Miami Orange Bowl

The Orange Bowl, formerly Burdine Stadium, was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, west of downtown in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the home stadium for the Miami Hurricanes college football team. It also hosted the professional Miami Dolphins for their first 21 seasons, until the opening of Sun Life Stadium (then called Joe Robbie Stadium) in nearby Miami Gardens in 1987. The stadium was the temporary home of the FIU Golden Panthers while its FIU Stadium underwent expansion during the 2007 season.

Burdine Stadium was renamed in 1959 for the Orange Bowl college football game, which was played at the Orange Bowl following every season from 1938–95. The event was moved to Dolphin Stadium beginning in 1996. In 1999, the bowl game was hosted at the Orange Bowl for one final time due to a scheduling conflict. The minor league Miami Marlins baseball team occasionally played games in the Orange Bowl from 1956-60.

The stadium was on a large block bounded by Northwest 3rd Street (south), Northwest 16th Avenue (west), Northwest 6th Street (north) and Northwest 14th Avenue (east, the open end of the stadium).

The Orange Bowl was demolished in 2008 and will eventually make way for a new 37,000-seat retractable-roof baseball stadium of the Florida Marlins in 2012.

History

Miami Orange Bowl, North Gate

The stadium was built by the City of Miami Public Works Department. Construction began in 1936 and was completed in December 1937. The stadium opened for Miami Hurricanes football on December 10, 1937. From 1926 to 1937 the University of Miami played in a stadium near Tamiami Park and also at Moore Park until the Orange Bowl was built.

The Orange Bowl was originally named Burdine Stadium after Roddy Burdine, one of Miami's pioneers. The original stadium consisted of the two sideline lower decks. Seating was added in the endzones in the 1940s, and by the end of the 1950s the stadium was double-decked on the sidelines. In 1966, the AFL expansion Miami Dolphins played their first ever regular season game in the stadium on September 2. The west endzone upper deck section was then added in the 1960s, bringing the stadium to its peak capacity of 80,010. In 1964, the Orange Bowl Game was the first college bowl game to be televised in prime time.

In 1977, the permanent seats in the east endzone were removed, and further upgrades brought the stadium to its final capacity and design. The city skyline was visible to the east through the open end, over the modern scoreboard and palm trees. The surface has been natural grass, except for six seasons in the 1970s. Poly-Turf, an artificial turf similar to AstroTurf, was installed for the 1970 football season. It was removed and replaced with a type of natural grass known as "Prescription Athletic Turf" after Super Bowl X in January 1976.

Walk-way of the O.B.

Under the leadership of Hall of Fame head coach Don Shula, the Miami Dolphins enjoyed a winning record in the Orange Bowl against rival teams in the AFC Eastern Division. Under Shula, the Dolphins were an impressive 57–9–1 (60–10–1 including playoff contests) against the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts (15–3), the Boston/NewEngland Patriots (15–1), the Buffalo Bills (16–1) and the New York Jets (13–4–1). The playoff results are: AFC Championship games: (1971, Miami 21, Baltimore 0); (1982, Miami 14, New York Jets 0) and (1985, New England 31, Miami 14) and AFC First Round game (1982 strike shortened season, Miami 28, New England 13).

Farewell to the Orange Bowl event on January 26, 2008

Notable winning streaks during the Shula-era in the Orange Bowl include a 13–0 streak against the Buffalo Bills and a 15–0 streak against the New England Patriots, Also of note, the Miami Dolphins enjoyed a record 31-game home winning streak from 1971-75. This 31-game streak includes four playoff wins and the perfect season of 1972. The Dolphins have not enjoyed the same level of success in Sun Life Stadium. While much of this lack of success in Sun Life Stadium is obviously attributable to a diminished level of talent and organizational stability, it is also widely recognized that the homefield advantage that the Dolphins enjoyed in the Orange Bowl was exponentially greater than in their newer home. This was in great part due to the atmosphere of the Bowl. The closeness of the seats to the field, along with the closed West End Zone, metal bleachers, and steel structure (and of course the team's success and its status as Miami's only professional sports team for so many years), gave the venue one of the loudest and most electric homefield environments in the NFL. Visiting team quarterbacks often complained to referees or were forced to call time out as their teammates could not hear them barking out the signals due to the unbearable noise, especially when the Dolphins were making a goal-line stand in the closed West End Zone. While Sun Life Stadium is much newer and cleaner and is considered one of the top facilities in the NFL, with top-notch amenities, the seats are much farther from the field, and even at its loudest, Sun Life Stadium doesn't come close to comparing to that of the Orange Bowl.

The Orange Bowl was also the site of the NCAA's longest college football home field winning streak. Between 1985 and 1994, the Miami Hurricanes won 58 straight home games at the Bowl, until ended by the Washington Huskies. The stadium's home field advantage used to include a steel structure that fans would set to rumbling by stomping their feet. Concrete reinforcement had silenced the rumble. There was still the advantage of the West End Zone, which has a relatively narrow radius that amplifies fan noise. The West End Zone was a factor in the Wide Right curse, in which the Florida State Seminoles lost a series of close games due to missed field goals. This section was so raucous that some football announcers often confused it with the student section.

