South Florida Sports

Just heard it today on Hank Goldberg's radio show..."The Orange Bowl to be torn down to build a new football and soccer only stadium for the U". They will not remodel the Orange Bowl but build a new one. It will be a 65,000 seat stadium. The Canes will play for the next two years at Dolphins Stadium. This deal does not involve the Marlins, it is only for the University of Miami.

Well Hank said that there is not much space to build a Dolphins Stadium style building at the Orange Bowl site so the new one will probably maintain the ambience of the old Orange Bowl. The U owns the land and after Wilma damaged the OB I guess it made more sense to build a new stadium from scratch than to keep upgrading the old one. Th cost will not be that much higher and most of the money will probably be private. I just hope the Marlins get off their A$$ and put up more money from their pockets towards a new stadium somewhere in Dade :bash:

Stiles To Construct 96,600-SF Football Training Facility
By Marita Thomas
Last updated: March 1, 2006 01:40pm

DAVIE, FL-Fort Lauderdale-based Stiles Construction Co. has begun construction of a 96,600-sf indoor training facility for the Miami Dolphins. It is located on 2.5 acres at 7500 SW 30th St. adjacent the team’s existing training facility at Nova Southeastern University. The cost is estimated at $9 million, and it is expected to reach completion this July to coincide with the opening of the Dolphins’ training camp.

The bubble-like structure is being manufactured and installed by Rye Brook, NY-based Air Structures American Technologies Inc. Approximately 13 tons of a high-tech fabric and 42.5 tons of cable form the custom-built exterior of the structure, which is 230 feet wide by 420 feet long and 70 feet high at its peak and supported by air. It contains a regulation football field surfaced with FieldTurf artificial grass turf.

The interior is climate controlled, allowing the team to utilize it during inclement weather and the July/August training period’s high temperatures. In addition, according to Timothy Moore, president of the construction arm of Stiles Corp., the structure can simulate different climates in order to prepare players for games in colder or dryer climates and also simulate crowd noise. In addition to practice, the team will use the facility for other community and youth-oriented events.

In announcing plans for the indoor facility, Dolphins’ coach Nick Saban said, “it enhances our chances to prepare our team well. If you don’t have an indoor facility, you’ve got to cut down the practice time in preparation for the game so players can recover [from the heat]… . It’s really a player health and safety issue as much as anything.”