Dan Le Batard is one of the best sports columnists in the country and he has a great column about the demise of the Florida Marlins.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/13241921.htm

Let me just say this. I am a Sportscaster. I make my living from covering sports. So if there's another professional team in the Portland, it not only makes my job more enjoyable, but it makes me more relevant.

But the big question isn't if Portland can support a team. The big question is building a stadium and who will pay for it.

There's about $150 million dollars on the table now thanks to the Oregon Legislature passing a stadium financing bill 2 years ago. But these days stadiums cost roughly three times that.

Oregon taxpayers aren't going to foot the bill. So where's the money coming from ?

Meet Jeff Loria the owner of the Florida Marlins. According to the Orlando Sun Sentinel Loria offered $212 million dollars of his own money for a new stadium. Let's do the math. 150 million and $220 million makes $370 million. That my friends gives us a new stadium.

Let's see in a few years if it's really that simple.

Ron Pivo
RPivo@kgw.com