Anyone else heard of the SSS/Football stadium for Miami.

[Mike T]

I am curious about the fact that it seem like no-one is aware that the City of Maimi is in the process of creating a SSS/Football stadium.

Am I just mis-informed. I could have sworen I read an article several month back about this in the Miami Herald. The subject was the Marlins Baseball stadium and was mentioned coincidentally... someone else must have heard of this. I'm going to try to look this up.

[Mike T]

FOUND IT!!!

Here is the article... I key paragraph in bold.


Posted on Fri, Jan. 09, 2004 {from the Miami Herald}


THE MARLINS
Miami proposes linking ballpark to Orange Bowl
Miami will propose to the Florida Marlins baseball organization that a new ballpark be connected to a renovated Orange Bowl.
BY KARL ROSS
kross@herald.com

Miami city leaders on Thursday proposed building a baseball-only stadium for the Florida Marlins at the site of the Orange Bowl that would adjoin the existing football facility along its northern flank.

Consultants working for the city said the cost of the two-in-one sports complex would run at least $375 million, including a major overhaul of the historic city-owned stadium, home to the University of Miami football team.

But the ballpark proposed by the city would not include a retractable roof -- a feature Marlins team officials have said is vital to the team's financial success in South Florida.

The twin venues would share a ''premium seating tower,'' a dividing wall lined with luxury boxes and club suites. Concessions, locker rooms and other operations would be housed at lower levels, consultants said.

''The idea was to marry to the Orange Bowl a new stadium that could be used for Major League Baseball,'' said Robert Dunn, a partner with HammesCompany, the city's Wisconsin-based consulting firm.

Dunn said the baseball stadium could be made ''roof ready'' in case the Marlins elected to build a retractable dome at a future date.

The proposal does not include a funding plan.

The consultants also examined the possibility of retrofitting the Orange Bowl so it could be used for both football and baseball, but Dunn said the city would face ''tremendous obstacles'' if it chose that option.

HammesCompany oversaw the recent $295 million makeover at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., and has been hired to revamp Giants Stadium in New Jersey's Meadowlands and Los Angeles' Memorial Coliseum, Dunn said.

Miami City Manager Joe Arriola, Mayor Manny Diaz and other city representatives met with Marlins President David Samson after the commission meeting.

Samson said the city's proposal would require ''significant work in a very short time to make sure the objectives of the team are met, as well as the objectives of the county and the city.'' He said the team would continue to explore other options and that he was ''confident'' a plan could be assembled by March 15, a deadline the team has set.

If the Marlins decline the offer, the city would be likely to move ahead with its existing plans for a $100 million renovation of the Orange Bowl, which would be equipped for college football and professional soccer.

Mayor Manny Diaz and other city officials described as unrealistic the $325 million figure at which Marlin team executives say they could build a new baseball stadium with a retractable roof. The team has pledged to meet any cost overruns.

''Consultants don't believe that number is possible,'' Diaz told commissioners, saying land costs and debt service needed to be factored into the equation. He said the stadium the Marlins have in mind could cost more than half a billion dollars.

He said the city proposal is ``worth considering if we want to keep the Marlins in South Florida -- and in particular Miami -- while at the same time safeguarding the financial integrity of the city and taxpayers.''

The Marlins have a deadline of March 15 for finalizing a stadium deal.

So far, Miami-Dade County has pledged $73 million in tourist tax money, and the team has said it would provide $137 million over 40 years.

The University of Miami also would be affected by any change at the Orange Bowl. UM's athletic director, Paul Dee, said UM was not opposed to a dual facility but said the plan raised concerns.

In particular, Dee was worried about conflicts caused by overlapping baseball and football seasons. He said the university has scheduled games as far ahead as 2013.

Dunn said the present Orange Bowl would be largely demolished, with seating reduced from 80,000 to as few as 60,000.

He added that the baseball stadium would hold between 35,000 and 40,000 fans, roughly the same as the facility the Marlins want.

The consultant acknowledged that parking remained an unresolved issue. Arriola said a separate garage would have to be built.

He said an alternative way to bring fans to the complex would be on Metrorail, with parking at satellite lots.

Herald staff writers Charles Rabin and Barry Jackson contributed to this report.

[river]

South Beach Boys - Miami Fusion
Soccer Digest, Nov, 2001 by Dave Brousseau

The Miami Fusion, MLS's Cinderella team, are playing so well that even passive South Florida fans are taking notice

IT'S DIFFICULT TO TELL WHAT pleases Miami Fusion coach Ray Hudson more: the Fusion owning the league's best record at the All-Star break or the effort it took to earn that distinction.

"So far, it's been as close to a dream come true as you can get," Hudson says of the first half of the MLS season. "I don't see how we could have possibly been any better--even in the games that we lost. So it's not just the results, either. Wins and losses are symptomatic of the way a team performs, and I never dreamt our play would be so consistent and so emphatic and so entertaining."

The Fusion--whose future in South Florida was practically written off last season--are playing some of the best soccer in MLS. The team's business fortunes are on the upswing, too: Season ticket sales are up 15% over last season, revenues are up 35%, and group sales are mushrooming.

Hudson and Fusion general manager Doug Hamilton began putting the pieces for the turnaround together immediately after the team missed qualifying for the playoffs last season. This year the play-offs are a certainty, and advancing to the MLS Cup is a strong possibility.

The successful, attractive style of soccer that Hudson has orchestrated is credited with the boost in the Fusion's home attendance. Through the first half of the season, attendance at Lockhart Stadium was up 39% over 2000. Admittedly, two dates in Miami's Orange Bowl helped boost that average--as did a doubleheader that teamed a Fusion game with an international friendly between Honduras and Ecuador.