In addition to football, the stadium also hosted concerts and other public events. The stadium had a regular capacity of 74,476 orange seats, and could seat up to 82,000 for concerts and other events where additional seating would have been placed on the playing field.

The last professional football game to be played in the Orange Bowl took place on April 29, 2000 and matched the Miami Tropics vs the San Antonio Matadors of the Spring Football League. The Matadors won 16-13.

University of Miami

The City of Miami embarked on a plan to extensively renovate the stadium. However, those plans fell by the wayside as Miami focused on keeping the Florida Marlins in town, forcing the Hurricanes to threaten a move to Dolphin Stadium (now Sun Life Stadium) in suburban Miami Gardens if a plan to renovate the stadium were not in place within 45 days. Some feared that Miami would permit the college to leave, only to tear down the Orange Bowl and replace it with the new stadium for the Marlins.

That fear became reality as Paul Dee, Athletic Director for the University of Miami, announced that the Hurricanes would be moving to Dolphin Stadium for the 2008 season. Dee and university president Donna Shalala made the announcement during a press conference at the Hecht Athletic Center on August 21, 2007. The University agreed to a 25-year contract to play at then Dolphin Stadium. According to Miami City Manager Pete Hernandez, this put the Orange Bowl back in the forefront as a possible site for a new Marlins stadium. The hope that talks would resume soon on that possibility vanished after only a short while.

Many Hurricane fans vocally opposed the decision to move stadium locations and preferred maintaining the Orange Bowl as the Hurricanes' home field, out of concern of Dolphin Stadium's extra distance from campus, the severing of an icon of the Hurricanes' historical successes on the field, and potentially more expensive parking costs.

Final game at the Orange Bowl

Many fans have even stated to various broadcast, print and internet-based media outlets that they will no longer attend the games of Hurricanes football, once the team abandoned the Orange Bowl. Some speculate that the decision to leave the Orange Bowl might have cursed the Miami Hurricanes and would cite the Miami Dolphins as a precedent. Indeed a common explanation for the Miami Hurricanes' poor performance during the 2007 season is that "they've never been the same since they left the Orange Bowl."

Hurricane Wilma

In 2005, Hurricane Wilma caused structural damage to the stadium, which rekindled discussion of tearing down the aging facility. The damage was subsequently repaired.

Final year and demolition

Demolition through April 7, 2008

The Orange Bowl was demolished in May 2008, and the Marlins' new retractable-roof stadium is currently under construction on the site, and targeted to open in April 2012. Despite some protests, the historic stadium had been earmarked for demolition when the University of Miami announced that they were moving out of the Orange Bowl after the 2007 season to begin play at Sun Life Stadium in 2008 in a 25-year deal.[6] On November 10, 2007, the University of Miami Hurricanes lost their final game at the Orange Bowl when the Virginia Cavaliers defeated Miami 48-0 in the Hurricanes worst home shutout loss in school history.

Press Box section demolition.

The FIU Golden Panthers won their last game at the Orange Bowl against the North Texas Mean Green on December 1, 2007 by a score of 38-19, snapping a 23-game losing streak that many attributed to the consequences of suspensions following the UM-FIU brawl the year before. Since the Golden Panthers had been using the Orange Bowl as their home field during the construction of FIU Stadium this win allows the FIU team to boast that it was they who officially closed the Orange Bowl's college football career with a home win.

A high school all-star game, "The O-D All-American Bowl", took place on January 4, 2008 and was the last game before the closing events.

The game featured former Dolphin and Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino, plus Mark Duper, Mercury Morris, Dwight Stephenson, A.J. Duhe, Don Strock, Jim Kiick, John Offerdahl, Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar, Melvin Bratton, Brian Blades, Bennie Blades and Eddie Brown.

The Final Days

The NFL's winningest coach Don Shula coached the Dolphin players while Florida Atlantic University and former Hurricanes coach (and former Dolphins assistant) Howard Schnellenberger coached the UM players.

The Orange Bowl was open to the public for the last time February 8–10, 2008 when a public auction of stadium artifacts and memorabilia was held. The stadium was stripped and pieces were sold by a company called Mounted Memories. Demolition of the Orange Bowl began on March 3, 2008[8], and was completed on May 14, 2008.

Commemorative marker

As part of the new Miami Ballpark, Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places have commissioned Daniel Arsham/Snarkitecture to design a public artwork to commemorate the Miami Orange Bowl. Their project uses the letters from the original "Miami Orange Bowl" sign as the basis for the 10-foot-tall (3.0 m) orange concrete letters rearranged across the east plaza of the new ballpark so that they form new words as visitors move around them.

Stadium events

Football

Orange Bowl game from 1938–95, 1999

Miami Seahawks - home stadium in 1946

Miami Dolphins - home stadium from 1966–86

Miami Hurricanes; home stadium 1937-2007

North-South Shrine Game - college football all-stars - 1948-73

Playoff Bowl (NFL) - for 3rd place - (1961-70)

1975 NFL Pro Bowl Game

1995 CFL exhibition game - Birmingham Barracudas vs. Miami Manatees.

Miami Tropics - home stadium 2000 Spring Football League

FIU Golden Panthers - 2007 home games due to FIU Stadium renovations.

