Quote :

" Miami Hurricanes to leave Orange Bowl By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Sports Writer 2 hours, 9 minutes ago CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Miami will play home football games at Dolphin Stadium starting in 2008, leaving the historic but decaying Orange Bowl after seven decades. ADVERTISEMENT The university's trustees decided Tuesday to make the much-debated move, which could generate $2 million or more in extra revenue annually for the Hurricanes' athletic department. City officials unsuccessfully tried to keep Miami at the Orange Bowl by promising $206 million in upgrades. "This is a painful and sad decision," Miami president Donna Shalala said. The Hurricanes agreed to a 25-year lease with Dolphin Stadium. Miami first played at the Orange Bowl, about eight miles from its campus, in 1937. The Hurricanes won three national championship games on that field, had a NCAA-record 58-game home winning streak from 1985 through 1994 and have drawn more than 17 million fans there over the years. But the stadium's facade is rusting, upgrades are needed and the building lacks many amenities that modern stadiums have — such as the luxury suites and video replay screens that helped lure Miami to the home of the Dolphins. "The move to the stadium and the superior facilities that it offers will greatly enhance our recruiting efforts," Miami coach Randy Shannon said. With the Hurricanes set to depart, the Orange Bowl will no longer have a primary tenant. The Dolphins moved to the facility first known as Joe Robbie Stadium in 1987, and the Orange Bowl — one of college football's marquee and best-known bowl games — moved to Dolphin Stadium in 1996. And that means the building's future is in serious doubt. The site has been mentioned as a possible new home for the Florida Marlins, or the stadium could simply be knocked down. Miami's first game in Dolphin Stadium is scheduled for Aug. 30, 2008, against North Texas, but Hurricanes athletic director Paul Dee said the school is negotiating to bring a different opponent in for that date. Miami has won nearly 70 percent of its games at the Orange Bowl, a place where opponents routinely acknowledged feeling intimidated by the crowds and game-time atmosphere. "It got to be very tough to hear and tough to communicate down there. That's what made it difficult to play in," said Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who brought his Seminoles to the building nearly two dozen times over the years. The Orange Bowl opened in 1937 and has hosted Super Bowls, a famous speech by President John F. Kennedy to Cuban exiles after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, concerts, boxing and even Olympic soccer matches in 1996. Many of the university's existing Orange Bowl traditions — including the smoke-filled tunnel for pregame introductions and the Miami ring of honor — will be moved to Dolphin Stadium, which is undergoing $300 million worth of expansion and renovations. "We look forward to a wonderful partnership that continues the storied football legacy of UM here in their new home," Dolphin Stadium owner Wayne Huizenga said. The city's stadium refurbishment plan was met with skepticism by some within the university, since much of the needed money would have to come from grants and tax credits that haven't been secured. Still, some fans continued lobbying until the end, with more than 4,000 signing an online petition in recent weeks imploring the university to stay put, and others organizing small rallies in hope of getting trustees to change their mind. "The city of Miami made an extraordinary effort to identify funds and design a renovation," Shalala said. "But in the end, it wasn't enough." Miami's lease at the Orange Bowl runs past 2008, but the school will be able to move next fall — meaning the last scheduled game for the Hurricanes at the facility will be Nov. 10 against Virginia."

Wow... I bet it will probably be destroyed... and that's ashame.

[Edited on August 21, 2007 at 2:37 PM. Reason : .]

8/21/2007 2:36:53 PM

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"The move to the stadium and the superior facilities that it offers will greatly enhance our recruiting efforts"

That's JUST what Miami needs.

8/21/2007 2:39:11 PM

Man, better get down there on Nov. 3rd if any of us plan on ever having a reason to visit it again.

8/21/2007 2:41:47 PM

The place was falling apart anyway.

Didn't the Orange Bowl game move to Dolphins Stadium already?

8/21/2007 3:27:05 PM

from the article

Quote :

" With the Hurricanes set to depart, the Orange Bowl will no longer have a primary tenant. The Dolphins moved to the facility first known as Joe Robbie Stadium in 1987, and the Orange Bowl — one of college football's marquee and best-known bowl games — moved to Dolphin Stadium in 1996."

good move for them, although i don't know how it'll generate new revenue, i was under the impression that they weren't filling the orange bowl as it was...

[Edited on August 21, 2007 at 3:34 PM. Reason : /]

8/21/2007 3:34:32 PM

'Shalala'

8/21/2007 3:41:50 PM

^^good move?

now it is a 40 minute drive, not counting traffic out to pro-player, which is a mediocre stadium anyways

best bet would have been to get the city to help out and put about 100 mil. into the OB, and try to clean up the area around it too

Such a classic stadium, shithole, but thats what made it fun, metal everywhere, hot as hell, parking right in the middle of little havana, and getting drunk with half naked trashy coeds! I will miss it, and I was going down anyways, but will definitely make it for the Canes/Wolfpack game

* New revenue will be generated from more expensive seats in the club level, and box seats....they are only talking about 1.5 mil a year in increased revenue. Plus, people in south FLA think that more people will go to games at pro player, we shall see.

