The
Miami Dolphins Training Facility is located on the
Nova Southeastern UniversityNova Southeastern University, commonly referred to as NSU or Nova, is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian, research university located in Broward County, Florida, with its' main campus in the town of Davie...
main campus in
Davie, FloridaDavie is a town in Broward County, Florida, United States. In 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 90,329. It is part of the South Florida metropolitan area, which is home to 5,463,857 people.- History :...
. It is the headquarter location for the
Miami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a professional football team based in the Miami, Florida metropolitan area. They play home games at Land Shark Stadium, in the suburb of Miami Gardens. They are headquartered at the Miami Dolphins Training Facility in Davie, Florida. The Dolphins belong to the Eastern...
, as well as a location for frequent special events.
Bowing trusses and a profile reminiscent of classic athletic facilities define this state of the art training facility. It includes one of the largest weight rooms in the NFL, training rooms, locker rooms , a therapy swimming pool, a cold plunge pool and whirlpools, numerous administrative offices, and a practice field.
The
Miami Dolphins Training Facility is located on the
Nova Southeastern UniversityNova Southeastern University, commonly referred to as NSU or Nova, is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian, research university located in Broward County, Florida, with its' main campus in the town of Davie...
main campus in
Davie, FloridaDavie is a town in Broward County, Florida, United States. In 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 90,329. It is part of the South Florida metropolitan area, which is home to 5,463,857 people.- History :...
. It is the headquarter location for the
Miami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a professional football team based in the Miami, Florida metropolitan area. They play home games at Land Shark Stadium, in the suburb of Miami Gardens. They are headquartered at the Miami Dolphins Training Facility in Davie, Florida. The Dolphins belong to the Eastern...
, as well as a location for frequent special events.
Architecture and features
Bowing trusses and a profile reminiscent of classic athletic facilities define this state of the art training facility. It includes one of the largest weight rooms in the NFL, training rooms, locker rooms , a therapy swimming pool, a cold plunge pool and whirlpools, numerous administrative offices, and a practice field. It also has a bleacher building, which can accommodate 2,000 spectators. The facility is frequently used as a prototype for other professional football teams.
There is also an indoor training field known as "The Bubble." The indoor facility covers on the west side of the main building. The “bubble” is an air-supported structure manufactured and installed by Air Structures American Technologies Incorporated (ASATI) and constructed by Stiles Construction, the same corporation who worked on the expansion of
Dolphin StadiumLandShark Stadium is a football, lacrosse, soccer, and baseball stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, a suburb of Miami...
for
Super Bowl XLISuper Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...
. The football field, installed by The Motz Group, is regulation size and made of synthetic turf consisting of 75% rubber and 25% sand to provide a firm-playing surface. The inlaid markings duplicate those on the Dolphin Stadium game-day field. Loud crowd noise can also be replicated in the bubble.
History
The Dolphins trained at
St. Thomas UniversitySchools with the name St. Thomas University:*St. Thomas University *St. Thomas University See also University of St. Thomas...
from July 12, 1970 until June 4, 1993. The
ribbon cutting ceremonyA ribbon cutting ceremony is a public ceremony conducted to inaugurate the opening to the general public of a new building or business.Often, the ceremony is conducted in just the manner the name suggests: by tying a ceremonial ribbon across the main entrance of the building, which is then cut in a...
for the new training facility was July 11, 1993.
The Bubble
September 26, 2006 the
DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a professional football team based in the Miami, Florida metropolitan area. They play home games at Land Shark Stadium, in the suburb of Miami Gardens. They are headquartered at the Miami Dolphins Training Facility in Davie, Florida. The Dolphins belong to the Eastern...
made their first significant expansion to the facility since it first opened with the opening of an air supported air conditioned indoor training field. The structure is and is tall in the center.
“We’re proud to become the first professional football team in Florida to have such a venue. We believe it will help the team from a competitive standpoint as it will allow for closer game simulation during practice and allow the team to continue practicing even when storms roll in,” Bryan Wiedmeier, president of the Miami Dolphins, said.
The fabric used is extremely light, yet strong. Inflation is maintained via fans in the HVAC units through the integrated control system.
The structure was designed to withstand hurricane force winds up to category three. Internal air pressure is increased to "stiffen" the structure to withstand wind loading. The Bubble is currently owned by Jerome Harriott of Blockbuster and he leases it own to the Miami Dolphins for a bit of pay. (Forbes 2006)
Super Bowl XLI
The
2006The 2006 season of the National Football League was the 87th season played by the major professional American football league in the United States. Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
AFCThe American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . The other is the National Football Conference . This conference, along with the NFC, contains 16 teams...
Champion
Indianapolis ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
used the facility while preparing for
Super Bowl XLISuper Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...
. The other team,
NFCThe National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . The NFC was created after the league merged with the American Football League in 1970. The NFC had 13 teams that year, all of which played in the NFL before the merger...
Champion
Chicago BearsThe Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the NFC North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
used the Miami Hurricanes Football Facility at the
University of MiamiThe University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 in the city of Coral Gables, Florida within Miami-Dade County...
.