Dolphin gets a new team

South Florida CEO, Oct, 2007 by Yeleny Suarez

Come football season 2008, the Miami Dolphins will open their home to another team. The University of Miami signed a 25-year contract for its Hurricanes to play football at Dolphin Stadium. Home games will move to the Miami Gardens facility from the Orange Bowl, where the Hurricanes began playing 70 years ago.

"We are committed to making sure that our stadium becomes a home-field advantage for UM through the use of our new high-definition video displays, LED ribbon board and converting the stadium so that it is clearly the "Home of the 'Canes," Dolphins Enterprises LLC's CEO, Joseph A. Bailey, says (in an e-mail interview). Last year the stadium began a $300 million renovation and expansion project, which will continue through 2009. "From the stadium's viewpoint, we believe that having the UM games here will help attract fans throughout South Florida and beyond," Bailey says, pointing to amenities such as parking and suite offerings.

Adding UM as a tenant has nothing to do with whether the Florida Marlins will continue to play baseball at Dolphin Stadium beyond 2010, the year the team's contract expires, Bailey says. "The stadium's goal is to add more tenants ... year-round, whether it's rugby, festivals, soccer, cricket or mega concerts," he says.

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