The Dolphins want taxpayer funds to renovate Sun Life Stadium in order to get on the Super Bowl L short list. Unfortunately the bad taste from the Marlins’ taxpayer-funded stadium lingers:
State lawmakers are now considering whether to exempt the Dolphins from $90 million in state income tax over 30 years and permit Miami-Dade County to raise its hotel bed tax by 1 percentage point to cover the balance of the public share of the stadium deal.
Their plan might have received a warmer welcome if it had not come so soon after the Marlins moved into their stadium and dismantled their team. As of Thursday, the bill still had to pass through two more committees in the state assembly and one more committee in the state senate before it could be brought to the floor for a vote. Gov. Rick Scott has not clearly indicated whether he will sign the bill if it reaches his desk.
A Florida International University survey found that showed a majority of Miami-Dade voters opposed taxpayer funding for the stadium because “the Dolphins have failed to distinguish themselves from the Marlins.”
