"On the first morning of the rest of the Florida Marlins' lives, team president David Samson wiped sleep from his eyes and proudly showed pictures on his iPhone of the first bit of dirt being moved for the team's new stadium.

It was 3 a.m. today at Miami-Dade County Hall when he signed the final paperwork that set in motion the construction of the $515 million retractable-roof stadium in Little Havana. The team agreed at the last minute to cover a $6.2 million shortfall when the sale of bonds to finance the stadium brought in only $341 million instead of the expected $347 million.

"There are no hurdles left," Samson said. "It's time to get this building built."

Construction workers were ready today to wake up and begin clearing the land for the new stadium and parking garage. But had the county commission not remained in session past 1 a.m. to finalize the deal, those workers would have remained on hold, said Samson, who credited the commission for its action.

The team will have a public groundbreaking celebration at 10 a.m. July 18. The stadium at the site of the now-razed Orange Bowl is scheduled to open for the 2012 season."