Dolphin Stadium
Formerly, Joe Robbie Stadium and Pro Player Stadium

Miami, Florida
Tenants: Florida Marlins (NL 1993-present); Miami Dolphins (NFL 1987-present)
Groundbreaking: December 1, 1985
1st NFL Game: October 11, 1987 (Mia 42, KC 0)
1st National League Game: April 5, 1993 (Fla 6,  LA 3)
Surface: Natural Grass

Architect: HOK Sport
Cost: $115 million
Owner: H. Wayne Huizenga
Seating capacity: 47,662 (1993), 42,531* (2001); 75,000 (football)

*Note: Capacity can be increased at the Marlins discretion by removing the tarps that cover the outfield
upper deck seats - as in Game 5 of the 2003 World Series when 65,975 were in attendance.

Playing Field Dimensions*
LF foul line: 330 ft.
Left-center: 360 ft.*
Center field: 404 ft.
Deepest left-center: 416 ft.**
Right-center: 363 ft.*
RF foul line: 345 ft.

*Note: After the 2003 season  two distance markers were changed.  The Left field marker was changed from
361' to 360' while the right field 385' marker was moved 25 feet closer to the foul pole and now reads 363'.  
The Marlins had said the previous measurements were inaccurate. **The 434 ft. marker in the left-center
field notch is still in place even though it is inaccurate.  The true measurement is actually 416 ft. from home
plate.  For several decades the LF foul line at Fenway was inaccurately marked, as was rumored to be the
RF line at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium.  At BallparkTour we advocate a MLB appointed official to measure
outfield distance markers once per season to ensure accuracy.  As of now, we one can only guess how
accurate all ballpark measurements really are.

Outfield Fences: 8 ft except in left field where the scoreboard-wall varies in height- topping out at 33 ft.

Hosted World Series: 1997, 2003
Hosted All-Star Game: Never
Hosted Super Bowl: XXIII 1989;  XXIX 1995;  XXXIII 1999;  XLI 2007
NOTES, FACTS AND FEATURES

Pro Player, a division of Fruit-of-the-Loom, bought the naming rights to the stadium in 1996.

Joe DiMaggio threw out the first pitch in the Marlins first home opener in 1993.

Bret Barberie got the 1st ever hit at Pro Player Stadium.

Left-field wall is called the "Teal Monster"

Playing Field: Dolphins Stadium prides itself on the prescription athletic turf (natural grass) making up its playing
surface. It was designed with mechanical drainage capability and provides a firm surface within 30 minutes of a
one-inch-per-hour downpour. The stadium also features a synthetic warning track designed to absorb water and a
hydraulic, disappearing pitcher's mound.

Other memorable moments:

Al Leiter's no hitter on May 11, 1996.

10-22-03 World Series game 4: With flashbulbs lighting up the stadium, the Marlins crowd gave Roger Clemens a
standing ovation as he left the mound after the 7th inning  after throwing his last pitch in his remarkable career in
the American League.  The Marlins players also paused to applaud in recognition of Clemens' hall-of-fame career.  
Although it was thought Clemens (as he said) would retire, he signed with the National League's Houston Astros
for the 2004 season.

September 10, 2000, Randy Johnson (of the Diamondbacks) gets career strikeout 3,000.

September 1, 1997, Mark McGwire hits homers 56 and 57. This tied then broke Hack Wilson's National League
season home run record.

--  --------------------------- --
Radio: WQAM 560 AM, WQBA 1140 AM
TV: WPXM 35,  FSN

In-park dining choices: Concession items include:
Kosher food, dogs, burgers, Pizza, ice cream, chicken
tenders, crab cakes, Mrs. Fields cookies, cappuccino.

Signature items include a Cuban sandwich (pork, ham,
Swiss, mustard, and pickles on Cuban bread) and conch
fritters.

