UM confirms move to Dolphin Stadium
Story by Chris Graham
accnationchris@comcast.net
It’s official - the University of Miami is leaving the Orange Bowl at the end of the 2007 season.
“This is a painful and sad decision. We all love the Orange Bowl, its history and traditions,” University of Miami president Donna Shalala said today as she confirmed the move of UM football to Dolphin Stadium beginning with the 2008 season.
“Mayor Diaz and the commissioners of the city of Miami made an extraordinary effort to identify funds and design a renovation. But in the end, it wasn’t enough,” Shalala said.
A news release issued by the university’s athletics department touted the new home to UM football for its all-chairback seats, new high-definition video boards and other amenities included in an ongoing $300 million renovation.
The release promised the transfer of several Orange Bowl traditions to the new digs - including the entrance of the team running through a smoke tunnel, the Miami Ring of Honor, and Touchdown Tommy, the cannon fired each time the ‘Canes score.
“We are committed to providing the best facilities for our student-athletes and fans,” UM athletics director Paul Dee said. “The decision to move to Dolphin Stadium was made for that reason. Our student-athletes will be playing in one of the best facilities in the country and the ‘fan experience’ will be first-class.”
Football coach Randy Shannon said the move would enhance recruiting.
“Hurricanes football has a strong tradition of attracting top student-athletes. The move to the stadium and the superior facilities that it offers will greatly enhance our recruiting efforts,” Shannon said.
Filed under: 01-Football, Miami
Something tells me this move could backfire on them. Just because you’re moving into a pro stadium means nothing. I don’t know the whole story, but I know of a couple of schools (Washington and Minnesota) that play in pro team stadiums, and I don’t think of them as elite football prgrams.
You make a good point about Washington and Minnesota, but Miami needed to make the move. The Orange Bowl was a dump and it would have cost way too much money to make the needed repairs. I think the number was more than $200 million.
Moving to Dolphin Stadium will make it better for the team, fans and, maybe most importantly, recruits. Shannon is already doing well in recruiting. This will only help.
There is a lot of history in the Orange Bowl - the Jets and Broadway Joe winning Super Bowl III comes to mind - and some fans have said they aren’t happy with the move, but everyone will eventually get used to it.
So what’s gonna happen with the Orange Bowl game? Is that gonna be played in the Orange Bowl still, or is that gonna get moved to Dolphin stadium too?
Actually, the Orange Bowl game has been played at Dolphin Stadium for a number of years now.
Oops…I never really paid attention to that.