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Marlins Stadium Lawsuit Heads To Court

City And County Approved Miami Marlins Stadium

Stadium said to cost around $515 million

MIAMI (CBS4) ― A lawsuit challenging a financing plan for a new Florida Marlins ballpark and other public projects will head to court this week.

Auto dealer and philanthropist Norman Braman claims in the lawsuit that a proposed financing plan for a multi-billion dollar mega-plan is unconstitutional because it didn't allow residents to vote on the issue. Braman has sued the City of Miami, Miami-Dade County and the Florida Marlins.

"This is another example of the type of contempt that our public officials have for the citizens who live here," said Braman.

Braman has his supporters on the Miami Dade Commission including Javier Souto who was so angry over the push to approve the stadium plan that he ripped the proposal in half the night the vote was taken.

"This is a disgrace to the democratic process, what we're doing here today," Souto told his fellow commissioners, "we're not consulting with the people."

City and county government officials say the mega-plan project will benefit a community that is in need.

"The way I see it, we're not building a stadium for the Marlins," County Mayor Carlos Alvarez said before the city vote. "We are building a stadium for Miami-Dade County residents. We are going to own that stadium."

Wednesday, both sides get to present their case to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jeri Beth Cohen.

The $3 billion plan also includes a tunnel to the Port of Miami, a downtown trolley and pay off $484 million of construction debt at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

The Marlins hope to begin playing at the new 37,000-seat stadium in 2011.

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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