It wasn’t necessary a surprise when Miami was shut out of a Super Bowl bid on Tuesday, but the vote does not bode well for the city’s future hosting prospects.
Miami loses Super Bowl bid, what’s next?
Miami has hosted 10 Super Bowls, but it may be a while before another championship game heads to South Beach.
Doug Benc
Miami has hosted 10 Super Bowls, most recently in 2009, but after Tuesday's vote, the city could go a decade or more between hosting duties. Its weather and local attractions make Miami an ideal host city, but as Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said on Tuesday, it will take more than warm temperatures to secure another Super Bowl bid.
“I think they’ll realize that Miami, the weather alone won’t bring Super Bowls and other marquee events,” Ross said, via NFL.com. “And I’d like to see marquee events in Miami because we deserve to because it’s the greatest city in the country.”
Miami comes up short
"The Dolphins put together an amazing bid, but lost out on one big piece - the stadium," writes Kevin Nogle of The Phinsider The issue is the current condition of Sun Life Stadium. The building has hosted five Super Bowls since opening in 1987, but is considered to be outdated by modern standards. With modern marvels popping up around the NFL, it’s hard for an outdated stadium to contend. Ross and the Dolphins pushed for stadium renovations, but were denied public financing.
Ross was willing to fund 70 percent of the renovation privately, but the renovation plans were canceled when Florida lawmakers denied a bill for public financing. A Super Bowl can bring millions of dollars to the host community, but Florida voters are still burned after funding Marlins Park, a project that’s considered to be one of the worst stadium financing deals in history. Miami-Dade County mayor Carlos Gimenez said the Marlins’ deal had an negative impact on the Dolphins’ attempt to secure public funding.
“There’s a much more tangible public benefit,” Gimenez said in March of the Dolphins’ proposal, via The New York Times. “But the Marlins’ stadium has created such an adverse appetite for another deal because the Marlins have really poisoned the well.”
Even if the organization does receive public financing down the road, Miami will face stiff competition for another Super Bowl bid. The NFL has rewarded cities with new stadiums recently with Dallas, Indianapolis and New York all receiving Super Bowl bids. San Francisco and its new stadium project received a bid on Tuesday while Minnesota and Atlanta are among the cities working on new stadium projects. When it comes time to vote for the host cities in 2018, 2019 and beyond, there will be a number of cities with strong bids.
Miami has been a mainstay in the Super Bowl rotation, but it’s hard to see another Super Bowl coming to the city anytime soon.
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