USA Bowl - (2005–07)

Super Bowls

Miami Orange Bowl during Super Bowl V

The Orange Bowl hosted five Super Bowls:

Super Bowl II – Green Bay Packers 33, Oakland Raiders 14

Super Bowl III – New York Jets 16, Baltimore Colts 7

Super Bowl V – Baltimore Colts 16, Dallas Cowboys 13

(first Super Bowl played on artificial turf)

Super Bowl X – Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Dallas Cowboys 17

(last game in Orange Bowl played on artificial turf)

Super Bowl XIII – Pittsburgh Steelers 35, Dallas Cowboys 31

Baseball

Miami Marlins -- An estimated 57,000 fans, the largest crowd ever for a minor-league baseball game, watched 50-year-old Satchel Paige pitch there for the Marlins on Aug. 7, 1956. The minor league Marlins played some games there between 1956 and 1960.

1990 Caribbean Series - The 1990 Caribbean Series of Baseball was the 20th edition of the second stage of the Caribbean Series. In a botched experiment the series was moved to Miami, Florida in the United States. All games were played in the Orange Bowl, which had not been used since 1956. Only about 50,000 fans attended during the seven day Series. The series featured teams from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The Leones del Escogido of the Dominican League won the series led by manager Felipe Rojas Alou and series MVP Geronimo Berroa.

Soccer

NASL Miami Gatos (1971) / Miami Toros (1972–76)

ASL Miami Americans (1976–80), Miami Sharks / Miami Freedom (1988–1992)

Marlboro Cup (1987–88)

Millenium Cup: Rangers(Glasgow) 2x2(extra time: 3x4) Atlético(Belo Horizonte) (Jan 17th, 1999)

USL-1 Team Miami FC played 2 games in 2007 at the Orange Bowl.

Various friendly and pre-season matches with AC Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Brazil national football team

1994 FIFA World Cup games

1996 Summer Olympics football preliminaries.

FIFA World Cup 2002 CONCACAF Qualifiers Play-off, Costa Rica vs. Guatemala (5-2, 6 January 2001)

River Plate 2-1 Boca Juniors, June 15, 2002

CONCACAF Gold Cup

1996 Summer Olympics - soccer games

Boca Juniors 2 Haiti 0

Mexico 3 Peru 1

The stadium was used by the Haiti national soccer team for their "home" matches, due to violent flare-ups in Haiti resulting from political instability.

Popular boxing bouts

Archie Moore defeated Joey Maxim by UD 15 rounds on 1/27/1954

Roberto Durán defeated Jimmy Batten by UD 10 rounds on 11/12/1982

Aaron Pryor defeated Alexis Argüello by TKO 14 out of 15 on 11/12/1982

Non-athletic events

Monster Jam

Enchanted Dreamz Hip-Hop Car Show Bash

World Championships of Senior Citizen Dancing. 1984.

Drum Corps International World Championships August 1983.

Concerts

Foreigner, UFO, Pat Travers & Bryan Adams - Rock Super Bowl - 1982

The Police - Synchronicity Tour - October 28, 1983

The Jacksons - Victory Tour - November 2-3, 1984

Prince - Purple Rain Tour, with The Revolution, Apollonia 6 & Sheila E. - April 7, 1985 (In honor of the occasion, the stadium was rechristened "The Purple Bowl.")

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Born in the U.S.A. Tour - September 9-10, 1985

Madonna - Who's That Girl World Tour, with Level 42 - June 27, 1987

David Bowie - Glass Spider Tour - September 18, 1987

Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour - November 1, 1987

U2 - The Joshua Tree Tour - December 3, 1987

Monsters of Rock Festival - Van Halen, Scorpions, Metallica, Dokken & Kingdom Come - June 4, 1988

George Michael - Faith World Tour - October 29, 1988

The Rolling Stones - Steel Wheels Tour - November 15-16, 1989 & Bridges To Babylon Tour - December 5, 1997

Metallica - M2K Tour - December 28, 1999

AC/DC

The Eagles

Genesis

Wrestling

1987 NWA Great American Bash supercard

Films - TV

The Orange Bowl was a central location in the 1977 film Black Sunday. A significant portion of the filming was done during Super Bowl X on January 18, 1976. A significant portion of the 1999 movie Any Given Sunday was filmed at the Orange Bowl.

Two episodes of Spike TV's Pros vs. Joes third season series were filmed here. Those episodes were the South Regional playoffs.

Much of the on-field scenes for the 1994 comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective were filmed at the Orange Bowl.

The stadium's role during the Mariel boatlift in 1980 is featured

in the 1995 film The Perez Family.

