Aug 14, 2009 7:00 pm US/Eastern
Marlins Pour Concrete For New Ballpark
LITTLE HAVANA (CBS4) ―
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Workers pour the first concrete base for the Marlins Stadium in Little Havana.
CBS
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Rendering of the Florida Marlins Stadium to be built on the site of the now-demolished Orange Bowl.
Urban Design Review Board/CBS
The Florida Marlins took another concrete step toward realizing the dream of a new ballpark in Little Havana. On Friday workers poured concrete and sweat into the first major foundation for the team's $515 million stadium.
The column rising from that base will be one of twelve to anchor the retractable roof for the 37-thousand seat facility. The Florida Marlins broke ground on the new 37,000 seat stadium in mid-July.
Marlins President David Samson shook the hands of workers as he looked on with evident satisfaction.
Samson said, "I go around and talk to these workers and say hello, and I introduce myself, and I have yet to meet a worker who doesn't live in Miami. All these folks are doing their job and they have an emotional interest in doing it correctly."
Project managers estimate the construction project will generate more than 2,000 jobs.
CBS4 News talked with Bill Riley, the manager for the IBEW(electrical workers) local union, and he remains confident that—as promised—a big share of those jobs will go to local residents.
The ballpark, which is expected to be completed by Opening Day 2012, is being built on a patch of land where the now-demolished Orange Bowl once stood.
Pat Delano is a senior project manager of Hunt Moss, which is overseeing the construction.
"We have well over 2,000 people working out here, and you have to make sure that everyone is safe and everyone is on schedule and producing the right work with the great quality of work," Delano said.
For years, county and city leaders struggled with the idea of finding funding for the new stadium, so as not to overburden the local taxpayers. Deals came and went until in the last year, a deal agreeable to both sides was struck and passed by the city and county commissions.
Since the Marlins inaugural season in 1993, the team has shared Dolphin Stadium, now called Land Shark Stadium, with the Miami Dolphins. The team believes a retractable-roof facility will help draw more fans during South Florida's hot and rainy summers.
The team, which won World Series titles in 1997 and 2003, will be renamed the Miami Marlins when the new stadium opens.
In the shimmering summer heat then, the vision for a long debated permanent home for the Marlins finally takes shape. It's a diamond in the rough rising from the ground, all building toward opening day in 2012.
Click here to see the live webcam of the stadium.
CBS4.COM's Lisa Cilli contributed to this report.
(© 2009 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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