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Dolphin Stadium
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Dolphin Stadium (previously known as Joe Robbie Stadium, Pro Player Park, Pro Player Stadium, and Dolphins Stadium) is a football, lacrosse, soccer, and baseball stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The stadium serves as host to the Miami Dolphins, the Florida Marlins, and the Miami Hurricanes.
Since its construction, there have been four Super Bowls (XXIII, XXIX, XXXIII, XLI), two World Series (1997 and 2003), and three BCS National Championship Games (2001, 2005, 2009) played in the stadium. The stadium will serve as host for the second round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Super Bowl XLIV and the 2010 Pro Bowl.
hin Stadium was the first of its kind in the NFL to be constructed entirely with private funds.
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Encyclopedia
Dolphin Stadium (previously known as Joe Robbie Stadium, Pro Player Park, Pro Player Stadium, and Dolphins Stadium) is a football, lacrosse, soccer, and baseball stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The stadium serves as host to the Miami Dolphins, the Florida Marlins, and the Miami Hurricanes.
Since its construction, there have been four Super Bowls (XXIII, XXIX, XXXIII, XLI), two World Series (1997 and 2003), and three BCS National Championship Games (2001, 2005, 2009) played in the stadium. The stadium will serve as host for the second round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Super Bowl XLIV and the 2010 Pro Bowl.
Dolphins Stadium
Conception and construction
Dolphin Stadium was the first of its kind in the NFL to be constructed entirely with private funds. Joe Robbie led the financing campaign to build Joe Robbie Stadium (JRS) for the Miami Dolphins of the NFL. JRS revolutionized the economics of professional sports when it opened in 1987. Inclusion of a Club Level, along with Executive Suites, helped to finance the construction of the stadium. Season ticket holders committed to long term agreements and in return they received first-class amenities in a state-of-the-art facility.
The stadium was designed at Joe Robbie's request to have a wider than normal playing field in order to accommodate soccer and to serve as the home of a potential Major League Baseball franchise in South Florida. Because of this design decision, the first row of seats is 90 feet (27 m) from the sideline in a football configuration, considerably more distant than the first row of seats in most football stadiums (the closest seats at the new Soldier Field, for instance, are 55 feet (17 m) from the sideline at the 50–yard line). While the decision to employ a wider playing field resulted in a Major League Baseball (MLB) expansion franchise for Miami (see below), it resulted in a less intimate venue for football when compared to other contemporary football facilities.
Dolphin Stadium opened originally as "Dolphins Stadium", but was quickly renamed after owner Joe Robbie. The first regular season NFL game played there was a 42–0 Dolphins victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on October 11, 1987. The game was in the middle of the 1987 NFL strike, and was played with replacement players. The stadium first hosted Monday Night Football there on December 7 of that year, in a 37–28 Dolphins victory over the New York Jets.
The Marlins move in
In 1990, H. Wayne Huizenga, then Chairman of the Board and CEO of Blockbuster Video and Huizenga Holdings Inc., agreed to purchase 50 percent of Joe Robbie Stadium and became the point man in the drive to bring Major League Baseball to South Florida. That effort was rewarded in July 1991, when South Florida was awarded an MLB expansion franchise. The new team was named the Florida Marlins and placed in the National League. On January 24, 1994, Huizenga acquired the remaining fifty percent of the stadium to give him 100% ownership. Since 1991, several million dollars have been spent to upgrade and renovate the stadium.
The first Marlins game played at Joe Robbie Stadium was on April 5, 1993, a 6–3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Notable sporting events and concerts held
The stadium has been home to the Miami Dolphins since 1987 and to the Florida Marlins since 1993. However, stadium management has indicated that the Marlins must find a new venue by the end of their current lease. It has been the site of the Orange Bowl game since 1996, except for the January 1999 contest between Florida and Syracuse, which had to be moved due to a conflict with a Dolphins playoff game. The stadium has played host to four Super Bowls (1989, 1995, 1999, and 2007 with another scheduled in 2010), two World Series (1997 and 2003), and numerous concerts, featuring entertainers such as Madonna, U2, Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Billy Joel, Chicago, Genesis, Gloria Estefan,Prince,The Police , Guns N' Roses, The Who, Hall & Oates, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, and The Three Tenors.
