Miami Heat offer county a new stadium deal

The Miami Heat offered the city a new agreement — one that does not call for the construction of a stadium. But the Heat are asking for higher government subsidies and fixed rent to Miami-Dade County.

“We’re trying to avoid a new stadium,” Eric Woolworth, the Heat’s president of business operations, told the Miami Herald. “This is a conscious decision by the owner to avoid that kind of situation,” Jorge Luis Lopez, a Heat lobbyist and lawyer, added.

The deal would add at least five years to an arena agreement set to expire in 2030. Currently, Miami-Dade, which owns the AmericanAirlines Arena, pays the Heat about $6.5 million a year as an operating subsidy.

The new deal, which is endorsed by Miami Mayor Carlos Gimenez, would end profit-sharing in favor of a $1 million yearly donation to the county’s parks department. The current county subsidy to the Heat would remain in place until 2031, when it would increase to $8.5 million a year. [Miami Herald] – Christopher Cameron