Hard Rock Stadium is being prepped for Super Bowl LIV, with a considerable amount of work taking place to ready the Miami Dolphins home for the February 2 game.
Having originally opened as Joe Robbie Stadium in 1987, Hard Rock Stadium is an established venue previously hosting five Super Bowls. It looks considerably different than it did during its last turn at hosting the game—Super Bowl XLIV in 2010—with a new canopy structure covering the vast majority of the seating bowl, as well as upgraded seating and premium areas. These were the major additions in over $500 million in renovations financed by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. (Speaking of the renovations, we will be taking a closer look at Hard Rock Stadium’s evolution in next week’s newsletter).
While the recent renovations have made the venue a worthy Super Bowl host, construction crews still have to undertake a considerable amount of work to prepare the stadium for the event. Thus far, the installation of the turf and the addition of various Super Bowl branding elements around the stadium are among the items that have been completed, as was detailed during a media tour of the venue given on Tuesday. There are still tasks that have to be completed before the Super Bowl, but the preparation work has stayed on schedule since launching on January 2. More from the Palm Beach Post:
“We definitely do make our presence known when we come to a town for a major event like the Super Bowl,” said Eric Finkelstein, senior director of event operations for the league.
Finkelstein helped organize the previous two Super Bowls in this stadium, although, after a half-billion investment by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross for upgrades, “It feels like a brand-new stadium,” Finkelstein said.
Speaking under a crystal-clear sky on a crisp winter afternoon, Finkelstein said it’s “a little different” from his task two years ago, when the Super Bowl was in Minnesota.
“We’ve been here more than any other city to host the Super Bowl,” Finkelstein said. “There’s a reason why we keep coming back. It’s a perfect setting.”
The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will meet in Super Bowl LIV, which will be the 11th to take place in the Miami area. Before the current Hard Rock Stadium—located in Miami Gardens—hosted its first Super Bowl in 1989, the Miami Orange Bowl had taken five turns at hosting the event.
Archival photo of Hard Rock Stadium courtesy Miami Dolphins.
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