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The Miami Orange Bowl was an outdoor athletic stadium in
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, Florida, from 1937 until 2008. The stadium was located in the
Little Havana Little Havana () is a Neighborhoods in Miami, neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. Home to many Cuban exiles, as well as many immigrants from Central and South America, Little Havana is named after Havana, the Capital (political), ...
neighborhood west of
downtown Miami Downtown Miami is the urban city center of Miami, Florida, United States. The city's greater downtown region consists of the Central Business District, Brickell, the Historic District, Government Center, the Arts & Entertainment District, and ...
. The venue was considered a landmark and served as the home stadium for the
Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
team from 1937 through 2007 and for the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
for the Dolphins' first 21 seasons, until Joe Robbie Stadium (now
Hard Rock Stadium Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Southeastern United States, located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the Univers ...
) opened in nearby
Miami Gardens Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Miami and located north of downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from I-95 and Northeast 2nd Avenue to its east to Northwest 47th ...
in
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
. The stadium also was the temporary home for the
FIU Golden Panthers The FIU Panthers are the athletic teams representing Florida International University, an American public university located in Miami, Florida. The Panthers currently compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athlet ...
for one year, in
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
, while its on-campus
FIU Stadium Pitbull Stadium is a college football and soccer stadium on the campus of Florida International University (FIU) in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida with a Miami mailing address. It is the home stadium of the FIU Panthers football tea ...
underwent expansion. Opened in 1937, it was originally known as Burdine Stadium. In 1949, it was renamed the Orange Bowl for the
Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...
, which was played annually at the venue following every season from 1938 to 1996. The event was moved to Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) beginning on December 31, 1996. In January 1999, it returned to the Orange Bowl a final time due to a scheduling conflict. From 1956 to 1960, the
Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...
Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...
team occasionally played games in the Orange Bowl. The stadium was located on a large city block bound by Northwest 3rd Street to its south, Northwest 16th Avenue to its west, Northwest 6th Street to its north, and Northwest 14th Avenue to its east, which was an open end of the stadium. The Orange Bowl was demolished in 2008.
LoanDepot Park LoanDepot Park (officially stylized as loanDepot park, and named Marlins Park until 2021) is a retractable roof stadium located in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins. It is located on on ...
, the home
ballpark A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part ba ...
of the
Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...
of
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
, was built on the site. Construction began in July 2009, and the new stadium opened on March 5,
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
.


History


Early 20th century

The Miami Orange Bowl, initially called Burdine Stadium after Roddy Burdine, one of Miami's pioneers and the owner of the
Burdines Burdines was an American department store chain founded in 1898 by William M. and John Burdine. It operated exclusively in Florida, with its flagship store and headquarters both located in Miami. It evolved from a carriage-trade shop into a ful ...
department store chain, was built by the City of Miami Public Works Department. Construction began in 1936 and was completed in December 1937 and featured stadium lights. Prior to completion, the first game was a
high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
game on September 24, 1936, in which
Miami Edison Senior High School Miami Edison High School is a secondary school located at 6161 NW 5 Ct. in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system. Its provost is Leon Maycock. Miami Edison is a ...
shut out Ponce de Leon, 36–0. During this opening game, the stadium's new lighting system went partially out, leaving the mid-field dark with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The stadium opened for
Miami Hurricanes football The Miami Hurricanes football team represents the University of Miami in college football. The Hurricanes compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Foot ...
on December 10, 1937. From 1926 to 1937, the
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
played in a stadium near Tamiami Park and also at Moore Park until the Orange Bowl was built. For a brief time in the late 1930s, the Orange Bowl was home to the headquarters of the
International Baseball Federation The International Baseball Federation (IBAF) is the former international governing body of baseball. It has since been superseded by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), and continues to exist as the WBSC's baseball division. Betwee ...
. The stadium originally seated 23,739 people along the sidelines, roughly corresponding to the lower level of the sideline seats in the stadium's final configuration. Attendance for its first Orange Bowl in January
1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...
was under 19,000, but the following year saw over 32,000 in attendance. Seating was added in the end zones in the 1940s, and by the end of the 1950s the stadium was double-decked on the sidelines. In
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
, the
AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...
expansion
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
played their first-ever regular season game in the stadium on September 2. The west end zone upper deck section was then added in the 1960s, bringing the stadium to its peak capacity of 80,010. On January 1,
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
, the Orange Bowl was the first college bowl game to be televised in prime time.


