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02/22/2008: "Here Come The Miami Marlins!"

I swear, I didn't think I'd live to see the day, but the Marlins finally have a funding plan in place that will give the team a long-needed new stadium. The retractibly-domed facility, which will be built on the current site of the soon-to-be-demolished Orange Bowl, will seat 37,000 fans and open for the 2011 season. At that time, the team name will be changed to the Miami Marlins.

From Day One in franchise history, the Fish have been hobbled by the lack of a decent stadium and the revenue it brings. We've watched two World Series championship teams be built and subsequently demolished, and a whole string of young players developed and traded, all in the name of finances. Now, finally, the team can make plans based on solid finances down the road. That means that as painful as it will be to watch Josh Beckett and Miguel Cabrera tear it up on other teams, we can rest assured that Hanley Ramirez and Cameron Maybin will have a home in South Florida for years to come.

I can't tell you the number of times I've seen a deal come so close and then fail at the last minute. Even this one was on the brink until or League Baseball Chief Operating Officer Bob Dupuy, who was at the two key hearings held yesterday, stated what should have been obvious to all present.

As commissioners still squabbled before a final vote, Dupuy chose to step forward.

''The failure to move forward on the Baseball Stadium Agreement today is a death knell for baseball,'' he said.

Not long after -- after yet more squabbling -- the commission finally took the vote that gave the Marlins the stadium they have craved for so long.

Now it's up to the fans of the Marlins in South Florida. For years, they've used the stadium as the excuse to not support the team, thinking they'd pick up and move to Las Vegas, or Portland, or wherever. The Fish are here forever, and they're even adopting your name. Don't feel like you have to wait until 2011 to support your team - your team. Get your tickets and cheer the Marlins out at the Rob!