by
Chris Shashaty, Phins.com Columnist
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In the wake of the NFL’s
declaration that Land Shark Stadium would need millions of dollars in
renovations to host future Super Bowls, Phins.com has learned that Dolphins
owner Stephen Ross is considering public options to fund the needed
improvements, up to and including sale of the stadium to a third party, perhaps
even local government.
In a story first reported by
ESPN’s Hank Goldberg, Ross and his representatives are exploring options to
sell the stadium which could include local government. One approach is that a
buyer would fund the improvements and then do a lease back to the users of the
stadium. Major tenants of the stadium today include the Dolphins, Florida
Marlins, the
While no deal has been
reached, Dolphins CEO Mike Dee confirmed to Phins.com that all options remain
on the table.
“This (project) is a
community impact”,
“This is not our game. As
soon as the season’s over, we toss the keys to the facility to the NFL and to
Homeland Security. The major winners in this is the community from an economic
perspective, over $300 million for the 2007 Super Bowl in direct spending and
$500 million in direct and indirect spending to the region. The BCS Championship
was about 50% of that.”
“Are there benefits to (us)?
Sure”,
Dee confirmed that two of
the organizations that the Dolphins have already met with are the Super Bowl Host
Committee and the Chamber of Commerce, presumably to gain public support for
exploring a third party sale. Indications are that the Dolphins gained some
traction in those discussions.
“This game's awarded to the
community, not the Dolphins”, Super Bowl Host Committee chairman Rodney Barreto told The Miami Herald. “The community
needs to come together and ask, `Is this important to us?'. A $450 million
economic impact in
The implications of a public
sale are clear in that bonds or tax increases would have to be explored in
order to pay for the needed improvements. The cost of these funding options is
often passed to the public in terms of higher taxes or ticket prices.
“I don’t know. I hope not”,
“What we want to do is find
a way to make the stadium competitive, not only to compete for Super Bowls but
to make the stadium competitive from a Dolphins perspective for many years to
come. We’re in a master planning stage. We’re not at a point where we even know
what it’s going to cost, so I can’t tell you how we’re going to pay for it. Our
goal is to do it in a way that gets it done and is in everybody’s best interest.”
Up to now, the Dolphins have
privately funded capital projects associated with the stadium. Joe Robbie
completed the construction of the facility for about $115 million in 1987, the first
of its kind to be constructed entirely with private funds. Acquiring total
ownership of the stadium from the Robbie family in 1994, H. Wayne Huizenga
poured over $250 million into major improvements and renovations.
Huizenga sold 95% of the
stadium to Ross in January 2009.