Ross Ready to Pay for Stadium Renovations: Report

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross may have had enough of Florida politics and is now ready to pay for major renovations to Sun Life Stadium on his own. Ross will not walk away empty-handed, though, under a new plan put together with Miami-Dade County officials.

The Miami Herald reports that the new plan would see Ross pay for the stadium renovations with private money. In exchange, Miami-Dade County would pay the team for each major event the stadium hosts. Those events could include the Super Bowl, World Cup soccer, and college football playoff and championship games.

Ross' previous plan had been to pay for the stadium renovations on his own, in exchange for not having to pay a property tax bill to the city of Miami Gardens. However, that plan was panned because of resistance from Miami Gardens’ mayor and the school system, which would have lost a lot of revenue from the plan.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez told the Herald that the payments, which are currently undefined, would be “a small incentive based on economic impact.”

If the stadium renovations go forward, it would quickly put South Florida back on the Super Bowl map. The NFL previously removed Miami from Super Bowl consideration due to the aging condition of Sun Life Stadium.

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