(source:wikipedia)

Sun Life Stadium

Sun Life Stadium Former names Joe Robbie Stadium (1987–1996) Pro Player Park (1996) Pro Player Stadium (1996–2005) Dolphins Stadium (2005–2006) Dolphin Stadium (2006–2009; 2010) Land Shark Stadium (2009–2010) Sun Life Stadium (2010–present) Location 2267 NW 199th Street Miami Gardens, Florida 33056 Coordinates 25°57′29″N 80°14′20″W Broke ground December 1, 1985 Opened August 16, 1987 Owner Stephen M. Ross (95%) and H. Wayne Huizenga (5%) Surface Prescription Athletic Turf (Natural Grass) Construction cost $115 million Architect Populous Structural engineer Bliss and Nyitray, Inc. Capacity 47,662 (1993 baseball)* 42,531 (2001 baseball)* 35,531 (2003 baseball)* 36,331 (2006 baseball)* 38,560 (2008 baseball)* 74,918 (soccer) 75,192 (football) *Expandable to approximately 68,000 for baseball Field dimensions Left field – 330 ft / 100.6 m Left-center field – 361 ft / 110 m Center field – 404 ft / 123.1 m Right-center field – 361 ft / 110 m Right field – 345 ft / 105.1 m Backstop – 58 ft / 17.7 m

Former logo: Dolphin Stadium

,Sun Life Stadium (previously known as Joe Robbie Stadium, Pro Player Park, Pro Player Stadium, Dolphin Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, and, most recently, Land Shark Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, a suburb of Miami. It is the home stadium facility of the Miami Dolphins National Football League (NFL) team, the Florida Marlins Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the University of Miami Hurricanes football team, and hosts the annual Orange Bowl college football bowl game.

It is one of three stadiums remaining to house both teams from the National Football League and Major League Baseball, along with Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in California and Rogers Centre in Toronto (which is a part-time home for the Buffalo Bills NFL team.) With the addition of the Hurricanes, it is the only stadium to house an NFL, MLB and NCAA Division I College Football team.

Since its construction, the stadium has hosted five Super Bowls (XXIII, XXIX, XXXIII, XLI and XLIV), 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 hosted the 2010 Pro Bowl.

On January 18, 2010, the Miami Dolphins signed a five-year deal with Sun Life Financial to rename Dolphin Stadium to Sun Life Stadium. The deal is worth $7.5 million per year for five years (a total of $37.5 million).

History

Conception and construction

Joe Robbie, founder of the Miami Dolphins, led the financing campaign to build a new home for his team. For their first 20 years, the Dolphins played at the Orange Bowl. The new stadium was originally named Joe Robbie Stadium (JRS) in Robbie's honor.

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; in return, they received first-class amenities in a state-of-the-art facility.

County officials check out the interior of the stadium, 1987

Robbie believed it was only a matter of time before a Major League Baseball team came to South Florida. At his request, the stadium was designed to have a wider field than is normally the case for an NFL stadium, and was also built so only minimal renovations would be necessary to ready it for a baseball team. The wide field also makes it fairly easy to convert the stadium for soccer.

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). This resulted in a less intimate venue for football compared to other football facilities built around this time, as well as to the Orange Bowl.

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 hosted its first 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 the stadium, including the 1992 AFC Championship Game, which the Dolphins lost to the Buffalo Bills, 29-10. 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 then-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 the Miami area 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 50 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 then-Joe Robbie Stadium was on April 5, 1993, a 6–3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Renovations and configurations

After Huizenga bought part of the stadium, it was extensively renovated to accommodate a baseball team, as part of his successful bid to bring baseball to south Florida. Purists initially feared the result would be similar to Exhibition Stadium in Toronto; when the Toronto Blue Jays played there from 1977 to 1989, they were burdened with seats that were so far from the field 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 new or relocated MLB team, and the stadium was designed to make any necessary renovations for baseball as seamless as possible.

The stadium's baseball capacity was initially reduced to 47,600, with most of the upper level covered with a tarp. In addition to Huizenga's desire create a more intimate atmosphere for baseball, most of the seats in the upper level would have been too far from the field. 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. In the 1997 World Series, the Marlins played before crowds of over 67,000 fans—the highest postseason attendance figures in MLB history, only exceeded by Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the temporary home of the Los Angeles Dodgers (before Dodger Stadium was opened) in the 1959 World Series.

Although it was designed from the ground up to accommodate baseball, Sun Life Stadium is not a true multipurpose stadium. Rather, it 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' 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.

The Marlins are planning to move to a new stadium at the site of the Miami Orange Bowl in 2012. 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 Dolphins and Hurricanes to make a 1-year deal to stay in Sun Life Stadium.

Aside from baseball renovations, the stadium has undergone some permanent renovations. In April 2006, the stadium unveiled two large video boards from Daktronics, the largest in professional sports at the time. The east display measures 50 feet high by 140 feet wide, and the west end zone display measure 50 feet high by 100 feet wide. A new 2,118-foot-long LED ribbon board, again the largest in the world at the time, was also installed. These have since been surpassed in size.

In addition, the upgrades include vastly widened 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m2) concourses on the stadium’s north and south sides. Bars, lounges and other amenities have also been added. The renovation has three phases, the first has been completed; the second and third phases of renovation will take place after the Marlins move from the stadium. These remaining phases include the addition of a roof to shield fans from the rain, as well as remodeling the sidelines of the lower bowl to narrow the field and bring seats closer, ending its convertibility to baseball.

