Pro Player Stadium, formerly known as Joe Robbie
Stadium, is located one mile south of the Dade-Broward
county line and sits on a 160-acre site. It is 16
miles northwest of downtown Miami and 18 miles south
of Ft. Lauderdale.
Stadium History:
After more than a decade of existence, Dolphins
Stadium is still one of the best NFL stadiums in
the league. In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s
after playing at the Orange Bowl for many years,
Dolphins owner Joe Robbie began lobbying for a
new stadium for his team. After voters
continually rejected tax increases for a stadium
to be built, Joe Robbie decided to have the
stadium built himself. After finding a site to
build the stadium, construction began in
December 1985. The facility was paid for by the
selling of luxury suites, club seats, private
funds, and long term agreements with season
ticket holders. Dolphins Stadium was completed
in just over two years. Soon after its
completion, the stadium was renamed Joe Robbie
Stadium.
Spectators driving to the venue are accommodated
by the availability of 15,000 on-site, secured parking
spaces as well as 254 spaces for buses. A highlight
is the accessibility of a helipad located on the
premises.
Pro Player Stadium prides itself on the prescription
Athletic Turf (natural grass) making up it's playing
surface. It was designed with mechanical drainage
capability and provides a firm playing surface within
30 minutes of a 1" per hour of rain.
The 80,024 seat stadium was designed with the
spectator in mind. The general seating in Pro Player
Stadium is a 19" chairback seat with armrest. Each
seat offers an excellent view of the playing field
and there are no obstructed seats in the stadium.
Access to your seat is easily gained by utilizing
one of the two ramps or the escalators located at
each of our four entrance gates.
Pro Player Stadium offers the utmost in comfort
and convenience. In the general seating areas (100,
400 levels), there are 40 concession stands, each
featuring a TV monitor so as not to miss a minute
of the action. Throughout the stadium, there are
a total of 80 restrooms (40 men and 40 women). Inside
the stadium, there are two giant scoreboards on
both ends of the facility, each comprised of a Sony
JumboTRON video screen.
The stadium had $100 million in renovations to
accommodate the Florida Marlins before the
1993 season. The installation of retractable
seating on the north side of the stadium, the
construction of the baseball press box, the
building of the baseball dugouts, the addition
of
660 new lights for night play, and the
installation of a hydraulic disappearing
pitcher’s mound
were added. The stadium’s seating capacity has
been reduced to 36,500 by covering the 400
section; however during the World Series the 400
seats are uncovered giving the Marlins an
average attendance of over 66,000 for the seven
home games.
The field of play is larger in Dolphin Stadium
than in most baseball stadiums due to having to
fit
a football field in the stadium. In April of
2006 it was announced that the “s” would be
dropped
from the stadium name and revert back to the
original “Dolphin Stadium” name along with a new
logo. This is part of their national branding
campaign that ended with Super Bowl XLI.
Some Miami Dolphins history: For most of
their history, the Dolphins were coached by Don
Shula, the winningest head coach in professional
football history. His Dolphins teams posted
losing records in only 2 of his 26 seasons with
the club. In 1972 the Dolphins became the first
and only NFL team to complete a 14-game regular
season without a loss.
