More of the Dolphin Stadium Funding

This letter appeared in the Miami Herald, it was written by Marty Margulies. The Urban Environment League has worked with Marty on issues over the years and we thought this letter worth a reprint:

Another stadium 'giveaway' looms
On the heels of the greatest giveaway in the history of baseball -- the Marlins stadium -- it's no wonder that the NFL is lining up to get its slice of the pie for another taxpayer giveaway.

The NFL and the Miami Dolphins ownership are trying to cash in on the hype of the Super Bowl by asking the citizens of Miami-Dade County to fund a roof and 3,000 additional seats for Dolphin Stadium, now Sun Life Stadium.

The roof is a cover-up, both literally and figuratively, for the real reason. It's not about a game that might or might not be given to South Florida every four or five years; it's that 3,000 more revenue-producing seats will be pure profit for the Dolphins and actually work against the taxpayers.

Fans may not even be able to view the games on television because if the seats are not sold out, the games will be blacked out.

Despite joblessness, home foreclosures, Jackson Memorial Hospital losing $14 million per month and severe government budget problems, you can bet that the Miami-Dade County Commission will not put this to a vote, and may even foolishly vote for this even with the constituency of the third-world conditions in the communities of Overtown, Liberty City, Little Haiti and Little Havana.

This would be -- plain and simple -- another giveaway to a private owner who is very capable of funding the improvements to his stadium.

MARTIN MARGULIES, Key Biscayne