Dolphins agree to referendum for stadium tax dollars

Saying a football stadium needs to be an intimate atmosphere is like Tom Hanks saying there is no crying in baseball. It's ludicrous! We don't go to be intimate with our team! We go to raise hell with the opponent! Kicking and screaming when huge plays are made. There is nothing intimate about it.

Your supposed point has never been SOLEY your point to begin with. Almost every single person has agreed that the stadium needs upgrades. Many of which have said the seats should be closer. You act like your alone in this battle because you think that's the only important thing going and it will lead to wins. That's where you stand alone and why I go back and forth with you so much on the issue!

As the stadium stands right now, if you put a winning product in the field, the place will get full and be plenty loud enough to mess with the opponent! Put a really good product on the field with renovations done and it will be a little louder along the sidelines. That's it!

 

There aren't plenty of other cities though.

This is the great fallacy that is borne of the NFL's fear mongering.

LA is no closer to being a reality today then it was 10 years ago. There is no stadium being built, there have been no approvals, there is no agreement in either the coty or LA County as to which site is better (in fact most prefer Ed Roski's City of Industry site). In short, it's the white whale. LA is far more valuable to the NFL as a threat then a destination.

 

Nonsense. The NFL sets the prices for Super Bowl tickets. There is no discounting for an older stadium

 

We are already getting those "world class events".

Sun Life hosted a National Championship game just one month ago and is part of the upcoming colege football playoff. Sun Life also hosts every stadium concert tour that comes around, which are few and far between by the way since there are very few acts other than U2, Paul McCartney or the Rolling Stones who can even come close to filling a stadium.

And now there is only the vague threat that we might not get a Super Bowl, which John Mara has already basically shot down. So, we will probably still get all these events by doing nothing.

I agree with you, as i have said 100 times but you're apparently not hearing, that the upgrades would be rgeat and would make the stadium experience better. I just think that Ross, who will get the maximum benefit, should be paying for them.

 

I'm not sure what amenities the luxury boxes at other stadiums have compared to Sun Life. I am sure they all have nice tvs, food and good service.

 

Personally, as someone who has attended over 150 games in Sun Life Stadium, I really don't see anything wrong with it, the way it is. In fact the SB next year is being played in New Jersey and the league is already talking about the game being moved to Saturday or possible Monday, if the weather is expected to be too cold on the Sunday the game is scheduled.

There have been ten SB's in Miami to date and only one, the last one, had rain. It is ridiculous that the NFL is concerned with a little rain during the game and yet they are willing to hold a game in New Jersey in the middle of the winter. That is hypocrisy at its best.

The atmosphere and the crowd impact on the game will return when the Dolphins provide a winning team. That is all it will take for the stadium to come alive again. During the recent game between Alabama and Notre Dame, for the college national championship, none of the fans in the stadium complained about the lack of atmosphere. The crowd was loud and the stadium certainly didn't distract from the play on the field.

This renovation isn't about getting SB's or attracting other large sporting events. It is about the NFL wanting to dictate to the cities where they have teams that they will demand new stadiums, or renovations to existing stadiums, or else they will threaten to allow a franchise to move or in the case of Miami, they will not allow the Super Bowl to be held in the city unless the tax payers agree to paying for half the renovations.

The NCAA has no problem with playing a national championship game in the stadium and if that isn't good enough to satisfy the NFL, they can hold the SB in New Jersey every year, as far as I am concerned.

 

How do you think the prices are set? Its based off what people are willing to pay.

 

Basically the difference between staying at a Hyatt or staying at the Four Seasons.

 

And people will be willing to pay plenty to see the Super Bowl here. I don't believe that's ever been a problem

 

Come on, that's ridiculous. The Club Level at the stadium is great and though I've never had the pleasure of sitting in a suit, I'm sure it's very nice and comparable with anyplace else. Those items have already beenr enovated by Huizenga so they aren't relevant to this discussion anyway.

Club level and suites aren;t a part of this renovation

 

Absolutely they are.

 

The Club level and the suites were already renovated by Huizenga. They are updating the kitchens as part of this, but I do not believe club seats or suites are changing.

 

Suites and club level are the biggest money makers for them. No way are they going to spend $400M renovating the stadium and not renovate those areas. I'm not sure if the actual seats of the club level will improve, but the interior areas definitely will.

 

The only seats moving are the lower level and the new video boards will eliminate the corner end zone seats in the upper deck. The Club Level can't move.

 

How often do they need to be renovated? huizenga spent almost $300 million renovating the club level and it was finished when ross bought the team.

There is nothing the formal proposal about upgrading the Club Level. I suppose they could spruce it up a bit, but the vast majority of the money is going to the roof and video boards

 

You can win all you want, you will never have a home field advantage in a building where the seats are farther away than any other venue in the league, never..my point is a real home field advantage can make a difference for a culture, for the teams performance, affecting the other teams performance, and revenue..we will never have any of that in that building, now of course if we start winning consistently more people will show, but, that wont change a thing in terms of affecting the other team in a negative way...

Once again, the executives of a major franchise has spelled it out for everyone to hear and see..changes NEED to be made..their screaming and yet I still have to debate folks who tell me I'm crazy...lol..funny man..