Miami Local Dining - Best Bets

Directions & Parking

Ballpark Tour & Vacation Packages
2005 Ticket prices

FOUNDERS FIELD BOX  $85 - 95
FOUNDERS CLUB BOX  $72 - 80
INFIELD BOX  $30 - 34
CLUB ZONE A  $38 - 42
CLUB ZONE B  $33 - 36
CLUB ZONE C  $27 - 30
TERRACE BOX  $20 - 22
OUTFIELD RESERVED  $14 - 16
FISH TANK  $8 - 10
UPPER DECK A  $14 - 16
UPPER DECK B  $12 - 14

Seating Chart

Purchase Marlins Tickets
Home Page -  Table of Contents -  Feedback


© mmv ballparktour.com
--  -------------------------------------------------------- --

Florida Marlins
2267 Dan Marino Blvd.
Miami, Florida 33056
(305) 623-6100
   In the early 1980’s after playing at the Orange Bowl since 1966, Dolphins owner Joe Robbie began lobbying
for a new stadium.  After residents voted down several tax increases for a stadium to be built, Joe Robbie decided
to build one himself.  After finding a perfect site near the border of Dade and Broward counties, plans for the
stadium were unveiled on March 5, 1984.   After several delays, construction finaly began in December of 1985.  
Originally named Dolphins Stadium, the facility was paid for by the selling of luxury suites, club seats, private funds,
and long term agreements with season ticket holders. Dolphins Stadium was completed in just over two years.
Soon after its completion, the stadium was renamed Joe Robbie Stadium.

 When the stadium was being designed, Joe Robbie insisted on a rectangular grandstand that was wider than
needed for football, hoping and believing that someday baseball would come to Miami. The seats in the lower level
on the north side of the stadium were made retractable so the field could be easily configured for baseball.    On
August 16, 1987, Joe Robbie Stadium officially opened its doors for business as the Dolphins hosted the Chicago
Bears in a preseason contest.  Less than a year later, the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers played a pre-
season game at Joe Robbie, marking the first-ever baseball game played at the stadium.  

 On March 7, 1990, H. Wayne Huizenga, then Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Blockbuster
Video and Huizenga Holdings Inc., agreed to purchase fifty percent of Joe Robbie Stadium and became the point
man in the drive to bring Major League Baseball to South Florida.  In 1991, MLB indeed did award the area a team,
the Florida Marlins, and on April 5, 1993, Joe Robbie hosted its 1st official National League game as the brand-new
Marlins (named after Miami's old minor league team) hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers.


Iconic moments:   October 26, 1997.  World Series Game 7: The Indians jump out to a 2-0 lead over Florida, but the
Marlins claw their way back and tie the score in the bottom of the 9th on a sacrifice fly by Craig Counsell. In the
last half of the 11th, Edgar Renteria lined a sharp single up the middle off Cleveland’s Charles Nagy (his 3rd hit of
the game),  driving home Counsell with the winning run, as Florida wins 3-2.

January 23, 1989.  Super Bowl XXIII. "The Drive": The San Francisco 49ers found themselves trailing the Cincinnati
Bengals late in the game. With the score 13-13, Cincinnati took a 16-13 lead on Jim Breech's 40-yard field goal with
3:20 remaining. It was Breech's third field goal of the day, following earlier successes from 34 and 43 yards.

The 49ers started their winning drive at their 8-yard line. Over the next 11 plays, San Francisco covered 92 yards
with the decisive score coming on a 10-yard pass from quarterback Joe Montana to wide receiver John Taylor with
34 seconds remaining.

The Good: Quirky playing field dimensions give this multi-purpose stadium some cool character.
The Bad: No dome means no relief for fans on hot, humid summer nights.
The Ugly: With the Dolphins logos (on every seat-row), extensive homages to former Dolphin greats that ring the
facade and now, the name on the building itself - This is a football stadium. . . not a ballpark.
>
--  --------------------------------------- --


Huizenga envisions transforming stadium into 'Dolphin Town'

By Sarah Talalay, South Florida Sun-Sentinel - January 10, 2005
Dolphins owner H. Wayne Huizenga unveiled a sweeping overhaul of Pro Player Stadium on Monday that includes
immediately renaming the team's home Dolphins Stadium and adding a roof and entertainment areas, a plan that
could cost him more than $400 million.

The idea is to modernize the 17-year-old privately financed stadium, making it a home for world-class events and a
destination for South Floridians beyond Dolphins, Orange Bowl and Super Bowl football games.

While the name change is already in effect -- signage isn't up yet -- much of the other work, including a roof that
could be permanent or retractable, would not start until after the Marlins, who have been seeking a retractable
roof ballpark for years, move out. The Major League Baseball team is negotiating to finance a ballpark in Miami,
which it hopes to move into by 2008. Its lease at Dolphins Stadium, which provides the team minimal revenue, ends
in 2010.

