Dolphins To Move Training Camp To Hard Rock

MIAMI, FL — The Miami Dolphins announced Tuesday that the team will build a $50- to $75 million state-of-the-art training facility outside the recently renovated Hard Rock Stadium. The decision will effectively end a 15-year relationship with the campus of Nova Southeastern University to host the camp in nearby Davie. The camp has been located in Broward County for the past 25 years.

"The earliest it can be here is 2020," Dolphins President and CEO Tom Garfinkel said in announcing the move at a press conference Tuesday. "But very excited to bring a state-of-the-art, best-in-class facility for the Miami Dolphins here to Miami Gardens."

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The 2020 Super Bowl will be played in the stadium, which recently underwent $550 million in privately funded improvements by team owner Steven M. Ross. The improvements include the replacement of every seat, rebuilt concourses and new amenities. The total number of seats has actually been reduced from 76,018 in 2014 to 64,767.

The reduction of seats figures prominenty into the team's master plan for the complex, which includes the addition of the Miami Open tennis tournament in March of 2019, international soccer games, concerts and now a new training complex.

Garfinkel said that the training complex will take up less than half of the 4,000 unused parking spaces from the 2017 season and the tennis tournament will take up the other half. Parking for season ticketholders will not be affected.

The training center will be located off 27th Street, according to Garfinkel, who said that it will be placed on the furthest northwest corner of the Hard Rock Stadium property.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez said that county officials are "thrilled" to have the training facility in Miami-Dade.

"This facility will beef up our ability to bid for and win top sports events such as the 2026 World Cup and future Super Bowls," he said. "I can certainly see the new training facility be a training facility for World Cup teams here in 2026."

The Miami area is vying to host some of the 2026 World Cup soccer games when the tournament returns to North America.

"Like a growing number of NFL teams, the Dolphins will now work and practice where they play," said Gimenez. "Miami-Dade County will be their united home turf."

Mayor Oliver G. Gilbert III of Miami Gardens, where the stadium is located, said that people are willing to invest where they see investment happening. "That's how business gets done," observed Gilbert, who added that the training facility and the events at Hard Rock will be good for business in his community.

Other improvements to the complex include a series of pedestrian bridges and tunnels.

"What happens is the pedestrian traffic holds up the vehicular traffic. It takes longer to get out, but more importantly, it's a potential safety issue," observed Garfinkel. "On some days, it can look like a game of Frogger out there."

Not all of the improvements are visible. The team recently began developing 80 acres outside of West Palm Beach into a sod farm. That move is intended to resolve any problem with the quality of sod, such as one that occurred last season with divots.

"We will be building and creating our own sod farm, producing our own sod so we can control the quality and not rely on outside vendors," explained Garfinkel, who noted that the new sod will be in place for the 2019 season, the 2020 Super Bowl and beyond.

"We can control the quality of the sod and expect to have the best turf in all of sports when we're controlling it ourselves," he said.

Gimenez said he has no doubt that the county would have lost the Miami Open tennis tournament had Ross not stepped in and agreed to make a $50 milllion investment to build the necessary infrastructure for the tennis tournament.

"I have to thank Mr. Ross and the Dolphin organization for helping keep that major tennis tournament here in the community," Gimenez said. "Without them, believe me, we would have lost the Miami Open."

Photo Gallery by Paul Scicchitano. Miami Dophins CEO and President Tom Garfinkel; Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez; Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver G. Gilbert III; conceptual plans for the new training facility. Construction work is already underway for the Miami Open tennis tournament. Hard Rock Stadium exterior.