Miami Orange Bowl
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Miami Orange Bowl | |
|---|---|
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| Location | 1501 NW 3rd St Miami, Florida 33125 |
| Broke ground | 1936 |
| Opened | December 10, 1937 |
| Owner | City of Miami |
| Operator | City of Miami |
| Surface | Prescription Athletic Turf |
| Construction cost | $340,000 USD |
| Former names | |
| Burdine Stadium (1937-1959) | |
| Tenants | |
| Miami Hurricanes (NCAA) (1937-Present) Miami Dolphins (NFL) (1966-1986) Orange Bowl Classic (1937-1995, 1999) |
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| Seats | |
| 74,476 | |
The Miami Orange Bowl is a stadium in the City of Miami, Florida, west of the downtown area and in Little Havana. It is the home stadium for the University of Miami Hurricanes football team. It also hosted the Miami Dolphins until the opening of Dolphin Stadium in 1987. The stadium was renamed in 1959 for the Orange Bowl Classic college football game, which was played at the Orange Bowl following every season from 1937 to 1995, although it has been played at Dolphin Stadium since 1996, save for the January, 1999 contest between Florida and Syracuse. The Minor League Baseball Miami Marlins played certain games in the Orange Bowl from 1956 to 1960.
Contents |
[edit] History
In addition to football, the stadium also hosts concerts and other public events. The stadium has a regular capacity of 74,476 orange seats, and can seat up to 82,000 for concerts and other events where additional seating can be placed on the playing field. The stadium was built by the City of Miami Public Works Department. Construction began in 1936 and was completed in mid-1937. It was originally named after Roddy Burdine, one of Miami's pioneers. The original stadium consisted of the two sideline lower decks. Seating was added in the endzones in the 1940s, and by the end of the 1950s the stadium was double-decked. The west endzone section was then added in the 1960s, bringing the stadium to its peak capacity of 80,010. In 1977 the permanent seats in the east endzone were removed, and further upgrades have brought the stadium to its current capacity and design. The city skyline can be seen to the east through the open end, over the modern scoreboard and palm trees. The stadium opened for Miami Hurricanes football on December 10, 1937. The AFL expansion Miami Dolphins played their first regular season game ever in the stadium on September 2, 1966.
[edit] Stadium Events
The stadium has hosted several soccer matches in recent years, including Marlboro Soccer Cup, an AC Milan Soccer Game, CONCACAF Gold Cup matches, and some 1996 Summer Olympics soccer games. In 1987, an NWA Great American Bash wrestling supercard was held in the stadium.
The Orange Bowl is one of three stadiums to host five NFL Super Bowls (II, III, V, X and XIII). (The Louisiana Superdome and Rose Bowl are the two other venues.) The former college football all-star game, the North-South Shrine Game, was held there from 1948 to 1973, and the NFL Pro Bowl was held there in 1975.
In addition to its sporting events, the stadium has also hosted a multitude of concerts by the Eagles, The Rolling Stones, Genesis, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Pink Floyd, The Police and Prince. Prince chose the stadium as the venue for the grand finale of his Purple Rain Tour in April 1985: [1]: in honor of the occasion, the stadium was rechristened the "Purple Bowl."
[edit] Hurricane Wilma
After Hurricane Wilma in 2005 caused some structural damage, the issue is once again opened as to whether the aging stadium should be torn down.
It was recently voted in an ESPN national online poll as the best stadium to play in.
[edit] External links
- Orange Bowl Official Web Site
- University of Miami Hurricanes Orange Bowl Stadium Page
- Aerial Views of Miami Orange Bowl Stadium
- Orange Bowl Seating Chart
- Brief video clip of University of Miami Hurricanes entrance to the Orange Bowl.
| Preceded by first stadium |
Home of the Miami Hurricanes 1937-[present] |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by first stadium |
Home of the Miami Dolphins 1966-1986 |
Succeeded by Dolphin Stadium 1987-present |
| Current ACC Football Stadiums |
|---|
| Atlantic: Alumni Stadium (Boston College) • Byrd Stadium (Maryland) • Carter-Finley Stadium (NC State) • Doak Campbell Stadium (Florida State) • Groves Stadium (Wake Forest) • Memorial Stadium (Clemson) Coastal: Bobby Dodd Stadium (Georgia Tech) • Kenan Stadium (North Carolina) • Lane Stadium (Virginia Tech) • Miami Orange Bowl (Miami) • Scott Stadium (Virginia) • Wallace Wade Stadium (Duke) |
Categories: Atlantic Coast Conference | 1996 Summer Olympic Venues | American Football League venues | College football venues | Defunct National Football League venues | Miami Hurricanes football | Previous NCAA bowl game venues | Professional wrestling venues | Soccer venues in the United States | Sports in Miami | Sports venues in Florida | Super Bowl venues | University of Miami | 1936 architecture