The stadium contains 10,209 club seats (2,400 of which are available for Marlins games) and 216 suites (88 of which are available for Marlins games).

Notable events

Football

NFL

The stadium has played host to five Super Bowls (1989, 1995, 1999, 2007, and 2010). There has been a kickoff return for a touchdown in each Super Bowl played at the stadium, except in the most recent game. The stadium also hosted the 2010 Pro Bowl.

The NFL is threatening not to return (for the Super Bowl or Pro Bowl) unless significant renovations are made. One of the upgrades desired was a roof to protect fans from the elements. The 2007 Super Bowl at Dolphin Stadium — when Indianapolis defeated Chicago 29-17 — was marred by heavy rains. An estimated 30 percent of the lower-level seating was empty during the second half.  The concern about the elements during the Super Bowl no longer appears as much of an issue since the NFL awarded Super Bowl XLVIII to New Jersey, the first Super Bowl to be played outdoors (with the possibility of snowfall) in a northern state.

The Dolphins already have pulled the plug on pitching a $200-million hotel tax proposal that would have included a partial stadium roof. With the end zones facing east and west, the uncovered north side of the stadium bakes in the south Florida sun. The issue has become so problematic that Stephen Ross, who owns the Dolphins and Sun Life Stadium, successfully petitioned the NFL for no early kickoffs in September home games even at the expense of losing home-field advantage against opponents unaccustomed to the sweltering heat and humidity.

NCAA

The stadium has hosted the Miami Hurricanes beginning in 2008. The stadium was the home field for the Florida Atlantic Owls (2001–2002).

The 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 Dolphin 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 Dolphin 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 Dolphin 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; and where Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched the 20th perfect game in Major League Baseball history on May 29, 2010 against the Marlins.

Concerts

The stadium has been the site of many concerts, featuring such entertainers as U2, Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, Flo Rida, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Billy Joel, Chicago, Genesis, Gloria Estefan, Prince, The Police, Fiction Plane, Maroon 5, Guns N' Roses, The Who, Hall & Oates, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, Madonna & The Three Tenors, among others.

'N Sync were scheduled to perform at the stadium during their Pop Odyssey Tour on August 2, 2001, but the show was cancelled.

U2 will perform at the stadium on June 29, 2011, during their 360° Tour. The show was originally on July 9, 2010, but was postponed, due to Bono's emergency back surgery.

Other events

Other events held at the 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, it hosted the High School State Football Championships, sanctioned by the FHSAA Florida High School Athletic Association. Movies have also been shot there, most notably Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, which starred Jim Carrey and featured Dolphins great Dan Marino as himself; Marley and Me starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston; and the Oliver Stone-directed Any Given Sunday.

Also Sun Life Stadium along with the Georgia Dome in Atlanta were among the finalists to host WWE's WrestleMania XXVII in 2011. On February, 1st, 2010 it was announced that Atlanta would host WrestleMania XXVII. Despite failing to win the chance to host WrestleMania XXVII, Miami has made it apparent that they weren't going to give up on trying to win the chance to host a Wrestlemania.

Naming rights

The stadium has gone through many name changes, bringing up the overall question of the value of corporate naming rights.

Initially, the stadium was named after Joe Robbie, the original and then-owner of the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins were the stadium's primary tenant at the time.

In the early 1990s, Wayne Huizenga gained control of the stadium. Huizenga first sold the naming rights to Pro Player, the sports apparel division of Fruit of the Loom, and Joe Robbie Stadium became Pro Player Stadium on August 26, 1996.

Fruit of the Loom filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1999, and the Pro Player brand was ultimately liquidated in 2001, but the stadium name held for several more years. In January 2005, the Pro Player name was replaced with Dolphins Stadium, coinciding with a renovation of the stadium. Dolphins was changed to Dolphin in April 2006, in an update of graphics and logos.

From February 2008 through January 2009, Stephen M. Ross gradually acquired 95% of the stadium and surrounding land. He then partnered with Jimmy Buffett to change the name once more, this time to Land Shark Stadium. The rename was announced on May 9, 2009, but would last less than a year as the deal did not include rights for the upcoming 2010 Pro Bowl and Super Bowl XLIV.

On January 20, 2010, the financial firm Sun Life officially announced that they had acquired the naming rights, and Land Shark Stadium became Sun Life Stadium.

(source:wikipedia)

Status unknown for Miami Hurricanes' Randy Shannon

University of Miami cornerback Ryan Hill was on a team bus that included his head coach, Randy Shannon, as it pulled into Sun Life Stadium for the regular-season finale Saturday against South Florida.

Linebackers Colin McCarthy and Sean Spence pointed to the giant banner flapping behind an airplane, and ``the whole bus immediately turned and looked,'' Hill said. Here is what they saw: ``4 YEARS 0 ACC TITLES LOTS OF EXCUSES FIRE SHANNON.''

``To see that before the game, it's not really something you want to see because if you're motivated, that's obviously going to deflate you a little bit,'' Hill said.

Things only got worse.

Far worse.

After fighting back from a 10-0 deficit to go ahead 17-10 with 3:54 left, UM lost 23-20 in overtime -- plagued once again by an interception-throwing quarterback.

