Dolphins moving training facility to Miami Gardens
After 25 years, camp in Davie has run out of room, officials say
MIAMI GARDENS – The Miami Dolphins announced on Tuesday that the franchise is moving the team’s training facility to Miami Gardens, ending their association with Nova Southeastern University in Davie.
According to Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel, who had also been in discussions with the city of Miramar, the Dolphins have outgrown the NSU campus, which the team has used for more than two decades. The team’s lease runs out in 2020, and the Dolphins hope their new facility will be completed by then.
That means the Dolphins will likely remain in Davie for the 2019 season.
“We’re excited to be moving our training facility here to Miami Gardens to bring our organization together, to bring the Dolphins to Miami-Dade County, ” said Garfinkel, who runs the business side of the Dolphins organization, which is housed at Hard Rock Stadium.
The announcement ends months of speculation as to whether the Dolphins would expand their current facility, which is already bursting at the seams because of expansion of facilities such as the weight room and sports science department.
The new facility, which will be privately funded and built by team owner Steve Ross, a real estate mogul, will cost between $75 million and $80 million to build, and will feature office space and meeting rooms, a state of the art cafeteria, two outdoor fields, and a indoor practice facility.
The complex will be be located adjacent to Hard Rock Stadium, and facing University Drive. That land is currently used as a parking lot for Hard Rock Stadium, but Garfinkel said 2,000 parking spaces will remain after the new training facility is completed.
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.
“Miami-Dade County is thrilled to have the Dolphins returning home to build their new training facility in Miami Gardens,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said. “After 25 years of training in Broward County, the Dolphins will be consolidating their stronghold in MiamiDade County. This is, I think, a very wise move.
“This state-of-the-art facility will be a boom to Miami-Dade County in terms of job creation, both during the construction phase and for the decades of sporting events this facility will help us attract far into the future.”
The Dolphins had outgrown the NSU facility and couldn’t expand any further. Ross has poured millions into upgrading the Davie facility since taking over as the Dolphins owner a decade ago. Just last year, Miami added two portables to house recovery and rest stations.
According to Garfinkel, the organization felt they needed to keep up with the rest of the league’s facilities, which provide far more space and amenities for players and coaches.
The Miami-Dade County Commission voted on July 24 to subsidize a move to Miami Gardens. The county commission voted to increase by more than $50 million the maximum amount of tax money the Dolphins can receive for large sporting events held at their stadium over the next several decades, with the higher subsidies contingent on the new training complex being built in Miami-Dade.
The Dolphins’ training headquarters have been at Nova Southeastern since 1993, moving there from St. Thomas University, where the team had practiced for more than two decades.
“Miami-Dade County is thrilled to have the Dolphins returning home...” Carlos Gimenez, county mayor