[Edited on August 21, 2007 at 4:22 PM. Reason : .]

8/21/2007 4:19:40 PM

if they can't fill that stadium it's going to be a terrible atmosphere.

the move had better up attendance by a lot.

8/21/2007 4:38:08 PM

^^the article says that the city offered $206 million in upgrades....I would have gone with that since the OB already has tradition and thats what college FB is about...

[Edited on August 21, 2007 at 4:39 PM. Reason : .]

8/21/2007 4:39:43 PM

^i guess that offer included a bunch of credits/tax breaks/etc. that were all questionable as hell, and The U of Miami was not happy with the package, some of that shit might never have gone through and would have left them holding the bad.

Would have been nice if they had come to terms. When I lived down there they discussed moving the marlins next door, and making it a sports complex, with the OB for 300-400 mill, but I guess that fell through too.

And again, they don't need to sell any more tickets at the new stadium to make more money, club level tickets are double the price, and boxes are huge for revenue. For 7 home games, I would say that 200k more a game is pretty conservative for box revenue and club tix.

8/21/2007 4:47:11 PM

So Tennessee will have to find a new home away from home down in south Florida?

8/21/2007 4:58:06 PM

I wish they would have tried to renovate it. It is a classic stadium, and when you think of Miami football, you think of the Orange Bowl, and the white smoke when they come out of the tunnel.

8/21/2007 6:16:16 PM

I'll be at our game down there on the 3rd. It's a shame the city of Miami let the situation get this badly out of hand.

8/21/2007 6:29:52 PM

What home field advantage they once had is going to go away. That place was legendary for how loud and crazy it got for FSU, Florida, and other big games. I heard that when FSU would come to town the stands would at points begin to sway back and forth.

Also the clearance between the stands and the field at Dolphins Stadium is much greater than at the Orange Bowl, so the fans aren't as on top of the action.





See what I mean.

[Edited on August 21, 2007 at 6:52 PM. Reason : ]

8/21/2007 6:45:22 PM

Miami fans even think that the atmosphere and crowd noise will suffer, with the move.

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=13#s=13&f=2927&t=869530

8/21/2007 7:01:58 PM

Here is a letter sent to us (students) to us today

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"If you have problems reading this, visit http://www.miami.edu/president/dialogue/dialogue_08_21_07.html. August 21, 2007 To the University Community: We have an extraordinary history and tradition at the Orange Bowl: The players running through the smoke tunnel. "Touchdown Tommy" and his cannon. The Ring of Honor. An incredible winning streak of 58 consecutive home wins. And three of our five national championships were won on that field. I love the Orange Bowl-we all do! As many of you are aware, the University has been working closely with the City of Miami to assess the feasibility of making much-needed renovations to the Orange Bowl. It has long been our goal to have a first-class football stadium. The City of Miami has been a wonderful partner with us at the Orange Bowl for many years, and they understand how hard we have wrestled with a very difficult decision. Mayor Manny Diaz has been heroic in his efforts to meet our future needs. After much thought, analysis, and discussions with many, many of our trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and fans, we have concluded that we must move our football games to a better facility. The more than $200 million in renovations that the city has proposed would only provide basic and mostly infrastructural upgrades. A part of those funds are not in hand and may or may not be determined until after the proposed construction would be well underway. Overall, the renovations clearly would not address the long-term needs of our athletes and our fans. The Orange Bowl chapter of our history-in which we can all take great pride-will never close, and we are confident that the legacy of Miami Hurricanes football will live on and thrive as we move to a new location. After an assessment of all options available to us, we have decided reluctantly and painfully to move to Dolphin Stadium for the 2008 season. Dolphin Stadium is one of the premier football stadiums in the country. At our new home, our student-athletes will have the opportunity to compete in a first-class facility that plays host to the NFL's Miami Dolphins, the FedEx Orange Bowl, BCS National Championship Game, and that has been the site of recent and upcoming Super Bowls. Our fans will experience outstanding amenities including one of the world's largest plasma TV displays, high-definition video boards, club seating and suites, chairbacks on every stadium seat, approximately 14,000 parking spaces, and a large variety of concessions and restaurants. The end zones will be redone so that our shared home will reflect both Miami teams' pride. The Dolphins are actively pursuing a corporate sponsor so that by 2010 the stadium will have a neutral name. I want to assure all members of our University community-students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees, donors, friends-and the tens of thousands of fans who regularly cheer us on, that we looked exhaustively into every aspect of the choices in front of us, and that your needs figured prominently in our final decision. The quality of your experience at our games is of the utmost importance to us. As always, we would like to hear from you. Please contact us at an e-mail address we have established for your comments: umfootball@miami.edu. If you have any further questions, please go to the Official Athletic Department Web site at hurricanesports.com <http://www.hurricanesports.com> or call 1-800-GO-CANES. Thank you, and Go 'Canes! Sincerely, Donna E. Shalala Office of the President P.O. Box 248006 Coral Gables, Florida 33124-4600 305-284-5155 Fax 305-284-3768"

8/21/2007 7:04:03 PM

I love the OB. Its a rusty shithole, but I am looking forward to my fourth season here with a new coach. The drive to Dolphin Stadium sucks.