This time it was Jacory Harris, Saturday's backup to freshman Stephen Morris. And this time it put Shannon's coaching future in question.

Two sources told The Miami Herald that UM president Donna Shalala convened a meeting Saturday night with UM athletic director Kirby Hocutt and her closest advisors to discuss Shannon's future. Shannon has three years left on his contract that was redrawn this past offseason.

Shalala is expected to call for a vote as early as Monday from the board of trustees on whether to retain or fire Shannon, a source close to the athletic department said.

``You guys will discuss that like they did the last six weeks, so . . .'' was all Shannon would say when asked if he was worried about his future. ``Record-wise, we're not where we need to be. Sad to see the seniors go out on not a good note.''

Shannon, who pointed to the frustration of recurring breakdowns by the Hurricanes -- a lack of red zone scoring and pivotal turnovers among them -- said he felt ``just down right now. The players are down. The seniors are down. Tough one. That's about all.''

Before the game, Hocutt told The Miami Herald that the banner was ``very disappointing.'' When asked before kickoff how the game would affect Shannon's future, Hocutt said, ``This game has no impact. . . . It's just the next game on our schedule and happens to be the last game of the [regular] season. . . . You don't get too high with the highs, and you don't get too low with the lows.''

However, the shock of the loss to the 11 ½-point underdog Bulls (7-4) changed all that. After the game, Hocutt did not respond to a text message asking whether Shannon would return as coach next season.

Not only was the result ugly and the effort lethargic, the crowd of 26,369 was the smallest this season.

Harris threw the interception on UM's final play of regulation, ruining its opportunity for a go-ahead field goal -- and leading to its demise in overtime.

Miami (7-5) finished with a 3-3 home record, its worst home showing since 1997. UM is 28-22 overall under Shannon since his first season in 2007. The Canes will play in a bowl game, possibly the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, on New Year's Eve.

``I don't have any words to explain it,'' Hill said. ``Everybody seemed to be all in, playing for the seniors and playing for Coach Shannon. We wanted to end the season on a positive note.

``If you had told me it was going to end like this, I would have thought you were crazy.''

Miami drove to the USF 31-yard line and called a timeout with 14 seconds left. UM figured it had one last chance to get the 5 or 6 yards for Matt Bosher to kick a game-winning field goal.

Instead, USF free safety Jerrell Young got the interception, and after one USF running play, the game went into overtime.

UM had possession first on the USF 25-yard line, with four chances to score. Lamar Miller ran for 1 yard, Harris completed a pass for no gain, Harris completed a 3-yard pass to Leonard Hankerson, and then Bosher kicked a 38-yard field goal for a 20-17 UM lead.

USF then got its chance from the UM 25. On the first play, Demetri Murray barged 15 yards down the middle for a first down at the UM 10. On the next play, USF freshman walk-on quarterback Bobby Eveld, who had replaced injured starter B.J. Daniels in the second half, threw a quick 9-yard slant to Joel Miller.

Demetri then ran 1 yard for the winning touchdown, though there was a long delay during which officials reviewed the television replay.

``After review, the ruling on the field stands,'' the official announced. ``Touchdown.''

By then, most of the fans had already exited and many of the ones who stayed were booing.

(source:miamiherald.com)

Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field

Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field is a baseball stadium on the University of Miami campus in Coral Gables, Florida, USA. It is the home field of the University of Miami Hurricanes baseball team. The stadium holds a capacity of 5,000 spectators. The first game was held on February 16, 1973.

Mark Light Field is named for the donor's son, who died of muscular dystrophy. Following a $3.9 million contribution by New York Yankees All-Star Alex Rodriguez, the facility was renovated in 2007-2009 and renamed.

(source:wikipedia)

Miami Hurricanes

The Miami Hurricanes are the varsity sports teams of the University of Miami. They compete in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The university fields 15 athletic teams for 17 varsity sports. Men's teams compete in football, baseball, basketball, cross-country, diving, tennis, and track and field. Women's teams compete in basketball, cross-country, swimming and diving, golf, rowing, soccer, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. UM has approximately equal participation by male and female varsity athletes in these sports as shown by the following table:

The NCAA released UM's Graduation Success Rates (GSR) for students entering in 1999–2002:

Graduation Success Rates

Sport GSR %

Men's Sports

Baseball 45

Basketball 73

Cross Country & Track 100

Football 75

Swimming 100

Tennis 88

Women's Sports

Basketball 100

Cross Country & Track 89

Crew/Rowing 85

Golf 100

Soccer 91

Swimming 91

Tennis 100

Volleyball 92

Team colors are green, orange, and white. The school mascot is 'Sebastian the Ibis'. The ibis was selected as the school's mascot because, according to university legend, it is the last animal to flee an approaching hurricane and the first to reappear after the storm, making it a symbol of leadership and courage. The school's athletics logo is a simple green and orange, color of an orange tree, letter "U."

