Delays in Building Construction Are Setback for Miami NBA Hopes

The 16,000-seat arena Miami hopes to use to lure a NBA franchise to Florida will not be completed in time for the 1987-88 season, likely killing any hopes of getting a team before the 1989-89 season.

An official of the construction firm hired to build the arena said delays in getting construction under way have pushed the expected completion date back from November 1987 to January 1988.

The NBA’s Board of Governors will discuss the possibility of adding one or more franchises to the league later this month.

Minneapolis and Orlando are thought to be other main contenders for a franchise. Minneapolis already has an arena and Orlando does not.

“Obviously the November completion date was based on a starting date of late July, early August, and it’s now October,” said Leo Linbeck, owner of Houston-based Linbeck Construction Corp., contractor for the arena. “Corresponding delays in completion would be obvious.”

The final stumbling block to beginning construction is a document which describes in detail how the $50 million needed to build the arena will be allocated. Called the “Construction Funding Agreement,” the document boils down the contract of more than 10,000 pages to several pages that serve as a blueprint for the disbursement of money.

It is not known when the document will be completed. The initial date to begin construction was early August.

“The NBA owners are not going to grant a franchise unless there’s an absolute certainty that there’s going to be a first-class building ready,” said Russell T. Granik, executive vice president of the NBA.

“There’s no hurry on the NBA’s part to expand. I don’t think the fact that the arena won’t be ready will negatively affect Miami’s overall application.”

The group bidding for the franchise, led by basketball Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham and local theatrical producer Zev Bufman, reserved dates at the Miami Beach Convention Center in case the arena was not ready, but the NBA does not consider the convention center to be a “first-class” building.