A stadium upgrade deal?

[MikeO]

I'm really disappointed in our elected officials.  Its their job to represent the people, and they didn't even let the people give their opinion.

This is a really sad day.  I hope they don't give up on this and try to raise the funding some other way.

I don't live in the area so its not my money....but it should have been at least put up to a vote and let the residents decide! If the people voted it down that is one thing, but the people never got their voices heard.

And I know some think I am overreacting and I am giving the "sky is falling, sky is falling" type deal here....but I am telling you this is the worst thing that could possibly happen. With the LA stadium deal in limbo if they had a team it would probably save the deal. Ross has said he has no plans on moving the team, and he is probably honest with that. He will just sell the team and the guy who buys it will move it. And if you think the NFL will come in and "Save the Dolphins" for Miami....why should they? You got an empty stadium most weeks, an old stadium that the state government wouldn't help out, you already got 2 other teams in Florida...losing one is no big deal, and on top of all of that you got the #2 MEDIA MARKET in America dying to get a team and people with big money behind it!

Let's be honest, Ross put up 60-70% of the money to get cheap renovation done, he wasn't asking for much!!!! So in 6 or 7 years when the stadium is literally falling apart and they need a WHOLE NEW BUILDING that costs about 10X more than this would have cost there is probably no way they will get that done!
 
I'm not saying the Dolphins are moving today, or in a year, or 2 years (although they could). But if in 6,  7, 8  years I think they are gonners. And you can point back to the day 05/03/2013 as when the first domino fell in that process.

P.S...."Winning more games" doesn't solve this issue. Selling out 8 home games a year won't get them a new stadium or fix their cash problem. That is chump change in the "big picture" of this teams finances. When the Marlins left the stadium, the Dolphins lost a big source of income they cannot replace! They needed the stadium renovations to give them NCAA Championship games, Super Bowls, big soccer tournaments....those events are now gone!  Winning more games doesn't solve this issue!

[Dave Gray]

I am kinda on the fence about this.  I always felt that those renovations were a half-assed solution.  Sure, it'd have been nice to have an upgraded facility, just because I like this sport and this team, but I am hoping that we'll get an entirely new stadium in 10 years and not a stop-gap.

I think that if the Dolphins move, the NFL will be dead to me and I won't have to worry about it.

[Brian Fein]

See, Dave, I don't think you have 10 years.  I worry that, like Mike said, they could fold up shop before that and go someplace where the city appreciates them.  You get crap attendance, and now the local government basically told them to pound sand.  After supporting the baseball team down the road, why not us?

I would be pretty annoyed if I were Mike Dee and the team's honchos.  I would feel slighted and disrespected.

I wonder if there's a hope to get it back on the table by modifying the plan, or if they just shit-can the entire thing now.  Not having Super Bowls in Miami is a huge problem, and shouldn't be overlooked.

[MikeO]

I wonder if there's a hope to get it back on the table by modifying the plan, or if they just shit-can the entire thing now.  Not having Super Bowls in Miami is a huge problem, and shouldn't be overlooked.

They can't! The legislature ended its annual session today! It is over!! There is no re-do or let's fix some things and try it again. This deal is 100% DEAD!

And Ross put out a statement tonight saying he is disappointed and such but he didn't say anything about not moving or selling the team like he has in weeks past when talking about this issue. He just said they will fight to get Super Bowl 50 and 51 with what they got (they have no shot in hell, it now means 50 is in Santa Clara and 51 will be Houston or Indy now) and he threw out some BS line that he will try and help bring jobs to the people of Miami-Dade.

[Dave Gray]

I hear ya....I just feel like it's a hostage situation a little bit and I'm inclined to say "fuck you -- move the team if you have to".  Of course I don't want that and it would be pretty devastating, but I just can't have that much sympathy for this organization.  They price fans out of the market and then whine about not getting free shit.

Maybe this is just a realty of the NFL.  The product is so popular and salaries are so high, that you have to spend crazy amount of money to keep a franchise up.  So, the fans are stuck paying the bill or they're set aside for another market that will.  I just don't like that setup.  Such is the reality of sports, I suppose.

Maybe I'm just being dramatic, but when I hear threats of the team leaving if they don't get the stadium deal, it makes me less willing, not more, to be supportive.

[MikeO]

I hear ya....I just feel like it's a hostage situation a little bit and I'm inclined to say "fuck you -- move the team if you have to".  Of course I don't want that and it would be pretty devastating, but I just can't have that much sympathy for this organization.  They price fans out of the market and then whine about not getting free shit.

