U. of Miami Says Goodbye to the Orange Bowl, Hello Dolphins Stadium in 2008

With the 'Canes moving their football games to Dolphins Stadium in 2008, I guess the ORANGE BOWL days are numbered. Yeah, a lot of classic games have been played there over the years but its basically a dump now. I guess the only good thing out of this now is that M-A-Y-B-E, the Florida Marlins have a site now to build their new retractrable roof ballpark now.

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Miami football ditching Orange Bowl
Hurricanes to play at Dolphin Stadium in 2008

TIM REYNOLDS
Associated Press

CORAL GABLES, Fla. --Miami will play home football games at Dolphin Stadium starting in 2008, leaving the historic but decaying Orange Bowl after seven decades.

The university's trustees decided Tuesday to make the much-debated move, which could generate $2 million or more in extra revenue annually for the Hurricanes' athletic department. City officials unsuccessfully tried to keep Miami at the Orange Bowl by promising $206 million in upgrades.

"This is a painful and sad decision," Miami president Donna Shalala said.

The Hurricanes agreed to a 25-year lease with Dolphin Stadium.

Miami first played at the Orange Bowl, about eight miles from its campus, in 1937. The Hurricanes won three national championship games on that field, had a NCAA-record 58-game home winning streak from 1985 through 1994 and have drawn more than 17 million fans there over the years.

But the stadium's facade is rusting, upgrades are needed and the building lacks many amenities that modern stadiums have -- such as the luxury suites and video replay screens that helped lure Miami to the home of the Dolphins.

"The move to the stadium and the superior facilities that it offers will greatly enhance our recruiting efforts," Miami coach Randy Shannon said.

With the Hurricanes set to depart, the Orange Bowl will no longer have a primary tenant. The Dolphins moved to the facility first known as Joe Robbie Stadium in 1987, and the Orange Bowl -- one of college football's marquee and best-known bowl games -- moved to Dolphin Stadium in 1996.

And that means the building's future is in serious doubt. The site has been mentioned as a possible new home for the Florida Marlins, or the stadium could simply be knocked down.

Miami's first game in Dolphin Stadium is scheduled for Aug. 30, 2008, against North Texas, but Hurricanes athletic director Paul Dee said the school is negotiating to bring a different opponent in for that date.

Miami has won nearly 70 percent of its games at the Orange Bowl, a place where opponents routinely acknowledged feeling intimidated by the crowds and game-time atmosphere.

"It got to be very tough to hear and tough to communicate down there. That's what made it difficult to play in," said Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who brought his Seminoles to the building nearly two dozen times over the years.

The Orange Bowl opened in 1937 and has hosted Super Bowls, a famous speech by President John F. Kennedy to Cuban exiles after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, concerts, boxing and even Olympic soccer matches in 1996.

Many of the university's existing Orange Bowl traditions -- including the smoke-filled tunnel for pregame introductions and the Miami ring of honor -- will be moved to Dolphin Stadium, which is undergoing $300 million worth of expansion and renovations.

"We look forward to a wonderful partnership that continues the storied football legacy of UM here in their new home," Dolphin Stadium owner Wayne Huizenga said.

The city's stadium refurbishment plan was met with skepticism by some within the university, since much of the needed money would have to come from grants and tax credits that haven't been secured.

Still, some fans continued lobbying until the end, with more than 4,000 signing an online petition in recent weeks imploring the university to stay put, and others organizing small rallies in hope of getting trustees to change their mind.

"The city of Miami made an extraordinary effort to identify funds and design a renovation," Shalala said. "But in the end, it wasn't enough."

Miami's lease at the Orange Bowl runs past 2008, but the school will be able to move next fall -- meaning the last scheduled game for the Hurricanes at the facility will be Nov. 10 against Virginia.

 

Miami has such a bad fanbase for how good that team is most of the time. It's almost like an NFL following more than a college following.

 

Miami doesn't sell shit for tickets. I'd bet 90% of their fan base never attended college.

 

I thought they would have made this move when the stadium north of the city was built. The Orange Bowl is a dump. The move won't have a great affect on attendance because the Canes don't draw except against Florida or Florida State.

 

Hmmmmmmm......oh nevermind,

 

it's a private university. Can't really get the same support as an open UF and lacks the legacy and alumni base of a USC, which is also a private university. Miami is relatively new to the upper level of football programs when you look at programs like michigan and texas.