With a roof and without the Marlins, Huizenga said, the stadium could attract events year-round such as tennis
tournaments, horse shows and business gatherings.

Huizenga said his family will fund the three-phase plan, which will immediately include upgrading suites and adding
new scoreboards for approximately $100 million to $125 million. The second phase, which is at least three years
away, includes a roof and a retail, restaurant and entertainment "Main Street" complex at an estimated $200
million to $300 million. A third phase, for which a cost has yet to be determined, envisions a hotel, office complex,
residential units and Hall of Fame. He said he will not seek public funding.

"Part of it is ego. Part of it is wanting the Dolphins to have the best, to be the winner," Huizenga said. "I think it's
great that we can do this for the Dolphins, that we can have a winning team, playing in a winning atmosphere in
one of the best stadiums in the best communities with the best weather that is known all around.

"Who knows? Maybe someday this whole area around the stadium will be called Dolphin Town. That would be good
for the Dolphins."

The Dolphins are establishing Dolphins Enterprises LLC, a sports and entertainment company, to oversee the
project. Huizenga expects soon to name a new team CEO who will oversee business and football issues and report
directly to him. New Dolphins coach Nick Saban also reports to Huizenga.

Wisconsin-based Hammes Co., the project manager on the renovation of the Green Bay Packers' Lambeau Field and
the Detroit Lions' Ford Field and consultant for upgrading the Orange Bowl, is developing the renovation plans.

Huizenga was not specific about what the renovations would look like or where new development would be
located at the stadium.

"Don't be surprised if it doesn't go exactly as we're talking right now. There could be more, there could be a little
bit less," he said. "It's kind of fluid at this stage of the game, but we are committed to making the decision or I
wouldn't be standing here."

What is certain is the stadium is now to be known as Dolphins Stadium, a move that should appease fans who
groused when a company name replaced that of original team owner Joe Robbie. In 1999, four years into a
10-year, $20 million naming rights deal with Pro Player, the company's parent, Fruit of the Loom, filed for
bankruptcy.

The Dolphins regained the naming rights in April 2000, but have been unable to sell them to a new corporation.

Huizenga did not rule out a corporate partner, as long as "Dolphins" remains in the name. He said the name and
the renovation plan are about rebuilding the Dolphins' brand. The team just suffered its worst season in franchise
history, going 4-12.

While the NFL has a salary cap and generous broadcast rights contracts and revenue sharing, several teams have
built new or have renovated stadiums that produce significant revenue that isn't shared. Since 1992, 26 NFL teams
are playing in either new or extensively remodeled stadiums.

Huizenga said that is part of his reasoning for upgrading the team's Miami Gardens home. When the stadium
opened in 1987 it was state of the art. "Now other teams have come up with nice new buildings," Huizenga said.
"Right now it is not a problem and I don't foresee it being a problem in the near term, but to ensure our
competitiveness 10, 15 years out, we have to start making those decisions today so the Dolphins can always have
the money to spend to be a winning team."

He said ticket prices will rise every year along with player payroll but the cost of renovations will not be borne by
season ticket-holders. He said he hopes the costs will be covered by attracting world-class events.

A roof, which Huizenga says will cost $100 million to $125 million, if it is retractable, could help the team attract
other sporting events and perhaps even the NFL scouting combine, now held in Indianapolis, although he said he
would call Colts owner Jim Irsay to insist he wasn't bidding to move the event. He said he prefers a natural grass
field, but that some FieldTurf and other surfaces have had good reviews.

"I personally favor a roof on the building. What everybody else thinks, if it's the right thing to do or not, I don't
know," Huizenga said.

In the meantime, Huizenga said work can begin right away on projects such as two-story parking structures in the
stadium parking lots with exhibition space on the ground floor. Those spaces would be wired with electricity,
telephones, fiber optics and air conditioning vents. Then, he said those spaces could be used for sponsor events.
He said events like the Super Bowl, scheduled again at Dolphins Stadium in 2007, pump an estimated $350 million
into the local economy.

"We want to make [the stadium] Super Bowl ready, Orange Bowl ready, major event ready," Huizenga said.
Photo by Richard Graulich