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| Former names | Dolphin Stadium (1984-1987) Joe Robbie Stadium (1987–1996) Pro Player Park (1996) Pro Player Stadium (1996–2005) Dolphin Stadium (2005–2009) LandShark Stadium (2009-2010[1]) |
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| Location | Miami Gardens, Florida 33169 |
| Coordinates | 25°57′29″N 80°14′20″W / 25.95806°N 80.23889°WCoordinates: 25°57′29″N 80°14′20″W / 25.95806°N 80.23889°W |
| Broke ground | December 1, 1985 |
| Opened | August 16, 1987 |
| Owner | H. Wayne Huizenga (5%) and Stephen M. Ross (95%) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction cost | $115 million |
| Architect | HOK Sport |
| Structural engineer | Bliss and Nyitray, Inc. |
| Capacity | 47,662 (1993 Baseball)* 42,531 (2001 Baseball)* 36,531 (2003 Baseball)* 36,331 (2006 Baseball)* 38,560 (2008 Baseball)* 74,916 (Soccer) 76,500 (Football) *Expandable to approximately 68,000 for baseball |
| Field dimensions | Left Field - 330 ft / 100.6 m Left-Center - 361 ft / 110 m Center Field - 404 ft / 123.1 m Right-Center - 361 ft / 110 m Right Field - 345 ft / 105.1 m Backstop - 58 ft / 17.7 m |
| Tenants | |
| Miami Dolphins (NFL) (1987–present) Florida Marlins (MLB) (1993–2010[2]) Florida Atlantic Owls (NCAA) (2001–2002) FedEx Orange Bowl (1996–1998), (2000–present) Blockbuster/Carquest/MicronPC/Champs Sports Bowl (1990–2000) University of Miami Hurricanes (NCAA) (2008–present) |
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LandShark Stadium (previously known as Joe Robbie Stadium, Pro Player Park, Pro Player Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, and Dolphin Stadium) is a football, lacrosse, soccer, and baseball stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, a suburb of Miami. The stadium serves as host to the Miami Dolphins, the Florida Marlins, the Miami Hurricanes, and the annual Orange Bowl college football game.
Since its construction, the stadium has hosted four Super Bowls (XXIII, XXIX, XXXIII, XLI), two World Series (1997 and 2003), and three BCS National Championship Games (2001, 2005, 2009). The stadium served as host for the second round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, and will host Super Bowl XLIV and the 2010 Pro Bowl.[3]
The Miami Dolphins have a new naming rights deal with Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville and Anheuser-Busch InBev's joint brewing project, Land Shark Lager, which renamed the facility "LandShark Stadium."[4] The sponsorship deal is reportedly for eight months and the name will revert to Dolphin Stadium in time for the Super Bowl XLIV and the 2010 Pro Bowl, possibly to be replaced by another sponsor name if a deal can be secured before that time.[1]
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Conception and construction
Land Shark Stadium was the first of its kind in the NFL to be constructed entirely with private funds. Joe Robbie led the financing campaign to build Joe Robbie Stadium (JRS) for the Miami Dolphins of the NFL. JRS revolutionized the economics of professional sports when it opened in 1987. Inclusion of a Club Level, along with Executive Suites, helped to finance the construction of the stadium. Season ticket holders committed to long term agreements and in return they received first-class amenities in a state-of-the-art facility.
The stadium was designed at Joe Robbie's request to have a wider than normal playing field in order to accommodate soccer and to serve as the home of a potential Major League Baseball franchise in South Florida. Because of this design decision, the first row of seats is 90 feet (27 m) from the sideline in a football configuration, considerably more distant than the first row of seats in most football stadiums (the closest seats at the new Soldier Field, for instance, are 55 feet (17 m) from the sideline at the 50–yard line). While the decision to employ a wider playing field resulted in a Major League Baseball (MLB) expansion franchise for Miami (see below), it resulted in a less intimate venue for football when compared to other contemporary football facilities.
