Matt Welch takes Miami Dade County to task over the Marlins new stadium. The total cost by the time the stadium gets paid off is now $2.4 billion, most of that coming from 40 years of interest. The Marlins are contributing just $120 million, or 5%. That doesn’t seem like much:

No, it really doesn’t. Particularly since A) the team has spent (if I’m not mistaken) less on payroll the past four years than any other major league team, a combined $104 million from 2006-2009, and not surprisingly B) has produced inferior (if occasionally promising) product, going 17 games under .500 during that stretch, even though C) Picasso-owning, 7,000-square-foot-Upper-East-Side-apartment-living team owner Jeffrey Loria has seen the value of his franchise rise to an estimated $277 million since he bought it for $158 million in 2002.

Here’s an idea: Tie interest on the debt to the Marlins winning percentage. In years the Marlins are above .600, the county pays all the interest. In years the Marlins are below .500, they pay all the interest. Put a sliding scale in between. That would be a great incentive to at least have a winning team playing in the new ballpark.