Charlotte Sports Park

It was put forward as a "compromise" to please worried Key Biscayne residentsБЂ”but the real effect was to dodge the South Florida Regional Planning Council, which must review and approve large projects. Supporters defend these tactics by saying the Lipton is good for Florida, good for Dade County, good for Key Biscayne. They claim a positive economic impact of $111 million annuallyБЂ”an unsubstantiated puffery based on some of the wildest calculations you ever saw. Certainly this is a fine tennis tournament, but it ought to succeed or fail on its own. To use millions in tax money to prop up a private sports enterprise is reckless. To use a public park for it is a disgrace. There's nothing to stop the promoters from buying their own land and developing their own tennis stadiumБЂ”people in South Florida would cheer for its success. As it now stands, every taxpayer in Dade County should get free admission to the Lipton tournament, since they've paid for so much of it. Even if the commission votes for the tennis tax, there's an excellent chance the stadium will need a new location ...»