Delays in construction work at New Miami Stadium, formerly known as Sun Life Stadium, could result in the venue not being ready in time to stage the season-opening fixtures of NFL American football franchise the Miami Dolphins and the Miami Hurricanes, the University of Miami’s college football team.
The $450m (€406.7m) revamp might not be finished until November, by which point both the NFL and college football seasons will be well underway. The venue is scheduled to host the Dolphins’ first home fixture of the 2016 season on September 25 after the Hurricanes’ clash with Florida A&M on September 3.
However, work on New Miami Stadium has not progressed as quickly as hoped, with the Dolphins’ scheduled pre-season fixture against the Atlanta Falcons on August 25 having already been moved to Camping World Stadium in Orlando. The Dolphins’ pre-season game against the Tennessee Titans at New Miami Stadium on September 1 is also in doubt.
Should work not be completed by September, the Hurricanes’ game with Florida A&M would be moved to Florida Atlantic University’s FAU Stadium. The Hurricanes’ derby match against Florida State on October 8 – a big earner for the University of Miami – is also under threat from the delay.
US pay-television broadcaster CBS Sports Network yesterday (Wednesday) aired an interview with Miami sports personality Hank Goldberg, who claimed both the Dolphins and the Hurricanes were growing increasingly concerned at the lack of progress.
“They’re in a real dicey situation,” Goldberg said. “The official word from the Dolphins is, ‘It’s gonna be tight’. But they’re working round the clock to get it ready.”
In a statement, the Hurricanes’ athletic director, Blake James, said the team still expects to play all of its games at the stadium, but conceded that things could change and that a “contingency plan is in place if needed”.
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