Rivalries

Their traditional athletic rivals include the Seminoles of Florida State University and the Gators of the University of Florida. However, since 1987, the Hurricanes have played the Gators in football only five times (three times during the regular season and twice for bowl games in the 2001 Sugar Bowl and the 2004 Chick-fil-A Bowl). The Hurricanes and the Gators have played football only twice since UM began ACC play in the 2004 season, but the rivalry was renewed in 2008 when UM met the Gators in Gainesville.

Baseball

Alternate Ibis logo introduced in 2000

Main article: Miami Hurricanes baseball

UM has won four national championships (1982, 1985, 1999 and 2001) and reached the College World Series 22 times in the 34 seasons since 1974. Five UM graduates are currently active on MLB teams.

The team is currently coached by Jim Morris (baseball coach), the former head coach of the Georgia Tech baseball team. Former coach Ron Fraser was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2006. The team plays its games on the UM campus, in Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. Morris' contract as coach has been extended through 2015. Morris established a record of 733–278–3 (.724) at Miami and set an NCAA record in guiding his teams to the College World Series in each of his first six seasons at UM.

Miami holds the longest consecutive post season streak at 37 consecutive years (1973–present). This streak is the longest of any men's NCAA Div. 1 major sport....topping the football post season streak of 35 seasons (Nebraska 1972–2006) and the basketball streak of 27 (North Carolina 1974–2001).

Men's basketball

It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article titled Miami Hurricanes men's basketball. (Discuss)

The Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team has produced three players who are currently on NBA rosters. Rick Barry, who played his collegiate basketball at UM, is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Barry is the Hurricanes' only consensus All-American in basketball and led the nation in scoring his senior year with a 37.4 average during the 1964–65 campaign.

The Board of Trustees attempted to shut the program down in the middle of the 1970 season, which forced Will Allen to organize his teammates and strike because it was not sufficient notice for the players to transfer schools. They held a press conference and this caught the attention of the national press, and the university actually dropped the program after the 1971 season, with the Board citing inadequate facilities, sagging attendance, and serious financial losses as the reasons for the decision.The program was revived before the 1985–86 season, though UM would be minimally competitive over the next several years. The program's fortunes turned around in 1990 when Miami hired Leonard Hamilton as head basketball coach and accepted an invitation to join the Big East. By the end of the decade, Hamilton had turned UM into one of the better basketball programs in the Big East and had guided UM to three straight NCAA tournament appearances (1998–2000), including a #2 seed in the 1999 tournament and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2000. The 1998 tournament appearance was UM's first since 1960.

The neutrality of the style of writing in this article is questioned. Please see the discussion on the talk page. (September 2009)

Hamilton left at the end of the 2000 season to become head coach of the NBA's Washington Wizards and was replaced by Perry Clark. During Clark's second season (2001–02) the team won 24 games and a #5 seed in the NCAA tournament. With the 2002–03 season, the team moved into its newly completed on-campus arena, the BankUnited Center. Despite a win over powerhouse North Carolina to christen the new arena, Clark's teams performed woefully over the next two seasons, leading[clarification needed] to his dismissal following the 2003–04 season (UM's last season in the Big East). Clark was replaced by Frank Haith, whose teams have proven competitive[clarification needed] in UM's first two seasons as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In the 2007/2008 season, after being picked to finish last in the Atlantic Coast Conference the Hurricanes finished the year 23–11 (8–8 in the ACC) and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to the second seeded University of Texas at Austin. This was the team's first NCAA tournament bid since the 2001–2002 season.

For the 2009/2010 season, Miami had a winning record overall (20–13), but finished in last place in the ACC with a record of 4–12.

Women's basketball

UM forward Shenise Johnson, during the summer of 2009, competed on the gold medal-winning USA Team at the 2009 U19 World Championships.

Cross country

On July 22, 2008, Amy Deem, was promoted to Director of Track and Field/Cross Country and heads both the men's and women's programs. She was head women's track and field coach for the prior 7 years.

In the 2008 ACC Cross Country Championships, UM's men finished 12th out of 12 teams, and UM's women finished also finished last out of 12.

At the 2009 ACC Cross Country Championship, UM's men and women both finished 12th out of 12 teams.

Diving

UM has both men's and women's diving teams. In 2008, the men's team finished 11th (57 pts.) at the ACC Championships and finished 18th (40 pts.) at the NCAA Championships.

Football

Main article: Miami Hurricanes football

Miami Hurricanes scoreboard in the end zone of the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, prior to the stadium's 2008 destruction.

Miami has won five Division I national football championships (1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, and 2001 and is currently ranked fourth on the list of All-time Associated Press National Poll Championships, behind Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Alabama.

As of 2009, UM has produced two Heisman Trophy winners, Vinny Testaverde (in 1986) and Gino Torretta (in 1992). Four former UM football players—Ted Hendricks, Michael Irvin, Jim Kelly, and Jim Otto—have been voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame following their NFL careers. Two other former UM players, Ottis Anderson and Ray Lewis, have been named Super Bowl MVPs (Super Bowl XXV and Super Bowl XXXV respectively (both were played in Tampa)).

