The Dolphins' new season-ticket sales "have been stagnant" this offseason despite the fact that the club has "made 10,000 calls to potential season-ticket customers every week and boasts a 75 percent renewal mark with last year’s purchasers -- among the highest in the NFL," according to Armando Salguero of the MIAMI HERALD. The Dolphins season-ticket mark today is "approximately 40,000," which is the "same as last year." It was 61,121 in '06 and 51,069 in '10. The Dolphins have been "trending in the wrong direction in recent years." Sources within the club admitted that "outside of the free agency flirtation with Peyton Manning for a couple of weeks in 2011, 'the phones haven’t rung' at the ticket office the past couple of years." That shows local fans "might be happy football season is back, but they’re not yet willing to bet their discretionary income on believing the Dolphins are going to win" in '13. Fans "want the Dolphins to show them they’re good rather than tell them they’re going to be good" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/21).
A TURNOUT AT TRAINING CAMP: In West Palm Beach, Hal Habib reports the Dolphins yesterday "launched their second training camp under coach Joe Philbin before an overflow crowd of 2,700 fans at Nova Southeastern University." All 2,000 tickets were "spoken for, in addition to fans watching in suites and standing-room areas." Many already were "sporting No. 11 jerseys for [WR] Mike Wallace" (PALM BEACH POST, 7/22). The Dolphins said that the crowd was the "most for a training camp practice since 2006" (MIAMIHERALD.com, 7/21).
CHANGE OF SCENERY: In Boston, Ben Volin wrote former Dolphins CEO Mike Dee, who "helped oversee an era of unprecedented success and growth" when he worked with the Red Sox from '02-09, "simply couldn’t replicate his business magic in South Florida." Dee now is Padres President & CEO, which is a "nice landing spot, for sure, but Dee was often like a fish out of water in his role with the Dolphins, as he didn’t quite grasp the market or the sport, and will be mostly remembered for the team’s bizarre promotions." Dee "came to Miami with two goals -- improve attendance and help secure funding for stadium renovations -- and went 0 for 2" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/21).
