Sad but true, the fate of the Orange Bowl in Miami is still in question:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070809/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_orange_bowl_s_future
My thoughts you ask? I've got ideas:
Option 1: Refurbish the OB. Knock down a lot of the upper level and build suites that the University can sell for profit. Unfortunately, the Canes do not sell out each home game so they don't really need a 70,000 plus seat stadium. This isn't their fault, Miami is not a college football town, plain and simple. There's a lot more to do there on a Saturday afternoon than go watch a football game. La Chica doesn't understand it either, sports fans, but it's true.
Option 2: Build a smaller stadium on UM's campus in Coral Gables. All the Canes need is a 45,000 seat stadium. The likelihood of this is very slim. Peace may be accomplished in the Middle East before the city of Coral Gables agrees to this. Not to mention, UM is always bitching about not having enough funds to do anything like this. Wanh, Wanh, Wanh.
My favorite is Option 1 for many reasons. La Chica's Grandmother lived close to the OB a long time ago so it holds that special memory as well. Bottom line is, just take care of the Orange Bowl. The Old Lady needs it and she certainly deserves it.
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- SportsChica
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3 comments:
One UM alumnus posted a comment to a Miami Herald article about this issue that makes a lot of good points:
For those who talk about the tradition and history in the OB, you are right, but you know what is a much more important tradition? WINNING. Which, by the way, is the reason that there are so many great memories at the OB. Moving north will give the Canes a better opportunity to continue with that minor tradition.
Please spare me the "attendance will plummet if they play at DS" line. For every one of you who will never go to another game, there are ten who stay away from the OB because it is such a nightmare to get in and out. What other stadium in the country can you get off the nearest freeway exit and still be 90 minutes away from the stadium? I have actually left Fraternity row two hours before gametime and missed the opening kickoff because traffic patterns are so bad. The parking situation is a joke too. You get to pay $20 for "no blocking" in someone's back yard (which jumps to $50 on FSU weekend.) Parking may not be cheap at DS, but in/out access is far better. Given the multiple freeways nearby, and exits designed to handle gameday crowds, it would literally be faster to 22 miles from the campus to DS than it is to go 5 miles to the OB.
As far as students go, ya, we could really pack it in for big games like FSU or Penn State, but when WVU or BC came to town, that section was practically a ghost town? and this was 1999-2002, when we were a top 3 team! Have the students had a sudden change of heart and now pack the place every Saturday now that our beloved Canes are a .500 team? Somehow, I think not, so my sympathy for them is limited.
Besides, given the demographic layout of Dade, Broward and PB Counties, I would guess that DS is probably a shorter distance for about 75% of the UM alums still living in the region.
To bring the OB up to the standard of a national powerhouse program like UM is simply not possible, especially in a Banana Republic like the City of Miami. Building a stadium on campus is also a joke. Where are you going to find 40+ acres in Coral Gables/South Miami to clear and build a stadium? Maybe one of you could go ask the Biltmore for the land? They don?t really need that golf course do they?
Bottom line is that this move is the only reasonable option that UM has at this point so lets make the best of it? As alumni, I say we pony up enough cash to get the naming rights. How great would it be to see the Dolphins play in Hurricanes Stadium every Sunday.
Big Red,
Your points are valid and I understand them but my point also is that a "powerhouse" college team like UM needs its own football stadium! I put powerhouse in quotations given the lack of success the last 3 seasons.
Dolphins Stadium will always be Dolphins Stadium. Well, until they change the name again.
But Chica, the 'Canes and the Dolphins played in the same stadium for years and years and it didn't seem to hurt either team. And with the money associated with naming rights, I doubt that stadium will be Dolphins Stadium for long.
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