County commission approves proposed stadium renovation

MIAMI (WSVN) -- The Miami-Dade County commission has approved the proposed tax move to help pay for improvements to the home of the Miami Dolphins.

The Miami Dolphins took their pitch for a $400 million renovation to Sun Life Stadium upgrade to the Miami-Dade County Commission, Wednesday. "Today is just the first step. This resolution will send an important message to our lawmakers statewide," said Miami Dolphins CEO Mike Dee.

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Barbara Jordan introduced a resolution and urged the Florida legislator to enact legislation that would enable the county on sales tax produced from the stadium and from a penny of hotel bed tax for tourists. "The fact [is] that it's creating over 4,000 local jobs and we are going to get a world class facility," said Jordan.

Other commissioners were concerned that this plan is too rushed. "As you guys know, anything that you do in business that is rushed, someone is getting the short end of the deal," said Miami-Dade County Commissioner Esteban Boyo.

The Dolphins are hoping to get the renovations passed before the NFL decides on a location for Super Bowl L in May.

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said he would fund the majority of the project. The Dolphins have turned up the public relations campaign with TV ads and a web site along with newspaper ads.

Norman Braman has been a vocal opponent. The billionaire magnate that said that this is Marlins Part Two, referring to Marlins Park, which has been criticized. "I'll tell you why, because, damn it, someone has to," said Braman. "The problem with everything that has occurred in this community and communities out there is that we accept all of this."

The commission passed the resolution and the state will now look into the project. "And the item passes and it's adopted," said a commissioner.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and the Dolphins will start negotiating.

Several commissioners have suggested the possibility in the negotiations of moving the Dolphins training facility from Davie in Broward County to Miami-Dade County.

"This was an important step for the Miami Dolphins. The negotiations with the county mayor will begin immediately. "You know, we said from the get go that everything is on the table, so we have to work carefully with the mayor and his designees to examine every aspect of a proposed deal," said Dee. "But for today, we are excited that we passed this first milestone, and we look forward to roll up our sleeves and get into those details as we move forward."

(Copyright 2013 by Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)