The Miami Dolphins will soon be playing in Sun Life Stadium, though they won’t leave their home. When the 2009 National Football League season ended, so did the Dolphins’ one-year naming rights deal with Jimmy Buffet’s Land Shark Lager beer brand. Now Canadian insurer Sun Life Financial has closed a deal for a five-year naming rights term, with a package of options that could give the stadium a new name for the next 20 years. Terms have not been disclosed, but sources said it could pay the Dolphins as much as $7 million a year at its peak, and will be worth $5 million annually in the early phase of the agreement. The Dolphins announced the new stadium name at a press conference today; the new Sun Life name comes just in time for the Super Bowl on Feb. 7 and Pro Bowl Jan. 31. [Sun-Sentinel]
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The Super Bowl is coming to South Florida again this year, but as proponents of a $250 million renovation of Dolphin Stadium tackle the issue of public financing, not everyone agrees that hosting the championship is a straightforward economic boon to the region. The proposed stadium renovation is intended to maintain South Florida’s status as a top pick for the Super Bowl year after year. The $500 million figure is often quoted as the region’s potential revenue from the game, but sports economists say it’s not that simple. Some put the game’s value at less than $100 million, and charge that the National Football League purposely inflates the game’s value to get government help for things like stadium renovations.

[Miami Herald]

The Miami Dolphins football team wants to give its stadium a $250 million makeover to ensure its place at the head of the line for future Super Bowl venue selections. Dolphin Stadium, which will host its 10th Super Bowl Feb. 7, is seen by the National Football League as too outdated to remain a top-tier Super Bowl choice, according to team CEO Mike Dee. The team — and possibly area taxpayers — will leave no stone unturned in keeping the arena at the forefront of championship game choices, Dee said, though he noted that the renovations would not be otherwise necessary and did not say where potential public funds would come from. The design includes a partial roof that would fend off rain, and put some seats closer to the playing field. After yesterday’s presentation on the project, the Super Bowl Host Committee voted to continue discussing the proposal. Economic surveys showed that the 2007 Super Bowl generated about $463 million for local businesses and public relations benefits for South Florida.

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[Miami Herald]

South Florida homeowners are looking to make some extra cash by renting out their homes to football fans soon descending on the area for the Super Bowl. For Pompano Beach resident Thomas Cordaro, this year’s game, scheduled for Feb. 7 at nearby LandShark Stadium in Miami Gardens, is an opportunity to “subsidize a few mortgage payments,” he said. For his home, which has a full kitchen, two living rooms, a pool, and room for eight people to sleep, he is asking $15,000 for the week, or $250 per day, per person. He says he has already gotten several calls, though he is expecting more serious offers once contending teams are chosen. [WPLG 10]
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The corporate parent of LandShark Stadium has stretched out its debt payments in a move that will save the the South Florida Stadium group $7.9 million a year in interest payments. The Miami-Dade County Industrial Development Authority approved the refinancing, which will be a boon to South Florida Stadium principal owner Stephen Ross, also the majority owner of the Miami Dolphins and founder and CEO of New York real estate group the Related Companies. A bout $240 million in debt will have its maturation debt extended to 2037, which an agency report said would allow the company to amortize the debt in synch with the useful life of the stadium.