MIAMI GARDENS - Sun Life Stadium (75,540)

[RMB2007]

Shame the owner is so poor that he can't afford to pay for these changes out of his own pocket. Oh...

[renatorres2000]

preseason game vs Falcons

[RMB2007]

Originally Posted by KingmanIII

The latest:

Miami Dolphins CEO Mike Dee: Sun Life Stadium needs significant improvements, with or without public funding

South Florida has already been host to 10 Super Bowls, the most of any city in the NFL, and the Dolphins badly want to land Super Bowl 50, scheduled for February 2016.

The Dolphins are competing against just one other city for the game, but it is a daunting opponent – San Francisco, which hosted the game just once (1985) but has a brand new $1 billion stadium on the way, loaded with high-tech gadgets and other conveniences to enhance the fan experience. The game will be awarded next May, and the Dolphins are working feverishly on putting their Super Bowl plan together.

“You picture what our opponents may do, being in the technology hub of the United States,” Dolphins CEO Mike Dee said Wednesday. “We can’t treat it like any other Super Bowl, nor is it a right that we have to expect that we’re going to get it. We’ve got to have a game plan to commemorate this Super Bowl in a way that other bids haven’t included.”

But Dee said that Sun Life Stadium, built in 1987 and the oldest non-renovated stadium in the Super Bowl rotation, won’t suffice for much longer without significant upgrades – both for major events or for the Dolphins and Hurricanes, who play there regularly. Seventeen new stadiums have been built in the last 15 years, with new ones in San Francisco, Minnesota and Los Angeles on the way, and Super Bowls are now being awarded to non-traditional sites like Indianapolis and New York. College football’s championship game is also moving to a bid process.

“We’ve got a 25-year-old facility, and it clearly needs some tender loving care,” Dee said. “This facility, in its current form, is not going to serve the anchor tenants for the long-term. We’re going to be in a competitive environment with a lot of facilities that have been built in the last 10 years. Clearly, it’s something that’s going to have to be addressed at some point.”

Among the upgrades being discussed:

* Building a canopy over the seating bowl to protect fans from the sun and rain.

* Moving the seats closer to the field and improving sightlines now that the Marlins no longer are tenants.

* Installing high-definition lights for high-def TV broadcasts

* Updating the scoreboard system, which is now 10 years old.

“The reality is that most stadiums are either retractable or covered,” he said. “That’s just something that I think will put us in a much better position to not only compete for major events, but would put us in a much better position for fans who use the stadium on a regular basis, and have an environment that is protected for sun, wind and rain.”

But Dee said “it’s too early to tell” whether the Dolphins will aggressively pursue public funding for stadium upgrades or pay for them privately. The latest actions of the Marlins, who received $600 million in public funds for a new stadium but then traded away most of their high-priced players last week, likely won’t help the Dolphins get public funding.

“We’ve got to have a plan and we’ve got to have dialogue with the community to see if there’s an appetite for that (public money),” Dee said. “We’re going to put this (Super Bowl) bid in with the best stadium we can. If that means the stadium in its current form, so be it, but we’ve got more work to do on that front.”

One improvement to Sun Life Stadium that is already close to completion is the installation of high-density wireless internet throughout the stadium and parking lots, courtesy of AT&T. The stadium’s current wireless capabilities can’t handle 60,000-plus fans all using their cell phones and other wireless devices, but the Dolphins are currently installing the new wifi system, and hope to have it operable by the Dec. 16 home game against the Jaguars. It is unlikely that the Dolphins will have it ready by the Dec. 2 home game against New England.

http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/theda...ublic-funding/

[Matheus Oliveira]

A classic football/soccer stadium hahaha

[Marckymarc]

Miami Dolphins CEO Mike Dee:

“The reality is that most stadiums are either retractable or covered,” he said.

Baloney, Mr. Dee. 21 of the 31 NFL Stadiums have stands that are mostly uncovered.

[will101]

Originally Posted by Marckymarc

Baloney, Mr. Dee. 21 of the 31 NFL Stadiums have stands that are mostly uncovered.

He must be from northern Europe.

[JJG]

Originally Posted by Matheus Oliveira

A classic football/soccer stadium hahaha

There's nothing "classic" about Sun Life Stadium...

[eMKay]

Originally Posted by JJG

There's nothing "classic" about Sun Life Stadium...

I think this guy is a spammer building up his post count, pops into threads and posts random junk.

[Cogan]

I was surprised to learn that this stadium has slight obstructed views in the upper tier endzones. This picture from earlier in the thread illustrates it well:

Originally Posted by Dexter Morgan

image hosted on flickr

After looking at this picture, I have a couple of questions regarding the proposed expansion:

1. It doesn't look like they could put in many rows along the sidelines where the fans will be able to to see over the players on the sidelines, so are they planning to lower the field to fit in more rows?

2. If they lower the field won't this cause greater obstructions for the aforementioned upper-tier endzone seats?

[Archbishop]

Now getting obstructed view seats for the national championship game is a big fear of mine.

[FloridaKnight]

Originally Posted by Archbishop

Now getting obstructed view seats for the national championship game is a big fear of mine.

It's just a few feet of the back of the endzone, really. It won't be sitting behind a pillar like at MetLife Stadium.

[eMKay]

Does this one work?

[JJG]

Originally Posted by eMKay

Does this one work?

The Buffalo Wildwings Guys are at it again...

[Bobdreamz]

^ That was hilarious yesterday! We were just trying to make the Seattle Seahawks feel at home with some artificial rain!

[1772]

It just occured to me that at several occasions the Hurricanes had their game at Sunlife on a saturday and the Dolphins had theirs on a sunday; on the same weekend!

Isn't it standard protocol if two teams share a stadium that they have their away game the same weekend as the other have their home game?

Must be hell to have only one day to clean and redrape the stadium from Fins to Canes.

[Lumbergo]

the only way they could really bring the stands closer to the field is if they tore down one of the endzones and moved it back a bit with a rebuild and possibly even lower the field (which would be a challenge in and of itself considering the water table) as it is, the endzone stands are very close to to the field while the side lines are not. it would be very expensive to do a remodel like this but not impossible. probably still cheaper than a new stadium.

[en1044]

Originally Posted by Lumbergo

the only way they could really bring the stands closer to the field is if they tore down one of the endzones and moved it back a bit with a rebuild and possibly even lower the field (which would be a challenge in and of itself considering the water table) as it is, the endzone stands are very close to to the field while the side lines are not. it would be very expensive to do a remodel like this but not impossible. probably still cheaper than a new stadium.

What if they took this approach?

The endzone seats would be a little higher off the field but it wouldn't be that bad. And it would save a lot of money.

[will101]

Originally Posted by JJG

The Buffalo Wildwings Guys are at it again...

In another age this would have been an example of the sense of humor of the "Artesians".

[will101]

Originally Posted by en1044

What if they took this approach?

The endzone seats would be a little higher off the field but it wouldn't be that bad. And it would save a lot of money.

The problem with that is evidenced by the pic in message #189 above. The upper level end zone seats are already blocked from part of the end zone.

[Matheus Oliveira]

Originally Posted by eMKay

I think this guy is a spammer building up his post count, pops into threads and posts random junk.

I was saying about the renovation project.