A key legal obstacle was removed for a new downtown Florida Marlins stadium, and the team will determine whether the ballpark can open for the 2011 season.

Marlins president David Samson said the months of delay caused by a lawsuit challenging the ballpark's financing package might push the completion date to 2012.

The final orders ending a lawsuit filed by an auto dealer against the proposal for several huge projects, including a 37,000-seat, retractable-roof stadium.

Estimated to cost $515 million, the ballpark is to rise on the site of the now-demolished Orange Bowl in Little Havana. The stadium is a major piece of a $3 billion public works package that includes a tunnel for the Port of Miami, a museums park and a downtown trolley line.