Late 20th century

From 1966 to 1968, and again in the 1970s, a live
dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...
was situated in a water tank in the open (east) end of the Orange Bowl. He would jump in the tank to celebrate touchdowns and field goals. The tank that was set up in the 1970s was manufactured by Evan Bush and maintained during the games by Evan Bush and Dene Whitaker. Flipper was removed from the Orange Bowl after 1968 to save costs and the 1970s due to stress. In the film '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'', Snowflake, a live dolphin who does special behaviors after the Dolphins score a touchdown, was the basis of the film after he is kidnapped as part of a revenge plot against
Dan Marino Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. ( ; born September 15, 1961) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He played college f ...
. In 1977, the permanent seats in the east end zone were removed, and further upgrades brought the stadium to its final capacity and design. The city skyline was visible to the east through the open end, over the modern scoreboard and palm trees. The surface was natural grass, except for six seasons in the 1970s.
Poly-Turf Poly-Turf was a brand of artificial turf in the early 1970s, manufactured by American Biltrite of Wellesley, Massachusetts. It was the first specifically designed for American football, with a patented layered structure which included a "shock pad ...
, an
artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...
similar to
AstroTurf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for pitch (sports field), playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a pile (textile), short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Si ...
, was installed for the 1970 football season. It was removed and replaced with a type of natural grass known as "Prescription Athletic Turf" after
Super Bowl X Super Bowl X was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for t ...
in January 1976. In 1980, the stadium was used as a holding facility for
Cuban Cuban or Cubans may refer to: Related to Cuba * of or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban Americ ...
refugees, who arrived in
South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...
during the
Mariel Boatlift The Mariel boatlift () was a mass emigration of Cubans who traveled from Cuba's Mariel Harbor to the United States between April 15 and October 31, 1980. The term "" is used to refer to these refugees in both Spanish and English. While the ex ...
. Under the leadership of
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
head coach
Don Shula Donald Francis Shula ( ; January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American professional American football, football player, coach and executive who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. He played seven s ...
, the Miami Dolphins enjoyed a winning record in the Orange Bowl against rival teams in the AFC Eastern Division. Under Shula, the Dolphins were an impressive 57–9–1 (60–10–1 including playoff contests) against the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts (15–3), the Boston/New England Patriots (15–1), the Buffalo Bills (16–1) and the New York Jets (13–4–1). They have also beaten every visiting franchise at least once, enjoying perfect records against 11 of them. The playoff results against AFC East opponents are: AFC Championship games: (1971, Miami 21, Baltimore 0); (1982, Miami 14, New York Jets 0) and (1985, New England 31, Miami 14) and AFC First round game (1982 strike shortened season, Miami 28, New England 13). Notable winning streaks during the Shula-era in the Orange Bowl include a 13–0 streak against the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
and a 15–0 streak against the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
, Also of note, the Miami Dolphins enjoyed a record 31-game home winning streak from
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
75, which includes four playoff wins and the perfect season of
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
. The Dolphins have not enjoyed the same level of success at Hard Rock Stadium. While much of this lack of success at Hard Rock Stadium is obviously attributable to a diminished level of talent and organizational stability, it is also widely recognized that the homefield advantage that the Dolphins enjoyed in the Orange Bowl was exponentially greater than in their newer home. This was in great part due to the atmosphere of the Orange Bowl. The closeness of the seats to the field, along with the closed West End Zone, metal bleachers, and steel structure (and of course the team's success and its status as Miami's only professional sports team for so many years), made the Bowl one of the loudest and most electric stadiums in the NFL. Visiting team quarterbacks often complained to referees or were forced to call time out as their teammates could not hear them barking out the signals due to the unbearable noise, especially when the Dolphins were making a goal-line stand in the closed West End Zone. While Hard Rock Stadium is much newer and cleaner and is considered one of the top facilities in the NFL, with top-notch amenities, the seats are set further back from the field than comparable seats at the Orange Bowl. As a result, even at its loudest, Hard Rock Stadium is nowhere near as loud as the Orange Bowl. The Orange Bowl was also the site of the NCAA's longest
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
home field winning streak. Between
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
and
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
, the
Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...
won 58 straight home games at the Bowl, until ended by the
Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...
. The stadium's home field advantage used to include a steel structure that fans would set to rumbling by stomping their feet. Concrete reinforcement had silenced the rumble in the stadium's later years. There was still the advantage of the West End Zone, which had a relatively narrow radius that amplified fan noise. The West End Zone was a factor in the Wide Right curse, in which the
Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...
lost a series of close games due to missed field goals. This section was so raucous that some football announcers often confused it with the student section. In addition to football, the stadium also hosted concerts and other public events. The stadium had a regular capacity of 74,476 orange seats, and could seat up to 82,000 for concerts and other events where additional seating would have been placed on the playing field.


21st century

The last professional football game to be played in the Orange Bowl took place on April 29, 2000, and matched the
Miami Tropics Miami is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a population of 6.14 million, is the second-largest metropolitan ...
against the
San Antonio Matadors The San Antonio Matadors were a professional American football, football team that played in the Spring Football League (SFL) in 2000. The Matadors were undefeated before the league decided to cease operations. The Matadors were named co-SFL Cha ...
of the short-lived
Spring Football League The Spring Football League (SFL) was a short lived professional American football minor league that existed for only one season in 2000. Spring football Founded by several ex-NFL players such as Eric Dickerson, Drew Pearson, Bo Jackson, and ...
. The Matadors won 16–13.


