Revival hopes for Marine Stadium are dashed again — as indictment surrounding new operator emerges
By Daniel Rivero
September 5, 2025 at 12:47 PM EDT
Two City of Miami ballot amendments will not appear on November ballots, a major setback for plans to move forward with voting reforms and efforts to restore Miami Marine Stadium, which has been abandoned by the city for 33 years.
A special city meeting to put the items on November ballots was cancelled because not enough city commissioners showed up to City Hall. Only Commissioners Ralph Rosado and Damian Pardo were in attendance.
The main reason for the setback was a major indictment that the city had no idea existed.
The CEO of Oak View Group, the parent company of Global Spectrum LP — the company that won the bid to manage Miami Marine Stadium that voters would have been asked to approve — was indicted two months ago in an alleged bid rigging scheme in Texas. The Department of Justice alleged that CEO Tim Leiweke rigged a bid to manage events at the Moody Center, an arena located on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. Prosecutors alleged that he convinced another bidder to back down in return for granting the company subcontracts at the venue.
City manager Art Noriega said he was unaware of the indictment until a Miami Herald reporter emailed the city asking about it on Thursday evening.
“ I didn't know about the indictment,” said Noriega in an interview. “ I wasn't comfortable and I don't think the electeds were comfortable moving forward right now.”
The cancellation of the meeting also impacts another ballot item that commissioners hoped to get before voters in November: a contentious plan to move city elections to even number years starting in 2032.
City leaders previously voted to extend the terms of some office holders another year, until 2026, when elections would start being held on even numbered years, but they were pegged back by state officials and a lawsuit.
'Not comfortable with the vendor'
The Leiweke indictment was sealed and the charges were dismissed after the company paid $15 million in penalties, reported Variety. Leiweke denied wrongdoing and was reportedly offered a non-prosecution agreement. He stepped down as CEO and transitioned into the role of vice chairman of the company. The indictment is no longer available for review on federal courts databases.
Noriega said the city is not necessarily “done” with considering Global Spectrum LP as an operator, but added that he is “ not comfortable with the set of circumstances with the vendor and the continued role of the former CEO.”
“ We're just gonna put it on hold for now while we continue to do some work. The hope is maybe we come up with a strategy to address some of those issues, and we come back to the commission at some point,” said Noriega.
WLRN has reached out to Oak View for comment.
The deadline for placing a ballot item on the November ballot was today. Noriega said realistically the two ballot items will not be considered until next year.
"We’re disappointed that two voter referendums could not be heard today due to a lack of quorum," Commissioner Pardo said in a statement. "We remain committed to ensuring voters have the opportunity to vote on these items."
When Noriega announced the cancellation of the meeting, groans emanated from the small crowd gathered at City Hall. Residents have dealt with setback after setback over the course of several decades on plans to renovate Marine Stadium.
But this time was supposed to be different.
Longtime advocate Don Worth told WLRN prior to the special meeting that “This is the best news that we’ve had in the 18 years I’ve been working on this.” City commissioner Pardo pleaded with residents harboring doubts that this time things would actually get done: “I think you have to believe.”
The setback is also a major disappointment for Mayor Francis Suarez, who has spoken about moving forward with the renovation plans as an important part of the legacy he wanted to put in place before leaving office later this year. That will not be possible now.
Under the terms of the potential 40-year contract that did not go forward at the cancelled meeting, the City of Miami would receive 93% of gross sales at Marine Stadium, after deducting a $33,333 monthly management fee to the company. The city would have also kept 85% of sponsorship revenues. The company would have been required to provide $10 million in renovation towards the restoration of Miami Marine Stadium.
Commissioner Pardo previously told WLRN that details on how to finance the rest of the restoration still had to be figured out by the city, even if the contract was approved by voters. He estimated up to $65 million might have to be borrowed by the city to pay for the renovation. City manager Noriega said that while the contract is pending further investigation, the city is resolved to move forward with the overarching plan and will move forward with the financial part of the equation.
“ We're gonna work on that in the interim,” said Noriega.
Controversy over voting reform
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sounded the alarm about a commission vote earlier this year that extended the terms of office for current officeholders without public input, warning that it was unconstitutional. A lawsuit brought forward by Emilio Gonzalez, a candidate for Mayor, resulted in a court declaring that the action was illegal. An appeals court upheld that decision this week.