Team and league officials can't hide their enthusiasm about the Fusion's on-and off-field success, but they recognize they haven't yet completely won over South Florida's finicky fans. "The soccer community has embraced us," says Hamilton. "But we haven't yet begun to try to attract the casual fan."

A series of internal changes helped lead to the Fusion's box-office success. First, Hamilton and Hudson convinced team owner Ken Horowitz to let Hudson take multiple scouting trips to South America, Central America, and Europe over the course of the offseason. On those trips, the Fusion acquired Alex Pineda Chacon from Honduras and lan Bishop from England, while at home they traded for Carlos Llamosa, Preki, and Chris Henderson. The club also added role players Lazo Alavanja and Brian Dunseth.

With a promising team in place, the veteran sales staff galvanized support from the Fusion's established fans. The front-office plan scrapped newspaper advertising in favor of radio plugs, which reach more fans. And rather than sending its players to every school and bar mitzvah that put in a request, the team has been more selective about appearances, choosing ones that are likely to have a return. Also, the sales team has focused on community organizations and groups, many of which have become ticket-buyers.

One area, however, in which the Fusion have been lacking--where other professional teams are flush--is corporate support. "We're looking for that to happen," says MLS commissioner Don Garber, adding that large corporate deals with banks and others have been signed in other markets. "We'd like to see a similar success with corporate sponsorship [in Miami]."

After last season there were rumors that if the team's attendance didn't improve, it would be on the move. Garber now says the league is pleased with the Fusion's turnaround, but he, like Hamilton, admits there is more work to be done. "We're still evaluating the market," says Garber. "We're very pleased with some of the improvements, but we're still looking for other indicators that this market wants a professional men's soccer team. Still, we really want to succeed in South Florida."

The prelude to the Fusion's success was Hudson's vision. "Putting together this team, I always wanted to go with three [defenders] in the back," says the Fusion coach. "Everybody--even the players--were skeptical about our ability to play that way. [But] that has been a key to our goal of getting all of our best players on the field."

Hudson's plan could have failed were it not for Llamosa, Ivan McKinley, and Pablo Mastroeni--probably the best defensive unit in the league. Thanks to them, the Fusion allowed only 19 goals and recorded five shutouts through 16 games, and goalie Nick Rimando was among the league leaders with a 1.04 goals-against average.

Llamosa adds stability and credibility to the Fusion's back line. At 32, the U.S. national team regular is consistent with his decision-making, and that helps the entire unit "Carlos fills a specific need," says Hudson. "We identified a need and filled it with a gem of a player. Llamosa is a tower of strength; he brings instant respect to our central defense. He is the biggest defensive acquisition the Fusion has ever made."

Getting the most out of Bishop, 36, and Preki, 38, has also been a key. Hudson calls Bishop "the glue in the midfield and the most responsible player the team has ever had." Preki, he says, "fits in wherever his intelligence dictates." Preki was near the league lead in assists through most of the first half of the season and even chipped in five goals prior to the All-Star break.

That astonishing first half caught the entire league by surprise--much as the Kansas City Wizards did last year en route to the MLS Cup. "I think Miami has been able to catch the league by surprise," says MetroStars general manager Nick Sakiewicz. "A lot of teams and people underestimated their talent."

The Fusion's impressive start--which resulted in starting births on the MLS East All-Star Team for Rimando, Preki, Llamosa, and Pineda Chacon, even surprised their coach. "We've hit all the targets with every dart, and that's remarkable," says Hudson. "It's been just bloody remarkable that we've done that. We would have been happy with half of what we have achieved after the [off-field] upheaval that this club went through."

To be fair, there were offensive struggles early in the season, when forward Diego Serna was failing to hit the mark. The Fusion got through it thanks to Pineda Chacon scoring five goals in his first four games with the team. "The Diego dry period at the start of the season was bigger than people realize," says Hudson. "It started to affect the team. We weren't getting our spearhead performance, but Serna has responded tremendously."

So tremendously, in fact, that he is a leading contender for league MVP honors. The Fusion have Hudson to thank for their turnaround. Early in the season, Hudson lit into a sluggish Serna at half-time of a 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Mutiny. It worked. By the All-Star break, Serna led MLS in goals, with 11, and had tallied nine assists. Serna really exploded in an early June win over the Dallas Burn, scoring three goals and an assist in a 6-2 victory. He went on to be named MLS Player of the Month for June, registering eight goals and five assists in the month.

"We knew we had a piece missing, a piece out of step," says Hudson. "Diego has responded tremendously, and we see what the results are when he meshes with the rest of the team--it results in wins. It just wasn't his goals that we missed, it was the manner in which he played. He's clinical, he plays it simple, he gets things done, and that's a big boost for our team."

Pineda Chacon's immediate impact after arriving from Honduras--where he was a proven scorer for Olimpia--impressed his teammates. It also erased some of the sour taste left by the Fusion's previous failed international acquisitions. "I don't know what they eat down in Honduras, but maybe he should bring some of that stuff back here," says Fusion midfielder Jim Rooney. "If he keeps doing what he's doing, we're just going to ride his coattails, and you never know [what could happen]."

Thanks to Pineda Chacon, Llamosa, and others, a Fusion team that once just wanted to survive as a franchise has its sights set on the MLS Cup. "This was expected, but not this quickly," says Hamilton. "Our aspirations were to build a team that would compete for a championship, but the fact that Ray and the guys have been able to put this together this quickly is a real tribute to them."

Now it's a question of maintaining the team's confidence and performance. "We're just halfway across the highway," says Hudson. "We've gone far with such bravery and skill. We've been impressive while walking the high wire. We need that same bravery, that same belief and confidence and courage, to get us to the end."

Working-Class Hero