Miami commissioners voted Thursday to borrow up to $45 million to restore historic Marine Stadium, pushing the city as close as it’s ever been to starting a project that has been batted around for years.
By a 3-0 vote, with Frank Carollo and Francis Suarez away from the dais, commissioners allowed the city’s administration to fund a roughly $37 million revamp of the iconic-but-shuttered Virginia Key venue and pay for a 35,000-square-foot maritime center by issuing special obligation bonds. The projects may become part of a larger revamp of the barrier island now that the city is bringing back a failed proposal to redevelop its two marinas next to the stadium.