Stadium restyle
What’s new for Dolfans this season.
MIAMI GARDENS — The cranes are long gone. The profile of reimagined Hard Rock Stadium is well established in northern Miami-Dade County with the squared-donut roof and four giant spires reaching for the sky.
Another $50 million in additions and renovations since last football season have virtually completed the transformation of the 30-year-old house that Joe Robbie built to what current Miami Dolphins owner Steve Ross envisioned as a “global entertainment destination.”
The complete remodeling of the club level and 147 suites, addition of party terraces with bars in the four corners of the 300 level and redesign of the parking lot and exterior landscaping pushed the cost of the three-year makeover north of $500 million.
Dolphins fans will get their first look at the latest improvements at Thursday’s exhibition season opener against the Atlanta Falcons.
“It’s just nice having things done where there’s not parts of the stadium that feel unfinished now,” Tom Garfinkel, the president and CEO of the Dolphins and the stadium, said Tuesday while showcasing Phase III of the project. “There’s still a lot of work to be done in terms of certain details and things. But when you walk around now it feels like a new stadium everywhere you go.
“I would stay Steve’s vision has come to reality. I hope fans enjoy it.”
There is one more phase of the project that should improve the experience of coming to an event at Hard Rock that will begin following the upcoming football season. Two pedestrian bridges and two pedestrian tunnels are planned to aid in fans going to and from the outer parking lots without interrupting the flow of vehicular traffic on the streets surrounding the stadium.
Fans this season will experience a much more together venue than in 2015 when the lower bowl and all the seats were replaced and in 2016 after the roof and giant video boards were added.
The stadium makeover clearly was done with hosting big events in mind. A greatly expanded press box is one indication.
The modernization has already landed the Super Bowl for 2020 and lured Spanish soccer giants Real Madrid and FC Barcelona for last month’s El Clasico Miami match.
In addition, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said last week that the county will submit a bid by September to host games in the 2026 World Cup.
“I’ll just say, if there is a big event, we’ll bid and do everything we can to bring it here if we can,” Garfinkel said. “We’re actually targeting some things we’ve never done before.”
Meanwhile, Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes football fans will be the primary beneficiaries of a more userfriendly stadium.
This year’s alterations can be viewed as the fun phase, in terms of amenities and comforts.
That will be evident in new food and beverage offerings, including celebrity chef David Chang’s first Fuku outlet in Florida, featuring a casual chicken concept popular in New York. Also new are South Floridabased eateries Coyo Taco, Los Ranchos, Jackson Soul Food, Shorty’s BB and O-B House.
O-B House is an all-day breakfast spot in Fort Lauderdale’s theatre district that became a personal favorite of Garfinkel when the Dolphins occupied temporary offices downtown during the stadium renovation.
It will provide early-arriving football fans the option of pregame breakfast with three versions of its signature, oven-baked pancake: andouille and corn, blueberry and plain.
“It’s just a different offering,” said Rodney Ely, owner of O-B House. “I think it’s going to be really neat to offer breakfast at the stadium. They’ll be able to show up a little early, eat breakfast and wander into their seats.”
Those looking for a hearty breakfast can opt for the TKO sandwich, packing a wallop with two ovenbaked eggs, melted-down cheddar and two slices of thick-cut bacon.
While the stadium project has created some highend seating that approximates watching the game from the stern of a yacht, the new party terraces on the 300 level are the flipside, accessible with standingroom only tickets.
Garfinkel said ticket prices for the party terraces “will change depending on the game, but will be among our least expensive. We want a bunch of young fans hanging out, congregating together, watching the game at the same time. There’s TVs and a great view.”
The exterior transformation will be evident upon entering the parking lot, which has been repaved, relined and enhanced with 37,000 new trees and shrubs.
Garfinkel said the Dolphins are working with Uber to improve the process of fans utilizing the ridehailing service. That was a problem during El Clasico, when 70 percent of ticket buyers were from outside of South Florida, and many arrived via Uber or Lyft.
He said next year’s addition of the pedestrian bridges and tunnels should greatly improve traffic flow and safety, eliminating fans on foot “playing Frogger” in dodging cars to access the outer lots.
“The No. 1 reason it’s hard to get out of here is because you have to stop all the cars to let the people cross. That will be alleviated,” Garfinkel said.
“We’ll continue to finetune and make Hard Rock Stadium the best it can be. It will never be perfect, but I think fans will come out and really be surprised, if they haven’t been here, at what they see.”