The Miami Hurricanes football team will not be moving to a stadium closer to their Coral Gables campus anytime soon. After pondering the idea of joining forces with David Beckham's MLS team to split a new stadium, the school has decided it will stay put at Sun Life Stadium.
That's not much of a surprise considering Beckham's group has now zeroed in on the idea of building a stadium on a filled-in boat slip between American Airlines Arena and Museum Park. A stadium large enough to house a college football team would likely put a damper on already mixed public sentiment.
According to Barry Jackson, the Beckham group and the university came to the mutual decision to rule out a partnership.
The Hurricanes currently have 18 years left on their agreement with Sun Life Stadium, and Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was apparently not keen on the idea of letting the school out of the contract.
The idea of sharing a downtown space predates Beckham's current Museum Park plan, and under different circumstances may have been beneficial for approval of the stadium. The 'Canes are a proven entity in Miami with a built-in fan base and a strong network of alumni. Public sentiment may have been tipped if a new stadium meant the team would play closer to its campus.
However, the team would have only considered moving if the stadium would hold at least 40,000 people. Beckahm's current plan only calls for a 20,000-seat stadium, and renderings of the site plan have caught criticism for trying to downplay the size of a stadium of even that capacity. Add in parking questions, 20,000 more seats, and additional facilities, and the idea of the Canes sharing the space would only complicate the current plan.
The 'Canes remain the odd-team-out in Miami's latest round of stadium bingo. The team decided to give up its historic home at the former Orange Bowl so it could be demolished to build Marlins Park. They're now stuck playing at an often lightly attended Sun Life, 10 miles north of the University of Miami's Coral Gables campus.
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