The Miami Dolphins have one of the oldest stadiums in the NFL and as the team tries to attract another Super Bowl, stadium renovations are necessary and with the state lawmakers unable to come to a deal, the plan will not hit a referendum for the use of public money on the stadium.
According to NFL.com, Dolphins CEO Mike Dee said that the team needs public funding and that as of now those plans for changes are cancelled due to the lawmakers being unable to approve the deal. The team has cancelled their plans and if the renovations cannot be completed, the team could end up moving out of the area all together.
Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford did not bring the deal to a vote by the time the legislative session concluded Friday. The team wanted to use a raised hotel tax to help with the $350 million stadium renovations and now a deal could make the vote go into a May 14 public referendum and comes after the Miami Marlins had public financing for the $515 million stadium.
Said Dee of Weatherford: "At the end of the day, this abuse of power, I believe, will follow his career for a long time."
"The Dolphins are one of the only franchises in the NFL that don't have a long-term lease with their community," Dee said, according to The Palm Beach Post. "At some point, somebody's going to buy the franchise from (Dolphins owner Stephen Ross), and clearly the stadium is the first thing they would need to address."