The Dolphins
The first regular season NFL game played there was a 42–0 Dolphins victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on October 11, 1987. The game was in the middle of the 1987 NFL strike, and was played with replacement players. The stadium first hosted Monday Night Football there on December 7 of that year, in a 37–28 Dolphins victory over the New York Jets. In addition to the Super Bowl, several other playoff games have been played in LandShark Stadium, including the 1992 AFC Championship Game, which the Dolphins lost to the Buffalo Bills, 29-10. Overall, the Dolphins are 5-3 in playoff games held here.
The Marlins move in
In 1990, H. Wayne Huizenga, then Chairman of the Board and CEO of Blockbuster Video and Huizenga Holdings Inc., agreed to purchase 50 percent of Joe Robbie Stadium and became the point man in the drive to bring Major League Baseball to South Florida. That effort was rewarded in July 1991, when South Florida was awarded an MLB expansion franchise. The new team was named the Florida Marlins and placed in the National League. On January 24, 1994, Huizenga acquired the remaining fifty percent of the stadium to give him 100% ownership. Since 1991, several million dollars have been spent to upgrade and renovate the stadium.
The first Marlins game played at LandShark Stadium was on April 5, 1993, a 6–3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Renovations for the Florida Marlins
After Huizenga bought part of the stadium, it was extensively renovated to accommodate a baseball team, as part of his successful bid to bring the Florida Marlins to South Florida. Purists initially feared the result would be similar to Exhibition Stadium in Toronto; when the Toronto Blue Jays played there from 1976 to 1989, they were burdened with seats that were so far from the field (as far as 820 feet in some locations) that they weren't even sold during the regular season. However, as mentioned above, Robbie had foreseen Miami would be a likely location for an expansion major league baseball team, and the stadium was designed to make any necessary renovations for baseball as seamless as possible.
Huizenga wanted to create a more intimate atmosphere for baseball, and even without this to consider, most of the seats in the upper level would have been too far from the field. As a result, the stadium's baseball capacity was initially reduced to 47,600, with most of the upper level covered with a tarp. The stadium's baseball capacity has been further reduced over the years, and it now seats 36,500. However, the Marlins usually open the entire upper level for the postseason.
Like the Metrodome, LandShark Stadium is not a true multipurpose stadium, but is a football stadium that can convert into a baseball stadium. Most of the seats are pointed toward center field – where the 50–yard line would be in the football configuration. As such, the sight lines are not as good for baseball. This was particularly evident during the Marlins' two World Series appearances in 1997 and 2003. Some portions of left and center field are not part of the football playing field, and fans sitting in the left field upper-deck seats were unable to see these areas except on the replay boards.
Partly as a result of problems such as that, the Florida Marlins are booked for a new home in 2012, moving to the Miami Orange Bowl site at their new home (New Marlins Stadium). [2] Since the 2011 target date was not possible, the Marlins are now looking for a one-year lease before moving into their new stadium in 2012. The Marlins front office has already started negotiating deals with the Miami Dolphins & Miami Hurricanes to make a 1-year deal to stay in LandShark Stadium.
Notable events
Football
NFL
The stadium has played host to four Super Bowls (1989, 1995, 1999, and 2007 with another scheduled in 2010)
NCAA
LandShark Stadium has been the site of the Orange Bowl game since 1996, except for the January 1999 contest between Florida and Syracuse, which had to be moved due to a conflict with a Dolphins playoff game.
The Stadium also plays host biennially to the yearly Shula Bowl, a game played between Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University, when the game is hosted by FAU (FIU hosts the game at their own stadium, FIU Stadium, every other year).
Baseball
Two National League Division Series have been played at LandShark Stadium.
- 1997 against the San Francisco Giants: Marlins win 3 games to 0
- 2003 against the San Francisco Giants: Marlins win 3 games to 1
Two National League Championship Series have been played at LandShark Stadium.
