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Stadium Gets Tentative Approval On Police Issue

Dispute Between Two Police Agencies Stalls Construction

POSTED: 6:20 pm EDT April 8, 2008
UPDATED: 7:49 pm EDT April 8, 2008

The Miami-Dade Commission Tuesday approved an agreement that would have off-duty county police officers patrol the inside of a new baseball stadium at the site of the Orange Bowl site and city of Miami officers patrolling the outside.

A dispute between the two police agencies had stalled action toward construction of a $525 million stadium, approved in principle by Miami and Miami-Dade officials in February.

"The county manager has presented this as a done deal, but it's not," said Armando Aguilar, president of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police.

He said the Miami FOP is willing to split the off-duty work at the stadium, but the city should have the last say when it comes to command and control, Local 10's Michael Putney reported.

The agreement, approved Tuesday, said the ranking officers at the stadium on any given day would work cooperatively, but doesn't say which department would have the final say.

The debate over the policing agreement led to a larger debate over approval for the larger stadium agreement. "You don't have nine votes to move ahead with it and you need nine votes," said Commissioner Joe Martinez.

Commissioner Carlos Gimenez agreed with Martinez, arguing that county administrators and the mayor, who supports the stadium deal, do not have the votes needed to approve construction and management agreements that will come before the commission on July 1.

Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz, the most enthusiastic stadium supporter on the commission, said that his constituents tell him they want a stadium, and that it would be "a shame" for Miami to lose the Marlins.

The team had talks with Las Vegas officials about two years ago, but has consistently said it wants to stay in Miami as long as a new stadium can be built. The team's current lease at Dolphin Stadium expires in 2010.

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