Ross the boss says pressure on team to win with new facility — he was kidding (sort of )

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross unveiled his new $135 million enhancement of the franchise Tuesday and, in looking out across the throng of invited guests, spotted and mentioned general manager Chris Grier and coach Brian Flores.

What Ross said then was meant to be lighthearted, was delivered as such, and even drew a chuckle from the crowd.

But the words also had an edge. A point. It was a truthin-humor moment.

“Now the pressure is on them,” said Ross the boss. “If you can’t win with a facility like this, you’re never gonna win!”

And so it is. The Dolphins now have one more reason to win, and one less excuse if they don’t, as players report next Tuesday for training camp to usher in the club’s 56th season.

Suit-wearing team executives unaccustomed to wielding shovels wore hard hats to dig dirt in the ceremonial ground breaking for this facility on August 20, 2019.

On Tuesday, not quite two years later, it was with comically oversized scissors with which Ross and his executive team cut a ribbon in the ceremonial grand opening of the new Baptist Health Training Facility in what used to be a parking lot just northwest of Hard Rock Stadium.

It was a big deal. This is only the Dolphins’ fourth training camp location in their existence, after St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton (1966-69), St. Thomas University in Miami (1970-92) and Nova Southeastern University in Davie (1993-2020).