Economist: Stadiums have positive impact
Having professional baseball in South Florida is a factor in attracting new business, Frank Nero, president of the Beacon Council, testified Monday in the Marlins stadium funding lawsuit.
Nero's testimony wrapped up day six of the trial. Two more witnesses are expected before testimony ends Tuesday.
Nero said the Marlins have been a factor in "selling" South Florida since 1992. Upon cross examination, however, Nero said he couldn't point to any single business that moved here as a result of the Marlins presence. He also said no analysis of Marlins' economic impact has been performed since 1991.
The Beacon Council has endorsed a new $525 million stadium in Little Havana.
Earlier Monday, Tony Villamil, chief executive officer of Coral Gables-based Washington Economic Group, testified for the county that a new baseball stadium such as the one planned by the Marlins "serves the public purpose of economic development."
Braman has alleged the city and county are engaging in illegal funding schemes to build the proposed $525 million stadium on the site of the former Orange Bowl. Last week, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Jeri Beth Cohen threw out three more counts of the lawsuit, leaving only two remaining.
The remaining issues are whether a referendum should be ordered because the funding plan relies partly on property tax revenue, and whether the stadium represents a paramount public purpose.
Villamil is a business economist familiar with sources of funding for sports facilities and the political climate in Florida supporting public funding.
He testified that modern stadiums with modern amenities, when located in a city's urban core, help economic development of that area.
Villamil said stadiums have a larger impact than the direct benefits of construction spending, jobs, ticket sales and tourism. An example would be media exposure.
"It is part of the portfolio of amenities of the state or a region, what economists call externality benefits," he said.
The Florida Marlins' current home, Dolphin Stadium, is inappropriate for baseball because of summer heat and rain, remote location and a design catering to professional football, Villamil said electronic check payday advance.
He also referred to a study he helped produce about the economic impact of having a successful Marlins franchise in a new ballpark.
The study suggested a $208 million annual overall impact on gross state product, including $85 million in labor impact, with 2,273 jobs supported by the Marlins. The study also said local and state governments would capture an additional $14 million in taxes and revenue.
Villamil also said Gov. Charlie Crist seems more supportive of tax rebates for new stadiums than former Gov. Jeb Bush.
He acknowledged under cross-examination that the studies on economic impact he had done were based on 2001 data, and he was unable to verify the Marlins' financial information. The study examined stadium sites along the Miami River and at Bicentennial Park, but not the Little Havana site where the Orange Bowl once stood.
The Marlins have fought attempts to bring their financial information into court. County officials have acknowledged they never saw the team's financial statements.
Villamil testified under cross-examination that he would recommend the city and county verify the Marlins' financial information before spending hundreds of millions of dollars on them.
Cohen asked Villamil if he would present a paper to peers at an economic conference today based on 2001 data. Villamil said he would not.
The trial is expected to conclude Tuesday. Cohen said Friday she believes a recent Supreme Court case requiring a public vote on the use of tax-increment financing applies to the Braman case — a hint she may rule that a referendum is needed for the Marlins stadium, as well. But, she has not issued a ruling on that question yet.