A stadium upgrade deal?

[Brian Fein]

^^ The team/Ross paid for them.  Or is still paying for them.  They are a big reason why the team is hemmorhaging money.

[MikeO]

Didn't we just a do some upgrades a few years ago? How much did those cost? Who paid for them?

Ross paid for them. 100% of them

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

LA being in the AFC East makes as much sense as Indianapolis being in the AFC South.  There's no way the league would allow it.

OH, WAIT...

Indy to its division rivals is NOT a 5 hour flight.

[Spider-Dan]

Indy to its division rivals is NOT a 5 hour flight.

San Francisco to Carolina was, yet the league intentionally placed that team in the NFC West.

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  the NFL DOES. NOT. CARE. about travel time between division rivals.  If they did, DAL would be in the NFC West (instead of STL) and MIA would be in the AFC South (instead of IND).

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

San Francisco to Carolina was, yet the league intentionally placed that team in the NFC West.

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  the NFL DOES. NOT. CARE. about travel time between division rivals.  If they did, DAL would be in the NFC West (instead of STL) and MIA would be in the AFC South (instead of IND).

Carolina is in the NFC south.

You are too black and white. 

Travel time is NOT the only or even the highest priority for the NFL.  That doesn't mean the NFL doesn't care about it at all.  Montreal is a better place for an AFCE team than LA.   

[Phishfan]

Carolina is in the NFC south.

After realignement they went into the South. When they joined the league they were put in the West.

[Downunder Dolphan]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/22218166/florida-speaker-of-house-responds-to-dolphins-criticisms

Florida speaker of house responds to Dolphins criticisms
By Josh Katzowitz | NFL WriterMay 8, 2013 3:27 pm ET

After the Florida State Legislature -- and in particular the speaker of the house -- declined to bring up a vote that would have allowed Miami-Dade residents to help decide how to or if they should finance the team's stadium renovations, the Dolphins were livid.

It probably will cost Miami-Dade the chance at additional Super Bowls, and Dolphins CEO Mike Dee has made vague threats about how the team might just have to move eventually.

And owner Stephen Ross very publicly ripped Florida Speaker of the House Will Weatherford for not bringing up the legislation for a vote.

Now, Weatherford has fired back at the Dolphins.

First, here's what Ross said:

“Speaker Weatherford did far more than just deny the people of Miami Dade the right to vote on an issue critical to the future of our local economy. The Speaker singlehandedly put the future of Super Bowls and other big events at risk for Miami Dade and for all of Florida. He put politics before the people and the 4,000 jobs this project would have created for Miami Dade, and that is just wrong. …

“He gave me and many others his word that this legislation would go to the floor of the House for a vote, where I know, and he knows, we had the votes to win by a margin as large as we did in the Senate. It's hard to understand why he would stop an election already in process and disenfranchise the 40,000 people who have already voted. I can only assume he felt it was in his political interest to do so. Time will tell if that is the case, but I am certain this decision will follow Speaker Weatherford for many years to come.”

Responded Weatherford, a 33-year-old Republican, via the Palm Beach Post: “At no point during the process were any promises made to hear the Dolphins Stadium bill on the House floor. It's no coincidence that we haven't heard about this so-called commitment until after the bill died.”

Also this: “The feedback from Miami-Dade was negative and there were concerns expressed by members on both sides of the aisle. It's not the fault of the Florida Legislature that Dolphins' management failed to win legislative approval to force taxpayers to upgrade Sun Life Stadium after paying for a local referendum. Some would call that putting the cart before the horse.”

Look, it's hard to be sympathetic to the Dolphins. I feel it's past time to stop asking so much of the public to help finance pro sports stadiums because we've seen again and again, that the city and state governments are the ones to lose in these scenarios.

As a result of the Forida Legislature's failure to act on the bill -- “like 700 of the 1,100 bills filed this session, it did not have the necessary support for passage,” Weatherford said -- the Dolphins no longer are planning to renovate the stadium. And even though the South Florida Super Bowl Bid Committee will hold a news conference Thursday to unveil the final details of its bid to host either Super Bowl L or Super Bowl LI, there doesn't seem to be much optimism for Miami's chances.

And while we still think it's absolutely fabulous that Ross is pledging at least half of his estimated estate of $4 billion to charity, that also would leave plenty of opportunity for him to, you know, pay for the stadium renovations himself.

