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| Artist rendering of Beckham's proposed stadium in Miami. Photo Credit: World Soccer Talk(WorldSoccerTalk.com) |
Canes Rising Contributor
Soccer superstar David Beckham has been pushing for a new soccer stadium to be built in Downtown Miami. There have been numerous rumors that Beckham's group has contacted the University of Miami about a possible partnership in regards to the stadium. Let me be the first to say that this idea is awful. The University of Miami has a great deal at Sunlife Stadium, and it would be silly to move into a smaller stadium that doesn't offer nearly the amenities, merely so a few misguided fans can be happy. Let's breakdown the most common criticisms of Sunlife, and why Beckham's stadium would not be the cure all that people want it to be.
1."We can't consistently fill Sunlife, and the empty seats look awful on TV"
This is a true statement, but this is more a reflection of our fan base, than it is on the facility. The University of Miami is a unique player in collegiate athletics. The University of Miami is small, private institution, located in a major metropolitan city. There's few peer institutions in that group. That means that our athletic department has to compete with professional sports, beautiful weather, and other major attractions. That's something Alabama, or Michigan doesn't have to do. When you're the only thing in town, people will come see you, regardless of product.
Miami, even in the best of times, rarely sells out. Miami rarely packed the Orange Bowl, contrary to popular belief. I recently watched the 1985 Miami/Notre Dame tilt, and the stands were half full for a major, albeit mediocre opponent.
Beckham's stadium will have fewer seats than Sunlife,(Significantly so, few MLS facilities have more than 30,000 seats*) that's true, but it will not have nearly the number of club seats, not nearly the number of luxury suites, and other amenities that fans enjoy at Sunlife. That will directly affect the University, which receives a percentage of the take. People are willing to pay to be pampered, and I doubt that a mediocre MLS stadium will have the amenities compared to a NFL facility. Miami will lose money during the great years, because the University won't be able to accommodate as many people. It's far easier to remove a tarp, if demand requires, than it is to add seats to a stadium that is at capacity. I sincerely doubt that Beckham's group will be willing to absorb the cost of an additional 20-30 thousand seats, just to have The U as a tenant.
2."The typical Miami fan can't get to Sunlife Stadium."
Complete hogwash. I didn't notice a problem when we played Florida, Oklahoma, or Florida State. People made it just fine. Sunlife, while not optimal is a monumental upgrade from the beloved Orange Bowl. . Fans don't have to worry about parking, fans can efficiently tailgate. For the first time, we have a tailgate culture at The U. You can't have that when people are parking in someone's yard, fans can't have that when there is a minimum of accessible parking. Due to space restrictions, Beckham's stadium is very unlikely to have adjacent parking. Most people will have to take a shuttle to the proposed downtown stadium, and then walk. If Beckham gets his stadium downtown, imagine the traffic nightmares. You think getting to a Heat game stinks, this may be far worse, especially if there's a big game. The American Airlines Arena holds about twenty thousand, a Miami game tends to draw double that number. Sunlife is located in an area that is far easier to get to. It sits adjacent to major roadways, egress is simple, and relatively painless.
3."The atmosphere at Sunlife isn't as great as it was at the Orange Bowl."
The misty haze of yesteryear tends to obscure the negative things about our beloved Orange Bowl. People remember 3rd and 43, the wide rights/lefts, the great moments, but people forget how much of a ghost town the OB was if The U wasn't dominant. This goes back to the previous point about the fan base being somewhat fickle and the city not being willing to support a mediocre product. The only time that you get the classic college atmosphere is if the following three conditions are met: 1. Miami is a highly ranked program. 2. The opponent is a highly ranked/major program and 3. The game is at night. You get those three things together, and the atmosphere magically becomes legendary.
In conclusion, it's not the stadium that is hurting the 'Canes. 2 mediocre Head Coaches, and a program that hadn't adjusted to the 21st century is what hurt our beloved program. Al Golden has brought the program into the 21st century, and it looks to be that the on field talent is slowly becoming the kind of talent Miami should be putting on the field. Whether The U plays at Sunlife, or in a parking lot in front of the BankUnited Center, it's the on-field product that will get butts in the seats, not the stadium itself. A stadium is only concrete and plaster, it's the fans that makes a stadium home.
*--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MLS_Stadiums(Listing of every MLS facility)
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