Rich wrote:
wkloiber13 wrote:
Ross needs to put up the coin and build a new stadium. They can call it a "modernization" or whatever, but at the end of the day they're just delaying the inevitable, which is building a new stadium. No matter how much they spend now they'll still wind up spending more in another 10 years. He needs to just build something similar to what Jerry built in Dallas and call it good. I've seen Cowboys Stadium, it's fracking beautiful. Not only that, it's climate controlled. If he does that the stadium will become a destination for more than just football games.
Cowboy Stadium cost over $1.2 billion to build, triple the cost of what is being proposed here. And the problem is that right now the stadium is in a great location, right by the Dade/Broward county line so you can get fans from both major metropolitan areas. There aren't too many locations to build a stadium where the Dolphins could get this and there isn't a place for them to play if they tear this one up and rebuild on the same location.
That's why modernizing it makes the most sense.
Our owner is a big time real estate developer. If he wanted to build a new stadium, I'm sure he'd find a way to get it done.
With regards to the price, it doesn't have to be exactly like the Cowboys stadium. You could build something similar to what the Colts built in Lucas Oil Stadium. That is a beautiful stadium and it only cost $720M. They hosted a Super Bowl and they have the combine there every year.
But honestly, if the Marlins can get $600M for a new stadium, then I see no reason why the Dolphins and Hurricanes can't get $1.0B for a full blown top of the line football stadium.
New York spent $1.6B on their stadium. Dallas spent $1.2B on their stadium. From what I've read the 49ers are spending $1.2B on their stadium. Bottom line, if the Dolphins want to keep pace and build a stadium that will continue to bring events like the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, etc to it's seats, then the stadium will need to be done right.
If they spend $400M "modernizing" it now, they'll just wind up spending even more when they go to build a new stadium ten years from now when they want to keep pace with other newer stadiums. They just need to tear off the band-aid now and get it over with.
To me this whole "modernization" sounds a lot like a bunch of new seats and flat screens. It sounds like Ross is trying to keep the Super Bowl in Miami the cheapest way possible.