- 1997 against the Atlanta Braves: Marlins win 4 games to 2
- 2003 against the Chicago Cubs: Marlins win 4 games to 3
Two World Series have been played at LandShark Stadium.
- 1997 against the Cleveland Indians: Marlins win 4 games to 3.
- 2003 against the New York Yankees: Marlins win 4 games to 2
The stadium was the venue where Ken Griffey, Jr. hit his 600th career home run off Mark Hendrickson of the Florida Marlins on June 9, 2008.
Concerts
The stadium has been the site of many concerts, featuring such entertainers as Madonna, U2, Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, Flo Rida, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Billy Joel, Chicago, Genesis, Gloria Estefan, Prince, The Police, Guns N' Roses, The Who, Hall & Oates, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, and The Three Tenors.
Other events
Other events held at LandShark Stadium have included international soccer games, monster truck shows, Hoop-It-Up Basketball, RV and boat shows, the UniverSoul Circus, Australian rules football exhibition matches, and numerous trade shows.
In 2006, LandShark Stadium hosted the High School State Football Championships, sanctioned by the FHSAA Florida High School Athletic Association. Movies have also been shot in LandShark Stadium, most notably Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, which stars Jim Carrey and even features Dolphins great Dan Marino as himself; Marley and Me starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston; and the Oliver Stone-directed Any Given Sunday.
Gallery
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Interior of Stadium, as seats are placed. |
 Exterior, as you can see part of the parking in 1987. |
 View from suite |
 County Officials checking out the stadium during its final months of construction on 4-24-1987 |
 Panoramic view of LandShark Stadium, baseball configuration |
 Interior of LandShark Stadium, football configuration |
 Interior of LandShark Stadium just before Walk-Out |
 11/11/2007: Dolphins vs. Bills at LandShark Stadium |
 LandShark Stadium in the Baseball Configuration. |
 Interior of LandShark Stadium, football configuration. The baseball diamond remains on the field for the Marlins until their season end |
 2006 Marlins taking the field. (counter clockwise) Hermida, Ross, Uggla, Ramirez, and Willingham |
 Home plate View |
 View from right-center field during the 7th inning stretch of a Marlins game from 4-12-2009. |
Relative location
- 15 miles (24 km) north-northwest of American Airlines Arena, home of the Miami Heat
- 16 miles (26 km) northwest of downtown Miami, Florida
- 17 miles (27 km) northwest of Miami International Airport
- 18 miles (29 km) southwest of Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- 21 miles (34 km) northwest of the main campus of the University of Miami
- 23 miles (37 km) southeast of BankAtlantic Center, home of the Florida Panthers
- 35 miles (56.3 km) east of The Everglades
- 14 miles (23 km) northwest of the former site of the Orange Bowl Stadium and future site of the New Marlins Stadium
- 3/4 miles (1.2 km) south of Calder Race Course
- 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Miami-Dade County, Florida/Broward County, Florida line
Notes and references
- ^ a b "Ross said the agreement to change the name from Dolphin Stadium is for this season only and expires before the stadium plays host to the Super Bowl in February." "Dolphins' home renamed LandShark Stadium in deal with singer Buffett". Associated Press. 2009-05-10. http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d810340fb&template=without-video-with-comments&confirm=true. Retrieved on 2009-05-11.
- ^ a b The Marlins' lease with LandShark Stadium expires after the 2010 baseball season. For the 2011 season, before their projected move to their new ballpark, they are still looking for a place to play, but are "optimistic" they can get an extension of the lease with Land Shark Stadium. Frisaro Joe (2008-11-25). "New Marlins stadium to open in 2012". MLB.com. http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081125&content_id=3691803&vkey=news_fla&fext=.jsp&c_id=fla. Retrieved on 2009-01-11.
- ^ "2010 Pro Bowl moving to Miami, will be played before Super Bowl". http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80dbeb16&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true. Retrieved on 2008-12-30.
- ^ http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/story/1027505.html
External links
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