Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross Unveils ‘Stadium Within Stadium’

MIAMI, FL — Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross met with his share of skeptics last year when he said he planned to build a stadium within a stadium. But now the billionaire businessman had the last laugh Wednesday as he joined an elite group of the world's top tennis players to cut the ribbon on the crown jewel of his $70 million vision for the Miami Open tennis tournament.

"I want to be known as the best host for a tennis event in the United States," Ross told reporters of the tennis stadium built inside Hard Rock Stadium, where the Dolphins normally play.

It is quite possibly the first — and only — such stadium of its kind in the United States and could serve as a model for other venues looking for additional uses of their empty football stadiums in the off season.

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So Many Skeptics

"Well, I wouldn’t say it’s better than a football team, but it’s something very exciting," declared Ross, whose Related Companies developed the Time Warner Center and is also developing the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project in New York City.

See also Miami Open Introduces 'Mo Smash' Cocktail

"I am proud of how we put this together and am excited to see people’s reactions," he said. "There are so many skeptics who are out there. We have the greatest tennis players in the world, and we will be treating them to a great luxury experience as a tournament. We want to get their reaction as well as all the fans who will be coming here expecting to see a great tournament."

Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

Ross was joined Wednesday by tennis greats Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Naomi Osaka and former tennis great James Blake, who now serves as the tournament director of the Miami Open. They cut the ribbon to officially open the 2019 tournament, the first played outside Crandon Park in picturesque Key Biscayne in more than three decades.

Organizers said the tournament had numerous offers to relocate to other cities but chose to remain in Miami-Dade County. IMG, which owns the tournament with Ross, credited Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Ross with keeping the event in the Miami area.

As this year's event gets underway, tournament officials announced that Federer would play his first match on Saturday (Session 9 Click here to buy tickets); Djokovic will play on Friday (Session 7 Click here to buy tickets) and Nick Kyrgios will also play his first match on Friday (Session 8 Click here to buy tickets).

No More Purple Courts

Longtime fans of the event will immediately notice that the iconic purple tennis courts of years past have been replaced with teal courts, closer to the colors of the Miami Dolphins.

"I think the fans will notice it more than the players," Blake assured Patch. "Once the players get out there, they’re so focused on the ball. They notice a little bit more what’s behind — like a white backdrop or something that’s going to throw off their line of sight."

Blake, who at one time was ranked number four in the world, said that tennis superstar Rafael Nadal would probably find the courts most suited to his style of play though he had to pull out of this year's event with a knee injury.

"The ball’s going to jump up a little bit higher. But I think Roger’s (Federer) used to it because there are so many courts like it," Blake observed. "I really think there’s not much different from last year. It will be a little bit slower, maybe a little bit higher bouncing but not much at all."

The Miami Open draws some 300,000 visitors along with national and international television coverage. It is also considered a far more intimate setting where fans have been able to get much closer to superstars like Federer, Nadal and Williams, who owns a minority share of Hard Rock Stadium.

Tournament Upgrades

In nearly every category, the new home of the Miami Open represents a significant upgrade with 30 show and practice courts up from 21; expanded parking, more VIP suites, the largest video screen of any tennis event, measuring 90 feet wide by 40 feet high; improved Wi-Fi, media facilities, locker rooms and fitness space for players and tennis staff. The stadium within a stadium seats 14,000. A nearby grandstand seats another 5,200 with an underground gym and locker room.

"Seven months ago this was a parking lot," declared Jeremy Walls, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of the Dolphins. "Clearly, it no longer is. We were very careful about curating great food and beverage and experiences throughout the campus. We want you to be able to come every day and have a different type of experience."

Walls wasn't kidding. The tennis campus was carved from the Hard Rock Stadium parking lot. Designers used a combination of wood accents, artificial grass, lights and various outdoor seating designs to create an inviting setting filled with Miami chic accents along with a mix of 50 Canary Island Date Palms, 40 Rusty Fig trees, 25 Bonsai and 50-year-old Green Island Ficus trees, 20 European olive trees and 100 tropical palm trees.

Well-Known Restaurants And Artwork

In addition to attracting well-known restaurants like Bourbon Steak by Michael Mina, Casa Tua Cucina and Novecento, the Miami Open also features artwork curated by Jessica Goldman Srebnick of Goldman Global Arts and six galleries featuring works by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Pablo Picasso among others.

Goldman Srebnick said she caught Ross' eye with her Wynwood Walls project in Miami featuring colorful street murals.

"We wanted to have a true Miami feel," she said of the approach she took with the tennis event. "We did two large-scale murals. You’ll see there’s work for sale by a lot of artists that have done installations here at the stadium. And then throughout the stadium there are 18 large wall murals. It’s just spectacular artwork. It’s not football. It’s not baseball, basketball. It’s not one particular sport. It’s really meant to just celebrate artwork."

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