million into almost $1.2 billion? Buy some bonds from Miami-Dade County. The Economic Time Machine helped cover the debate over the Miami Dolphins requesting Miami-Dade hotel taxes for part of a $400 million stadium renovation. County commissioners endorsed the plan with a non-binding resolution. But they emphasized they wouldn’t approve anything close to the 2009 deal given to the Marlins, which had the county footing most of the construction bill for the new $639 million ballpark and parking complex. Miami-Dade borrowed about $400 million in that deal by selling bonds on Wall Street. During the commission discussion on the Dolphins plan, Mayor Carlos Gimenez mentioned one set of stadium bonds worth about $90 million would cost more than $1 billion to pay back. ETM thought: Can that be true? The answer: yes…

…The State of Michigan and Detroit Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch could reportedly team up on a deal to build a new $560 million arena and entertainment complex in downtown Detroit. Crain’s Detroit Business reported Sunday night that discussions to possibly use a state fund to help bankroll the investment were held in November between state officials and representatives of the Ilitch family. News of the state’s reported interest in the project comes at a time when funding for the arena and entertainment appears far from finalized…

…Stade Francois Coty, a French football stadium in the Corsican city of Ajaccio, France, has completed audio upgrades compliant to league standards, with seven Technomad advanced audio loudspeakers covering the entire venue. Home club AC Ajaccio recently transitioned to Ligue 2, also known as Division 2 in the LFP French professional football league.  The league-imposed audio upgrades required a higher measure of intelligibility and audio coverage throughout the stadium — a quality the previous audio system lacked. Systems integration company Atacc International worked with French Technomad dealer Audiopole to develop the new system, ensuring intelligible voice and music is audible throughout the stands.