The ballot item was supposed to try to accomplish much of the same goals, but in a legal way.
“ The fact that commissioners didn't show up for this meeting today is just a lack of respect for the residents who are here, and it shows their true hand,” said former commissioner Ken Russell, who was at City Hall to turn in his qualifying forms to run for mayor in November. “If they really wanted good government and even-year voting, they would've been here to put it on the ballot.”
Commissioner Joe Carollo told WLRN he could not make the meeting because it was originally scheduled for Thursday, but was changed to Friday.
"I made plans to go yesterday and changed my whole schedule, but could not do that for today," said Carollo.
Besides that, Carollo said the numbers presented to him on Thursday about the fiscal plan for Miami Marine Stadium made him question that deal in the first place. He said the process was pushed forward too quickly, even before the news of the indictment came out.
"How in the world is the city going to vote for something without any analysis whatsoever," he said. "What they presented to me was just numbers that they threw down with no backup."
Carollo also questioned the effort at voting reform, saying it was only an effort to "correct" the vote that extended terms of officials earlier this year that was found illegal by the courts. He said it would be better to put reforms on the ballot on an even number year, when voter turnout is higher — the very issue the proposed reform is trying to address.
"If there’s truly a demand to the public to do this, like they say, they should do it on an even number year," said Carollo.
Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela was on a pre-planned trip outside Miami.
The office of Commissioner Christine King said the reason she was not at the meeting is that she was feeling “under the weather."
Resident Joshua Kaufman is trying to gather enough signatures to place a citizen ballot initiative on the ballot at some point, an effort called Stronger Miami. The effort would extend the number of city commissioners from five to nine, quickly move elections to even-numbered years and prevent politicians from drawing their own district maps.
He told WLRN that with the city’s own plans failing due to the cancelled meeting, he sees renewed promise in his initiative, which has already collected 10,000 signatures. City officials have failed to reform local elections, he said, and so residents have to step up for themselves.
“ We'll be collecting all throughout this year, and then we're putting it on the ballot next year for the August primary,” said Kaufman. “ It's not really a question of if this is going to be on the ballot. It's just a question of when.”
A special city meeting to put the items on November ballots was cancelled because not enough city commissioners showed up to City Hall. Only Commissioners Ralph Rosado and Damian Pardo were in attendance.
The main reason for the setback was a major indictment that the city had no idea existed.
The CEO of Oak View Group, the parent company of Global Spectrum LP — the company that won the bid to manage Miami Marine Stadium that voters would have been asked to approve — was indicted two months ago in an alleged bid rigging scheme in Texas. The Department of Justice alleged that CEO Tim Leiweke rigged a bid to manage events at the Moody Center, an arena located on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. Prosecutors alleged that he convinced another bidder to back down in return for granting the company subcontracts at the venue.
City manager Art Noriega said he was unaware of the indictment until a Miami Herald reporter emailed the city asking about it on Thursday evening.
“ I didn't know about the indictment,” said Noriega in an interview. “ I wasn't comfortable and I don't think the electeds were comfortable moving forward right now.”
The cancellation of the meeting also impacts another ballot item that commissioners hoped to get before voters in November: a contentious plan to move city elections to even number years starting in 2032.
City leaders previously voted to extend the terms of some office holders another year, until 2026, when elections would start being held on even numbered years, but they were pegged back by state officials and a lawsuit.
'Not comfortable with the vendor'
The Leiweke indictment was sealed and the charges were dismissed after the company paid $15 million in penalties, reported Variety. Leiweke denied wrongdoing and was reportedly offered a non-prosecution agreement. He stepped down as CEO and transitioned into the role of vice chairman of the company. The indictment is no longer available for review on federal courts databases.
Noriega said the city is not necessarily “done” with considering Global Spectrum LP as an operator, but added that he is “ not comfortable with the set of circumstances with the vendor and the continued role of the former CEO.”
“ We're just gonna put it on hold for now while we continue to do some work. The hope is maybe we come up with a strategy to address some of those issues, and we come back to the commission at some point,” said Noriega.