When I was living downtown, it was a lot of fun pregaming at my house and then tailgating in some guy's yard for $10 to park there. I got a parking spot now, but at first it was a BITCH to park there at the OB.

The $206M repairs were not gonna happen any time soon. The City of Miami is incompetent and they have been dragging their feet for years and have been dishing out empty promises while making a killing off UM football as its tenant. Its ridiculous that a 5-time National Champion football program (arguably the most successful in the last 25 years) has its home falling apart. As much as I hate the move, I cannot blame Shalala. Paul Dee, a 500 pound donut dumpster and UM's athletic director, has been completely worthless in his tenure at pushing the City of Miami for repairs. The Board of Trustees met last night and made the final decision.

[Edited on August 21, 2007 at 7:12 PM. Reason : :]

8/21/2007 7:12:20 PM

Hey Fitch, who do you pull for when State plays Miami? I know that a lot of people pull for their undergrad over their graduate school.

8/21/2007 7:33:25 PM

I PULL FOR NC STATE. First and foremost....

THERE IS NO QUESTION.

8/21/2007 8:51:56 PM

Have you ever been to Dolphins Stadium and how does it compare to the Orange Bowl. The Orange Bowl was built for football, but Dolphins Stadium was built to have baseball and football. The sideline seating looks to be really far from the action in comparison to the Orange Bowl, and the Miami fans on the message boards say that Dolphins Stadium doesn't get nearly as loud as the Orange Bowl can get.

8/21/2007 10:57:41 PM

^dolphins stadium was designed only for football....it was made before the marlins were ever created...thats why its considered the worst major league field

8/21/2007 11:33:58 PM

I've been to a couple games in Dolphin Stadium, including the last Orange Bowl game (Wake vs. Louisville).

^^ You are correct. Dolphin Stadium is a bastardized football/baseball stadium. Built primarily for football, it was also built to accommodate a hopeful MLB franchise (that eventually came in 1993). It has 90 feet of space from the front row of seats to the sideline at the 50 yard line. Which is a lot of space. This design allowed the potential MLB franchise, the Marlins, to move in under the ownership of Dolphins and Dolphin Stadium (then called Joe Robbie) owner, Wayne Huizenga.

Dolphin Stadium is very nice, but kinda lame. It does not get as loud as the OB. Although the OB has had recent ticket sales problems, the place gets wild at times. I am willing to bet the home opener will be a packed house. It also has its own character. Its a dump in the Miami barrio and Miami fans love it for being a bonafide football stadium with history and grit. There is a lot of positive aspects for the move, but the Orange Bowl is a really cool place to see a game. Too bad the City of Miami has its head up its ass.

[Edited on August 22, 2007 at 1:01 AM. Reason : ^^]

8/22/2007 12:57:10 AM

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"So Tennessee will have to find a new home away from home down in south Florida?"

That 26-3 ass-whooping that the Hurricanes put on the Vols in Neyland is a bit more impressive than sliding by Miami 6-10 in the OB the following year.

8/22/2007 10:23:16 AM

not quite as impressive as the 28 - 6 ass whooping that Rivers and the Pack put on Notre Dame.

8/22/2007 10:28:46 AM

Indeed.

8/22/2007 10:29:19 AM

Just throwing that out.

8/22/2007 10:30:33 AM

I'll be sitting in the former Miami player section! This is going to be awesome!

8/22/2007 6:10:22 PM

Dolphins Stadium, besides the big screens doesn't seem to be all that. On college football live, they said that they are moving from an old dump to a new dump. The only reason why it gets the Super Bowl often is b/c of the location. If the same stadium was in Philly it would probably never get the Super Bowl. I wish that the NFL would share the Super Bowl wealth with all of the cities that have big enough stadiums, like Carolina, Washington, NY, etc. I would also like to see them put it in the Rose Bowl once every 2 years. The place seats nearly 100,000, and the press box does have a decent amount of suites.

8/22/2007 7:41:11 PM

They're going to expand Dolphin Stadium eventually.

On the radio on the way home from work, there was a rumor that if the Marlins get a new home at the OB site, that Huizenga mentioned he would lower the field and expand several rows of seats towards the sidelines to increase capacity and improve its design for football. That would be be a HUGE improvement.

Dolphins Stadium is a very nice stadium and whoever called it a "dump" is an idiot. Just two huge problems- its an aggrivating HAUL to Miami Springs and the field seems too far from the stands (which may be improved). I still love the OB.

[Edited on August 23, 2007 at 12:29 AM. Reason : :]

8/23/2007 12:28:45 AM

Yeah, you cant really ignore the fact that some of the best teams in football history (college and pro) called the Orange Bowl home. The Dolphins havent been an elite team since movie to Joe Robbie/Pro Player/ Dolphins Satdium. A great deal of the home dominance had to do with the Orange Bowl.

8/23/2007 7:11:54 AM