Miami-Dade Mayor Endorses Hosting Super Bowl, Boat Show On Same Weekend

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez yesterday “all but endorsed” holding both the Miami Int'l Boat Show and the '16 Super Bowl “on the same weekend if the National Football League opts to move the championship game to President’s Day Weekend,” according to Douglas Hanks of the MIAMI HERALD. The Dolphins and the team’s backers on the South Florida Super Bowl organizing committee “contend downtown Miami is capable of holding Super Bowl during Boat Show.” South Florida is competing against S.F. for ‘16, and “the loser will take on Houston for the 2017 Super Bowl.” Though South Florida has “already hosted a record 10 Super Bowls, the latest campaign for the big game has brought new tensions.” The issue is “only hypothetical now, since the NFL has not yet scheduled a Super Bowl on President’s Day Weekend.” But it has become “enough of a concern” that South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee Chair Rodney Barreto “received tacit endorsements for his position when he and Dolphins CEO Mike Dee went before the Miami-Dade County Commission after Tuesday’s press event” (MIAMI HERALD, 12/19).

WELCOME TO THE TEAM: In West Palm Beach, Ben Volin notes Barreto yesterday announced former NFLers Dan Marino, Bob Griese and Jason Taylor as the “three honorary co-chairs who will be the face of the local effort.” They will “help sell the local community on the importance of hosting Super Bowl 50.” The three former Dolphins “aren’t allowed to make the official pitch to NFL owners,” but they will be “key players in raising money.” Barreto said that most of the bid “will be put together with private money, and Marino, Griese and Taylor have developed countless local business contacts.” In addition, the Dolphins’ bid “will be supported by at least one of their in-state colleagues.” Jaguars Owner Shahid Khan, who “spent last weekend with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross before the teams played each other Sunday, agreed to get behind the bid.” Still, the “success of the committee’s bid might depend on any improvements to 25-year-old Sun Life Stadium.” Dee said that “nothing is certain yet.” Barreto said the Dolphins will unveil plans “in the very near future.” Previous upgrades discussed by Dee “include a canopy that would leave the field exposed but shield fans from sun and rain; moving seats closer to the field; and improving the stadium’s wireless infrastructure” (PALM BEACH POST, 12/19).

SHOP LOCAL: In New Orleans, Mark Waller reported local companies can “enter a contest to win a pair of tickets” to Super Bowl XLVII if they spend “$500 with firms that participate in the NFL's Emerging Business Program.” The effort is “part of a campaign to boost New Orleans businesses in conjunction with the Super Bowl in February.” The program includes “a database of almost 300 local companies with woman or minority ownership that have been eligible for league-sponsored training sessions and offered opportunities to compete for Super Bowl-related jobs in the months leading up to the game” (NOLA.com, 12/14).