WLRN has reached out to Oak View for comment.
The deadline for placing a ballot item on the November ballot was today. Noriega said realistically the two ballot items will not be considered until next year.
"We’re disappointed that two voter referendums could not be heard today due to a lack of quorum," Commissioner Pardo said in a statement. "We remain committed to ensuring voters have the opportunity to vote on these items."
When Noriega announced the cancellation of the meeting, groans emanated from the small crowd gathered at City Hall. Residents have dealt with setback after setback over the course of several decades on plans to renovate Marine Stadium.
But this time was supposed to be different.
Longtime advocate Don Worth told WLRN prior to the special meeting that “This is the best news that we’ve had in the 18 years I’ve been working on this.” City commissioner Pardo pleaded with residents harboring doubts that this time things would actually get done: “I think you have to believe.”
The setback is also a major disappointment for Mayor Francis Suarez, who has spoken about moving forward with the renovation plans as an important part of the legacy he wanted to put in place before leaving office later this year. That will not be possible now.
Under the terms of the potential 40-year contract that did not go forward at the cancelled meeting, the City of Miami would receive 93% of gross sales at Marine Stadium, after deducting a $33,333 monthly management fee to the company. The city would have also kept 85% of sponsorship revenues. The company would have been required to provide $10 million in renovation towards the restoration of Miami Marine Stadium.
Commissioner Pardo previously told WLRN that details on how to finance the rest of the restoration still had to be figured out by the city, even if the contract was approved by voters. He estimated up to $65 million might have to be borrowed by the city to pay for the renovation. City manager Noriega said that while the contract is pending further investigation, the city is resolved to move forward with the overarching plan and will move forward with the financial part of the equation.
“ We're gonna work on that in the interim,” said Noriega.
Controversy over voting reform
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sounded the alarm about a commission vote earlier this year that extended the terms of office for current officeholders without public input, warning that it was unconstitutional. A lawsuit brought forward by Emilio Gonzalez, a candidate for Mayor, resulted in a court declaring that the action was illegal. An appeals court upheld that decision this week.
The ballot item was supposed to try to accomplish much of the same goals, but in a legal way.
“ The fact that commissioners didn't show up for this meeting today is just a lack of respect for the residents who are here, and it shows their true hand,” said former commissioner Ken Russell, who was at City Hall to turn in his qualifying forms to run for mayor in November. “If they really wanted good government and even-year voting, they would've been here to put it on the ballot.”
Commissioner Joe Carollo told WLRN he could not make the meeting because it was originally scheduled for Thursday, but was changed to Friday.
"I made plans to go yesterday and changed my whole schedule, but could not do that for today," said Carollo.
Besides that, Carollo said the numbers presented to him on Thursday about the fiscal plan for Miami Marine Stadium made him question that deal in the first place. He said the process was pushed forward too quickly, even before the news of the indictment came out.
"How in the world is the city going to vote for something without any analysis whatsoever," he said. "What they presented to me was just numbers that they threw down with no backup."
Carollo also questioned the effort at voting reform, saying it was only an effort to "correct" the vote that extended terms of officials earlier this year that was found illegal by the courts. He said it would be better to put reforms on the ballot on an even number year, when voter turnout is higher — the very issue the proposed reform is trying to address.
"If there’s truly a demand to the public to do this, like they say, they should do it on an even number year," said Carollo.
Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela was on a pre-planned trip outside Miami.
The office of Commissioner Christine King said the reason she was not at the meeting is that she was feeling “under the weather."
Resident Joshua Kaufman is trying to gather enough signatures to place a citizen ballot initiative on the ballot at some point, an effort called Stronger Miami. The effort would extend the number of city commissioners from five to nine, quickly move elections to even-numbered years and prevent politicians from drawing their own district maps.
He told WLRN that with the city’s own plans failing due to the cancelled meeting, he sees renewed promise in his initiative, which has already collected 10,000 signatures. City officials have failed to reform local elections, he said, and so residents have to step up for themselves.
“ We'll be collecting all throughout this year, and then we're putting it on the ballot next year for the August primary,” said Kaufman. “ It's not really a question of if this is going to be on the ballot. It's just a question of when.”