Dolphins consider Miramar for site of new headquarters
The Miami Dolphins are shopping around for a new home for the team’s headquarters, and Miramar appears to be one of the cities under consideration.
The Dolphins have approached the city about purchasing or leasing land near the Miami-Dade/ Broward County line with the goal of building a facility to house the team’s players, coaches and auxillary staff, according to Miramar Mayor Wayne M. Messam, who has called an informal town hall meeting Thursday at 6:30 p.m. to present the proposal to residents.
“It’s all preliminary at this point,” Messam said. “We’re just evaluating the proposal and what an agreement would look like. We want to get resident input regarding the prospects, see how many residents support it and those who don’t.”
The Dolphins have practiced at Nova Southeastern University in Davie since 1993, moving there from St. Thomas University, where they had practiced for more than two decades.
The Dolphins want to continue to upgrade the Davie complex, but feel as if they are running out of space to do so. The team headquarters also sits on land the organization leases.
Over the past five years the Dolphins have poured millions into the Davie facility, expanding the meal room, and the weight room. Last year, the Dolphins added a pair of trailers that sit between the complex and the indoor practice field and they are used to house player-related centers that don’t fit inside the complex.
A move to Miramar, or another area, could generate unwanted traffic in August when fans attend the 14-20 training camp practices that are open to the public. But those usually only draw a couple thousand patrons per day, with weekend sessions being the exception.
However, the community that houses the team’s new facility could potentially benefit from Dolphins’ players moving into the neighborhood, and the taxes the team pays the city and county, particularly bed taxes.
The Dolphins declined to comment on the Miramar proposal, but a team spokesperson stressed that the franchise doesn’t plan to relocate employees based at the stadium.
Messam did label the discussions as “very preliminary,” and mentioned that the Dolphins have targeted a few communities for their next home, which will reportedly house three football fields and a state-ofthe-art training center.
“A project of that magnitude would take time to build and construct,” said Messam, who has served as Miramar’s mayor since 2015.
The team owns Hard Rock Stadium and the land surrounding it, and could conceivably move the facility there. However, parking could become an issue since the Miami Open tennis tournament is also relocating to the property in 2019, and courts are being built in lots adjacent to the stadium.
Miramar residents, or Dolphins fans who wish to hear about the Miramar proposal can attend the informal town hall at Sunset Lakes Community Center, which is located at 2801 SW 186 Ave.