[phinphan]

Hey it cruised threw the senate and Ross swears they had the votes to bring it to the people. All of the billionare's I know have no problem throwing 4.8 million at the wall to see if it sticks. NOT. I believe Ross when he says Weatherford said it would hit the floor for a vote. I still want to know were the money went. This guy bypassed the democratic process received a boat load of money for nothing, and expected it to be a done deal yet it is still here. Now his defense is he wasn't going to put a referendum  on the floor that would make tax payers in Miami-Dade pay for upgrades to the stadium. First it was a referendum  for them to VOTE THEIR CHOICE. Second he makes it sound like the referendum would have taken money from starving working families.
It was a one cent tax on hotels and tourism. Stay with me here if Jax fans can petition Obama to make Jax hire tbow, Then why cant we petition for Weatherford to be fired.
I don't mean for the upgrades, or the money but I still want to know were it went. No I am talking about the head of the legislation Deciding That it did not need to be put to a vote. That the people of Miami Dade didn't deserve the right to cast their vote because he knew better. He bypassed the democratic system, made a decision that best suited his agenda, denied the people the right to choose, and acted. In other countries he would be known as a DICTATOR. Yet he knows after awhile this will go away the press will move on and he can do it again. He needs to be held accountable for what he did and his reasoning, after it blew up in his face, to the American people. He didn't expect Ross to raise so much hell. My point is the best writer on here should file a petition on the White House site I know we could get the signatures . Lets kick this scum bag while he's back peddling before he slithers away.

[Brian Fein]

The last line of the article is what puzzles me.  He's saying in one breath "I can't afford to pay for this myself" and the next breath talking about giving $2BILLION to charity!

Noble as it seems, pay for the stadium upgrades and then spend the other $1.5 Billion on charity.  What better charity than improving the local economy and creating 4000 jobs in Miami-Dade county?

[Phishfan]

Phin, it has already been established that the money the Dolphins spent was to pay for the referendum voting process. Weatherford doesn't see that money or get any of it.

As for the bill, it seems once again the focus is that all it did was allow South Florida voters to decide on this tax. That was just a small portion of the bill. It also included hundreds of millions of tax dollars and other sports teams. The House had about 2-3 days if I recall to consider a bill involving a lot of tax money. House Dems froze the legislature for one of those days because of healthcare issues. The South Florida representatives were the loudest in protest about this bill. I can see why this thing never came up. I think Ross and Dee are passing the buck a bit here. This thing could have been handled differently but I think Ross thought it was going to be a piece of cake when in reality it wasn't.

That said, I wish it could have gone through. In addition to the stadium upgrades it would have been very helpful in Orlando's building of a soccer stadium.

[Pappy13]

I think Ross and Dee are passing the buck a bit here. This thing could have been handled differently but I think Ross thought it was going to be a piece of cake when in reality it wasn't.

My take on this is just slightly different. From what I have heard/read this was the ONLY way that the renovations could get done in time for the 50th anniversary SB. They needed to get this bill passed THIS year so that they could get the vote to get the tax hike so they could get the renovations done before the SB. I don't think they really thought it would be a piece of cake, but they thought it was doable and they did everything they could for it to happen, but it didn't. It's not the end of the world. It doesn't mean that the Dolphins are now leaving Miami, all it really means is that Miami will probably not get the 50th anniversary superbowl bid they so desperately wanted to get. Mike Dee and Ross are upset about that and understandably so, but that doesn't mean that Dee and Ross can't get the bill passed next year or the year after and get the funding for the renovations and stay in Miami for 30 years, it just means the renovations won't happen in time for the 50th anniversary SB. That's the whole reason for the time crunch and that's why Dee and Ross are upset.

[Phishfan]

You are correct Pappy but I don't see how that contradicts me at all. I think Ross still thought it was a piece of cake. From the articles I have seen he didn't try smoozing the right people. That tells me he either doesn't want to play the political game (which his very vocal position since this happened contradicts) or he thought he didn't need to.

[Pappy13]

You are correct Pappy but I don't see how that contradicts me at all. I think Ross still thought it was a piece of cake. From the articles I have seen he didn't try smoozing the right people. That tells me he either doesn't want to play the political game (which his very vocal position since this happened contradicts) or he thought he didn't need to.

Well I don't want to get into a discussion of what was or wasn't done, it's well documented in other places. The fact is that Dee and Ross tried to get the bill passed this year and there was opposition to the bill from other places and they lost. I don't think you can conclude from that that Ross thought it would be a piece of cake or didn't want to play the political game, maybe those that were against it were just better at playing the game.

[Phishfan]

I can conclude from Ross' statements that he thought it was a piece of cake. He said he felt they had the votes while Weatherford says otherwise. None of us really know if they did or didn't have them but we do know Ross thought he did i.e. it was in the bag for him.

[Pappy13]

He said he felt they had the votes while Weatherford says otherwise.

If they didn't have the votes then why didn't Weatherford put it to a vote? I think you're being rather naive.