Maybe this is just a realty of the NFL.  The product is so popular and salaries are so high, that you have to spend crazy amount of money to keep a franchise up.  So, the fans are stuck paying the bill or they're set aside for another market that will.  I just don't like that setup.  Such is the reality of sports, I suppose.

Maybe I'm just being dramatic, but when I hear threats of the team leaving if they don't get the stadium deal, it makes me less willing, not more, to be supportive.

Ross isn't giving a threat, I am just telling you the reality of what is going to happen and prepare for it. To his credit Ross NEVER gave a threat, he said all the right things. Ross said as long as he is alive and the owner he won't move the team. Read between the lines, that means...a) if he dies his kids could move the team. Or ...b) if he just decides to SELL the team the new owner could move the team. But Ross NEVER used moving the team as a threat! Credit to him for that.

Also Dave, compare Dolphins prices on everything (tickets, food, parking) to other NFL teams..... Dolphins fans got it good! You don't know how good you got it! Try going to a game in the Northeast....the prices are crazy out of control! The Dolphins have NOT priced their fans out of the market

[MikeO]

All you gotta know....The Atlanta Georgia Dome opened in 1992, 5 years after Dolphins stadium, and that organization and the state of Georgia are working on building them a whole new friggin building! I posted the link yesterday to the designs. They are gonna get it done and there owner ain't putting up no 60-70% like Ross was! And Ross only wanted a renovation that is probably 1/5 or so of what the NEW Georgia Dome will cost.

But the people of Atlanta and Georgia want to keep the Falcons, they want to keep the Peach Bowl and get in on the National Title games college football is rolling out which will be HUGE $$$$$$$$$$$$$ makers, they want Final Fours and big soccer events which are taking off in this country.

Dolphins biggest issue is NOT letting the people vote. If the people voted it down, so be it,...move the team I got no issue then because the voice of the people was heard. Now the team could be moved and well the people didn't have a chance to stop it. That's not right.

[Dave Gray]

I don't disagree with that.  I just can't see myself getting too bent out of shape over it.  Can this still be funded privately?

[Brian Fein]

^^ That's my problem as well.  From things I've been reading online, its believed that the one guy in the legislature who stopped it had some political or financial agenda he was promoting and stopped it for selfish reasons.  

The part that bugs me, like you said, is that the people didn't even get to give their opinion.  They're supposed to represent the people, not their own pockets.  Just another example of corrupt government.

[Brian Fein]

I don't disagree with that.  I just can't see myself getting too bent out of shape over it.  Can this still be funded privately?

It can be, and I'm hoping Ross moves forward with a partial version of his plan, which he can fund with the money he was personally throwing in.  You might not get the canopy and new TV screens, but maybe they can add the lower bowl seats like they were discussing and bring the sidelines in.

[MikeO]

I don't disagree with that.  I just can't see myself getting too bent out of shape over it.  Can this still be funded privately?

Could be. But they had trouble selling the naming rights for christ sakes. Trying to come up with investors is probably not even worth the effort honestly.

[MikeO]

It can be, and I'm hoping Ross moves forward with a partial version of his plan, which he can fund with the money he was personally throwing in.  You might not get the canopy and new TV screens, but maybe they can add the lower bowl seats like they were discussing and bring the sidelines in.

If you aren't getting the canopy then you aren't getting Super Bowls which makes any other upgrades a waste of time and money.

Canopy=Super Bowls. It's that simple

[MikeO]

Side note: Ross paid for 100% of this May 14th vote out of his own pocket. $3.4 million. The vote that now won't take place. That was a non-refundable payment. So he just lost $3.4 million. Think Ross is happy these days with the Florida legislature?! HA!

[Brian Fein]

^^ They know that, they know what's best.  Personally, I don't necessarily agree, since the canopy wasn't covering the field and Super Bowls are held at night.  We worried about some rich people MAYBE getting rained on and the most coveted sporting event in the country?  Not going to cry too much about that one.

but bringing in the sideline seats adds a couple-thousand top-dollar seats and brings in more revenue.  I could see them opting for the renovation that will pay them back later.

[Landshark]

I don't disagree with that.  I just can't see myself getting too bent out of shape over it.  Can this still be funded privately?

It can but it won't.  Ross is not gonna throw good money after bad money. This team is bleeding red ink and their chance of going in the black later on down the road has been snatched away.

Personally, I think it's fucked up that these assholes in Tally decided to let this thing die without the people getting a say.