The stadium was the venue where Ken Griffey, Jr. hit his 600th career home run off Mark Hendrickson of the Florida Marlins on June 9, 2008.
Other events held
Other events held at Dolphin Stadium have included international soccer games, Monster Truck shows, Hoop-It-Up Basketball, RV and Boat Shows, the UniverSoul Circus, and Australian rules football exhibition matches and numerous trade shows. The Stadium also plays host biennially to the yearly Shula Bowl, a game played between Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University, when the game is hosted by FAU (FIU hosts the game at their own stadium, FIU Stadium, every other year). In 2006, Dolphin Stadium hosted the High School State Football Championships, sanctioned by the FHSAA Florida High School Athletic Association.
Renovations for the Florida Marlins
After Huizenga bought part of the stadium, it was extensively renovated to accommodate a baseball team, as part of his successful bid to bring the Florida Marlins to South Florida. Purists initially feared the result would be similar to Exhibition Stadium in Toronto; when the Toronto Blue Jays played there from 1976 to 1989, they were burdened with seats that were so far from the field (as far as 820 feet in some locations) that they weren't even sold during the regular season. However, as mentioned above, Robbie had foreseen Miami would be a likely location for an expansion major league baseball team, and the stadium was designed to make any necessary renovations for baseball as seamless as possible.
Huizenga wanted to create a more intimate atmosphere for baseball, and even without this to consider, most of the seats in the upper level would have been too far from the field. As a result, the stadium's baseball capacity was initially reduced to 47,600, with most of the upper level covered with a tarp. The stadium's baseball capacity has been further reduced over the years, and it now seats 36,500. However, the Marlins usually open the entire upper level for the postseason.
Like the Metrodome, Dolphin Stadium is not a true multipurpose stadium, but is a football stadium that can convert into a baseball stadium. Most of the seats are pointed toward center field – where the 50–yard line would be in the football configuration. As such, the sight lines are not as good for baseball. This was particularly evident during the Marlins' two World Series appearances in 1997 and 2003. Some portions of left and center field are not part of the football playing field, and fans sitting in the left field upper-deck seats were unable to see these areas except on the replay boards.
Partly as a result of problems such as that, the Florida Marlins are booked for a new home in 2012, moving to the Miami Orange Bowl site at their new home (New Marlins Stadium). Since the 2011 target date was not possible, the Marlins are now looking for a one-year lease before moving into their new stadium in 2012. The Marlins front office has already started negotiating deals with the Miami Dolphins & Miami Hurricanes to make a 1-year deal to stay in Dolphin Stadium.
MLB Playoffs for the Florida Marlins
Two National League Division Series have been played at Dolphin Stadium.
+The Marlins have never lost a Division Series, and they are 3–1 in NLDS games played at Dolphin Stadium.
Two National League Championship Series have been played at Dolphin Stadium.
+The Marlins have never lost a Championship Series, and they are 3–3 in NLCS games played at Dolphin Stadium.
Two World Series have been played at Dolphin Stadium.
+The Marlins have never lost a World Series, and they are 4–3 in World Series games played at Dolphin Stadium.
Note
- The Marlins are 10–7 in home playoff games at Dolphin Stadium.
- The Marlins are a perfect 6–0 in the Postseason Series, and they are the only MLB team that can claim to be undefeated in postseason series.
2006 renovations
Huizenga has claimed that he may temporarily use portable grass and allow the Marlins to stay on a year-by-year basis after 2010 if they don't have a new stadium deal in place.
Gallery
Relative location
External links
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