 

"Hey common man of Dade County, our corporate partners would like softer leather on their seats, please give us $200M"

Somehow I don't think thats a good way to approach it.

 

A world class venue attracting world class events will bring plenty to the region, officials around here seem to be pretty stupid about that simple concept and vision..

 

Oak, it's a stock for the city..buy it now, make your money later..your getting someone who is wiling to take on half the risk..200 mill for 20 years of alluring world class events, the prestige for the city, what it could do for not one, but two big time football programs, it's a no brainer Oak.

 

The NFL wants to come to Miami, that's why they are applying the pressure..the NFL realizes there are issues..

 

This just isn't true. The Cowboys, Redskins, Seahawks, even the Minnesota Vikings. Those teams all got hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds.

 

put a winning product on our field, and you will get the same fan results, showing up late for games, 70 percent of the people not being in their seats come third quarter, sitting on their *** most of the game, why they do all that?, because their not engaged, why are they not engaged?, proximity to the field..

Sun life is a spectator building, you go to sit and watch, that's not the atmosphere you want to create inside your football building, the consequences are huge..

Canes and Dolphins are paying for it..

Mike dee and company have spoken directly about the issues, they have told you specifics, they have told you directly what they are trying to create..if it didnt matter then what the fu&$ are they even talking about it if they don't think it makes a difference?

They know damn well there are issues..lol, this is hilarious, their telling you that that the major part of the project is to create a better energy inside the building, and they want to move the inside of the building closer to the field..do you think they are doing all this for sh&$s and giggles...no, they know what their missing out on, they know how it's affecting their programs, and they know how much money is being lost because of how the current one was built.

 

fits my point well, sun life has plenty of luxuries, and nice seats, they have told us what the problems are..and it all pertains to getting the fan engaged into a football game..

 

I'm sure Paul Allen regrets having a stadium that is considered the most feared in the league, I'm sure he doesn't get the concept, I'm sure if he could he would move those stands a little farther away then they are, I'm sure he regrets their 12 th man money making enterprise..

If Ross was really smart, he would follow the blueprint.

 

Seattle's stadium was 70% funded by the taxpayer too. I'm sure Allen loves it.

 

Yeah I'm sure their city officials regret that move..lol...I.can't believe I'm having this debate over and over..it's just comes down to a complete lack of business vision..

They come out and tell everyone there are issues, and folks still won't budge on their position..unbelievable.

 

At least that would be the honest way.

And honesty is something I wouldn't expect of ross or most of his fellow billionaires.

 

DJ, with all due respect, I don't think anybody is disagreeing with you that these changes would be nice.

You think that it's worth $200 million (the actual cost is likely to be much higher) of public money. I and many others simply disagree.

If it's that important to Ross and he thinks it will not only help his bottom line but the product on the field as well then he is free to get a loan or find some other form of private financing to fund the project. This is how the vast majority of businessmen in America obain capital.

Once the project is complete, he can then charge more for the seast, since if the atmosphere is as incredible as you suggest it would be, people should have no problem paying.

I ask you this though, have you ever seen the lower bowl of a Heat game against a non-premium opponent at the beggining of games? It's embaressing considering the success of the team. but this is Miami. We're not Cleveland, or Seattle or some other city where fans are going to be loud from start to finish. We just don't roll that way, regardless of how near or far the seat is from the action.

The notion that moving the seats closer at Sun Life will result in fans standing an entire game or a clamoring for these seats beyond normal levels is unsupported by any evidence. Miami is just a different market. It is unlikely to make the difference you think it will.

And I don;t care what Mike Dee has to say. He is doing his job, which is lobbying the public to grant his billionaire boss $200 million free dollars.

 

Some city officials did lose their jobs because of it. It wasn't a popular move at the time.

 

You used the word "All" and that's not true.

 

And his stadium was purdy quiet until his team started winning. I'm sure that's what he likes the most.

 

Smart city

 

They want a roof to cover fans when it rains so the NFL will give them more SB's. The Dolphins are trying to upgrade some of the smaller issues while getting that roof but do not be surprised if a roof is the only thing done to the stadium when/if the county votes no.

 

Yeah, brilliant.

Seattle sure is hosting a ton of Super Bowls and other world class events in that jewel of a stadium

 

I'm of the thinking that insanely rich people should pay for the expensive **** they want themselves and not get all of us non-insanely rich people to pay for it for them, especially when the expensive **** isn't a public good. I'm sorry, but as much as I love the Dolphins, they aren't a public good. And I'm unaware of the studies that show the public benefits of footing the bill for sports stadiums (or at least studies that don't come from the teams themselves).

 

I would guess that the people of Seattle are pretty happy still having a team in the city.

 

dolphins have been a losing team for decades now, they dont deserse public funds for anything, we havent signed a top free agents in 3 years, there not committed to winning down here. stephen ross is just trying to make things look better for when he sells the team in 2 years so he cashes out more than what he spent on the buying the franchise. From a business perpective dj is right, it is a smart business move but only for stephen ross, not the public. The public is gettin shafted and ross a person who is from new york is going to cash out nicely courtesy of miami residents. We can only hope this thing does not pass and ross gets a big reality check that when you want something in life that cost money you gotta pay for it, no matter how powerful he thinks he is.

 

No it wasn't. Seattle Stadium was always loud.

 

Some are, and some aren't.