No wonder this city is filled with corruption.
reminds me of the miami of the 1980's.

Miami Dolphins might seek taxpayer funds for Sun Life Stadium upgrades

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/22/3108669/miami-dolphins-might-seek-public.html

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has called a press conference for Monday to unveil a plan for an improved Sun Life Stadium. Sources say the plan will include asking state and local governments to help pay for a $400 million renovation of the 1987 facility.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/13/3180861/dolphins-worry-marlins-stand-between.html

Here comes the onslaught.

The finest lobbyists and PR agents that money can buy are now orchestrating a campaign to take hundreds of millions of dollars from the public to give to billionaire Stephen Ross. The process will include Miami being rejected for Super Bowl 50, and will end with the Dade commission chambers packed with brainwashed dolphins fans. Sources have told me that the PR firms already have registered dozens of new accounts which are posting pro-stadium comments on the Miami Herald website - all from the same ip address

Oh Please what a ridiculous comment. Yes we all know The Marlins deal is likely the worst deal in the history of professional sports and Jeff Loria is a total scum bag but there is no reason to approach something so negatively before their plan has even been released. I mean come on despite everything else to claim Miami has already lost Super Bowl 50 is insane.

What happens if they come out with a 75% Private 25% public split or better? is the deal still completely insane given that the super bowl and college bowls bring Millions of dollars into our area every year?

And to be clear I likely won't be for the advances because I think Miami has enough going for it that it doesn't need the improvements to the stadium just right now. I think it is actually extremely Likely we will win the Super Bowl 50 considering San Francisco
1) hasn't hosted a super bowl since 1984 and it wasn't even in their stadium.
2) the weather is significantly worse then ours during February. and the stadium is also uncovered
3) their Stadium is literally scheduled to be finished months before the Superbowl is suppose to happen and that's only if everything goes perfectly (how often does that happen?)
4) that for the mile-stone of the 50th Superbowl San Francisco, unlike Miami, has little to no history in hosting it.

Despite this the argument for an updated stadium is not insane. It is one of the older stadiums in the country now and the NFL has been on a huge push for new stadiums as of late.

As for completely private funding now a days that is becoming significantly harder to do considering the price of construction. (Forget the fact that it was never a common thing and the fact Joe Robbie built this stadium with all private funds was unheard of at the time as well) The San Francisco Stadium will cost just under $1.3 Billion and have you seen that thing? its the most unimpressive Stadium I've ever seen. And we aren't being crazy like Atlanta looking to build a completely new state of the art stadium when their existing one just went through an expensive renovation and is a perfectly good stadium.

So how about you cool off and give this a look with fresh eyes before bemoaning about brainwashed dolphin fans

Any plan in which ANY public funding is given to sports team owners is a bad deal - whether it is $1 or $1 billion - even if the owner is willing to cover 99%. The numbers simply do not work, and there should be a ban on these types of deals at the federal level.

As for the PR firm and lobbying agency - yes, there are employees at the Herald that are aware of your recently registered accounts which include concernedcitizen305, numbersguru, james305forlife, marielyachtlift. When you resort to such tactics, it smells badly of a scam.

haha oh my God do you think I am with a PR firm? now that is sad. Especially since I said I likely wouldn't agree with the deal and listed reasons why we wouldn't need the deal. What horrible PR firm would do that?
Stop being so paranoid! I mean OMG someone disagrees with me?! they must work for a PR firm!

But also I would venture to guess you aren't a sports fan at all. Sports are a major part of any city so much so the quality of life index used to list happiest cities etc has an entire category based on sports. Sports are very important to a lot of people maybe not you but a lot of people. Clearly if this model is being used throughout the country a majority of people find some merit in it.

Stephen Ross Announces Plan To Modernize Sun Life Stadium; Commits To Pay Majority Of Cost

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross announced today that he is prepared to fund the majority of costs for proposed improvements to Sun Life Stadium that will make the facility competitive for hosting future Super Bowls, college championship games, the Pan Am Games, professional soccer, and other premier sports and entertainment events.

Ross stated that private funds would cover the majority of construction costs, which would create more than 4,000 local jobs for South Florida across various industries. The modernization plan would position Sun Life Stadium to continue competing for elite events without proposing any tax increases on Miami-Dade residents.

"I bought this team because I love this town. I went to high school here and built much of my business here," said Ross. "Like most Miamians, I believe no other community in America represents a better destination for blockbuster events. My goal is to secure the future of Miami-Dade and the Dolphins so we can remain a global competitor for sports and entertainment for at least another 25 years. That's why I'm willing to make the initial and most substantial investment in this project."

Ross unveiled renderings of the proposed modernizations for Sun Life Stadium and also introduced a six-point pledge to residents of Miami-Dade in which he committed to:

1. Approach this partnership differently than any other by investing more, pledging more, and returning more to the community and fans;
2. Ensure that private funding pays for the majority of stadium construction costs;
3. Not request a tax increase for Miami-Dade residents;
4. Create thousands of local jobs by hiring contractors, subcontractors, and vendors from Miami-Dade;
5. Create a world-class facility with improved sight lines, seats closer to the field, and an electric environment for the Dolphins, Hurricanes, bowl games, and international soccer;
6. Secure the future of the franchise by committing the Dolphins to play at a modernized Sun Life Stadium through at least 2034.

Ross was joined at the announcement by Dolphins CEO Mike Dee, University of Miami Interim Athletic Director Blake James, Orange Bowl President & Chairman Andrew Hertz, CEO Eric Poms, and Board Member Al Dotson, Jr., Super Bowl Host Committee Chairman Rodney Barreto and Pan American Games Bid Committee Chairman Ralph Garcia-Toledo.

"A world-class community deserves world-class facilities," said Barreto. "We are fortunate to have a person like Steve Ross who is willing to invest to help ensure the future of big events for Miami.”

The Orange Bowl Committee, who will spearhead South Florida’s efforts to bid on future championship games, also expressed support for the efforts. “There will be a lot of competition as we bid to host future college football championship games," said Hertz. "We're ready to compete, and we need to put South Florida's best foot forward in all areas, including the facility, which we anticipate will be a key component of any bid package. If this proposed modernization were to move forward, we believe South Florida will have a better total package to offer than any community in the country."

The proposed modernizations for Sun Life Stadium will also return the stadium to the original configurations that were compromised to accommodate baseball, giving fans a much improved football experience with better sightlines from every seat in the house. Other major upgrades include:

• More comfortable seats;
• New seating closer to the field;
• State-of-the art HD video screens;
• An open-air canopy that shields fans from elements while preserving the natural grass playing surface;
• HD sports lighting;
• Modern escalators and elevators for fan transportation; and
• Updated kitchens for better concession options.

"Our intention is to make Sun Life Stadium a world-class facility that is competition-ready for Super Bowls, college football championships, and global soccer events, as well as providing a much better environment to watch the Dolphins, Hurricanes and Orange Bowl every year," Ross said. "I think our planned modernization will maintain the special outdoor flavor of Miami, while giving us the look of the best stadiums around the world."

Irrelevant whether it is you or someone else... that the Dolphins have hired someone, whether it is a lobbyist, PR firm or someone else to engage in such dirty tactics indicates all that much more how badly this deal smells.

No deal in which public tax dollars are handed over to billionaire team owners and millionaire players is ever a good deal, no matter how many times corrupt and shameless owners have managed to pull this off around the country.

Whether or not the Dolphins get our money, they have already caused serious damage to Miami by financing the reelection campaigns of some of the most corrupt and inept politicians in the county.