Planned upgrades for the Miami Dolphins‘ Sun Life stadium have been cancelled following the failure of a bill meant to provide public funds for the venue. According to a report from Miami’s CBS 4, the Florida house adjourned without taking up the bill, which would have raised the state’s hotel bed tax to fund the stadium repairs.
Dolphins CEO Mike Dee appeared on the news station on Sunday, stating that the Dolphins organization and team owner Stephen Ross in particular were not prepared to fund the proposed $350 million in renovations themselves.
“From the get-go we had looked at this as a comprehensive modernization, not a band-aid, not a quick fix,” said Dee. “I wouldn’t want to prognosticate what the future holds, but it’s clearly bleak.”
Dee went on to blame Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford for failing to bring the bill up for a vote. He characterized Sun Life stadium’s state as “desperate” and intimated that, though Ross isn’t interested in moving the Dolphins, a future sale could mean Miami losing its NFL team.