Feds subpoena Marlins stadium records

MIAMI, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The U.S. government has asked for city and county documents as part of an investigation into the Miami Marlins' new ballpark.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has given the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County a month to turn over the information about the deal, which critics say has left the city and county with a hefty share of the stadium's $634 million tab.

The Miami Herald said the SEC wants to see a wide range of documentation, including team financial records dating back to 2007 and any records of campaign contributions made by the club to state and local politicians.

"We are trying to determine whether there have been any violations of the federal securities laws," SEC Counsel Drew Panahi said in the subpoenas. "The investigation and the subpoena do not mean that we have concluded that Miami-Dade County or anyone else has broken the law."

The city and county are on the hook for nearly 80 percent of the overall cost of the project, the newspaper said. The fallout was a factor in the recent recall of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez, who was a big proponent of the project.

The new stadium opens for business this spring.