Stadium Central

An interesting article was posted on Bloomberg.com about the renovations being done to Dolphins Stadium in an attempt to modernize the venue and bring more revenue to the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins will spend about $250 million to renovate the stadium, contrasting with the more than $1 billion price tag that is expected for new stadiums in New Jersey (for the Jets and Giants) and in Dallas. Dolphins Stadium, built in 1987 at a cost of $115 million, was designed originally (perhaps by accident) so that a completely new stadium is not needed at this time. It already had luxury features that the team could utilize to boost its revenue, such as club level seats and suites. Other stadiums, however, do not have this structure in place. The recent renovation of Soldier Field, in which the stadium was effectively rebuilt, actually cost $600 million, essentially the cost of a new stadium. Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City is also renovating their stadium at a much lower cost than a brand new stadium will run. Will this trend take hold? NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suggests that there aren't many stadiums left that can simply be renovated as opposed to starting from scratch. And of course, the fact that a 20 year old stadium requires renovations is amazing!