Gender equity

Sport Male Athletes Female Athletes

Baseball 34

Basketball 15 18

Diving 2

Football 102

Golf 7

Rowing 59

Swimming & Diving 23

Tennis 9 7

Cross Country & Track 45 73

Volleyball 14

Total 207 228

The University of Miami, as articulated by its president Donna Shalala, has been very supportive of achieving gender equity and complying with Title IX. Shalala wrote of her support in a Miami Herald column on the 30th anniversary of that law. However, historically, female athletes filed complaints with the federal government in the 1970s and 1980s alleging unequal funding and facilities for UM women's sports.

Of the $46.8 million in annual athletic expenditures, $23.9 million were spent on men's team, $9.8 million were spent on women's teams, and $13 million can not be allocated based on gender.

Miami has notable differences between the graduation rates of male and female student athletes. As of 2002, UM graduation rates had 64.1% graduating within 4 years, 75.1% graduating within 5 years, and 76.8% graduating within 6 years. Male student athletes have a 52% 4 year graduation rate, and 72% of female student athletes graduate within 4 years.

Some critics of Miami's allocation of fiscal resources within the Athletics Department have blamed the decision to drop certain men's teams on Title IX compliance.

Women's golf

The Hurricanes won the national championships in 1970, 1972, 1977, 1978 and 1984.

 The team plays its home games on the Don Shula's Golf Resort in Miami Lakes, Florida.

Women's rowing

In July 2009, Andrew Carter, a former assistant coach at Clemson University, was selected as head rowing coach at UM. Carter had over 20 years of coaching experience both on the collegiate and international levels of competition. Marc DeRose was hired as assistant coach.

Women's Soccer

Miami added a soccer team in 1998. It offered scholarships from the beginning by phasing in 3 scholarships per year over a four-year period. The Cobb Stadium for Soccer, Track and Field was built on the Coral Gables campus in 1998 for the program.

 Since 2001, the team has been coached by Tricia Taliaferro. In 2007, Miami played in the first round of the NCAA tournament, but lost to Florida 3–0.

Women's Swimming Team

In 2009, the team finished 8th (219 pts.) at the ACC Championships and 24th (25 pts.) at the NCAA Championships. The team won the NCAA national championship in 1975 and 1976. UM does not currently have a varsity men's swimming team.

Sports Hall of Fame

The University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame is located next to the Hecht Athletic Center on campus. It houses many artifacts and memorabilia from the Hurricanes' athletic teams over the last 80 years. Each year, the Hall of Fame inducts former athletes who have been out of school at least 10 years, or coaches and administrators, in an annual banquet. In 2009, it inducted football's Edgerrin James and Mike Sullivan, basketball's Tim James, baseball's Aubrey Huff and Warren Bogle, track's Davian Clarke, and women's golf's Cathy Morse.

The Class of 2010 includes football's Daniel "Bubba" Franks and Jim Cox, baseball's Alex Santos and Jason Michaels, basketball's Ed Morris, diver Jenny Keim Johansen, tennis star Sid Schwartz and assistant athletic director Connie Nickel. The 42nd Annual Induction banquet will be held Thursday, April 29, 2010 at Miami's Jungle Island.

For inductee bios and banquet info, go to UMSportsHallofFame.com .

Tennis

As of 2009, there are 9 men and 7 women on the tennis team. The men's team is coached by Mario Rincon, and women's team by Paige Yaroshuk-Tews.

Track and field

In July 2008, Mike Ward, who served for 5 years as an assistant and 11 years as head coach in the University of Miami’s track and cross country programs, retired.[36] Amy Deem, who had been the women's coach for 17 years became the Director of Track and Field/Cross Country. Perhaps UM's most notable athlete is Lauryn Williams '04, who earned nine All-American honors. Internationally, Williams won the silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, gold at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, and finished 5th at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics.,all in the 100m dash.

Volleyball

The women's team had a 26–6 2008 season overall with a record of 14–6 in conference matches. The current UM volleyball program was started in 2001 under the direction of head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch.

The roster for the 2010 volleyball team:

1 Alex Johnson, OH/RS, Fr.

2 Lane Carico, OH, Jr.

3 Taylor Hollins, OH, Fr.

4 Ariell Cooke, MB, Sr.

5 Jenna Berkley, MB, Soph.

6 Julia Giampaolo, LIB, Fr.

8 Mariel Schofield, LIB, Fr.

9 Katie Gallagher, S, RS-Jr.

10 Ryan Shaffer, LIB, Fr.

12 Lizzie Hale, DS/OH, Soph.

15 Hannah Coleman, OH, Fr.

16 Emani Sims, MB, Fr.

17 Christine Williamson, OH/RS, Jr.

21 Ali Becker, MB, Jr.

23 Nrithya Sundararaman, S/RS, Soph.

32 Lici McGee, MB, Sr.

Other sports

UM has sponsored other varsity sports in the past. The University of Miami polo team which was undefeated in tournament play from 1948–1951. Polo, however, did not draw spectators and even with three undefeated seasons, the program posted a $15,000 deficit in 1950. Polo was terminated in 1951. Boxing was one of the most popular and successful athletic programs on campus through the 1950s. Varsity boxing matches attracted sizeable crowds.

(source:wikipedia)