College football

The City of Miami embarked on a plan to extensively renovate the stadium. However, those plans fell by the wayside as Miami focused on keeping the
Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...
in town, forcing the Hurricanes to threaten a move to Dolphin Stadium (now
Hard Rock Stadium Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Southeastern United States, located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the Univers ...
) in suburban
Miami Gardens Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Miami and located north of downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from I-95 and Northeast 2nd Avenue to its east to Northwest 47th ...
if a plan to renovate the stadium was not in place within 45 days. Some feared that Miami would permit the college to leave, only to tear down the Orange Bowl and replace it with the new stadium for the Marlins. That fear became reality as Paul Dee, athletic director for the University of Miami, announced that the Hurricanes would be moving to Dolphin Stadium for the 2008 season. Dee and university president
Donna Shalala Donna Edna Shalala ( ; born February 14, 1941) is an American politician and academic who served in the Carter and Clinton administrations, as well as in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021. Shalala is a recipient of the Preside ...
made the announcement during a press conference at the Hecht Athletic Center on August 21, 2007. The university agreed to a 25-year contract to play at then Dolphin Stadium. According to Miami City Manager Pete Hernandez, this put the Orange Bowl back in the forefront as a possible site for a new Marlins stadium. The hope that talks would resume soon on that possibility vanished after only a short while. Many Hurricane fans vocally opposed the decision to move stadium locations and preferred maintaining the Orange Bowl as the Hurricanes' home field, out of concern of Dolphin Stadium's extra distance from campus, the severing of an icon of the Hurricanes' historical successes on the field, and potentially more expensive parking costs. Many fans stated to various broadcast, print and internet-based media outlets that they would no longer attend the games of Hurricanes football once the team abandoned the Orange Bowl. Some speculated that the decision to leave the Orange Bowl might have cursed the Miami Hurricanes and would cite the Miami Dolphins as a precedent. Indeed, a common explanation for the Miami Hurricanes' poor performance during the 2007 season was that "they've never been the same since they left the Orange Bowl." The University of Miami lost their final Orange Bowl game to
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, 48–0, in a nationally televised
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
game. It was the most lopsided home shutout loss in the Miami program's history until Clemson beat Miami 58–0 in 2015. The last home game of college football in the Orange Bowl was a home win for the
FIU Golden Panthers The FIU Panthers are the athletic teams representing Florida International University, an American public university located in Miami, Florida. The Panthers currently compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athlet ...
against
North Texas North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...
. FIU had been using the Orange Bowl as home field for the season due to renovations to their home stadium. Miami and FIU had engaged in a bench clearing brawl at the Orange Bowl the previous year during the first of two scheduled games between the two schools.


Motorcycle fatality

On February 8, 1997, the Miami Orange Bowl was host to a U.S. Hot Rod
Monster Jam Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour operated by Feld Entertainment. The series began in 1992, and is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association. Events are primarily held in North America, with some addition ...
. As part of the show, motorcycle stunt rider
Corey Scott Corey L. Scott (December 28, 1968 – February 8, 1997) was an American stunt performer and professional Motorcycle stunt riding, motorcycle stunt rider. Scott died during a live stunt in front of a crowd of around 30,000 spectators at the Miami O ...
attempted a stunt that required him to drive up a ramp and land into a net hoisted into the air. Scott missed the net, bounced out, and fell to the ground below. He later died at
Jackson Memorial Hospital Jackson Memorial Hospital, also referred to as Jackson or abbreviated MJMH, is a non-profit, tertiary care hospital, and the primary teaching hospital of the University of Miami's School of Medicine. As of 2021, it is the largest hospital in t ...
. The event was witnessed by a crowd of around 30,000 spectators.


Hurricane Wilma

In October 2005,
Hurricane Wilma Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin and the second-most intense tropical cyclone in the Western Hemisphere, both based on barometric pressure, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Wilma's rapid intensifi ...
caused structural damage to the stadium, which rekindled discussion of tearing down the aging facility. The damage was subsequently repaired after the 2005 college football season. The stadium served as a
FEMA The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
relief center in the hurricane's aftermath.


Final year and demolition

The Orange Bowl was demolished in May 2008, and
LoanDepot Park LoanDepot Park (officially stylized as loanDepot park, and named Marlins Park until 2021) is a retractable roof stadium located in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins. It is located on on ...
is now on the site. Despite some protests, the historic stadium had been earmarked for demolition when the University of Miami announced that they were moving out of the Orange Bowl after the 2007 season to begin play at
Sun Life Stadium Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Southeastern United States, located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the Universit ...
in 2008 in a 25-year deal.Future of Orange Bowl in doubt
BBC Sport, August 21, 2007.
On November 10, 2007, the University of Miami Hurricanes lost their final game at the Orange Bowl when the
Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast C ...
defeated
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
48–0 in the Hurricanes' second worst home shutout loss in school history. The
FIU Golden Panthers The FIU Panthers are the athletic teams representing Florida International University, an American public university located in Miami, Florida. The Panthers currently compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athlet ...
(now Panthers) won their last game at the Orange Bowl against the
North Texas Mean Green North Texas Mean Green (formerly North Texas Eagles) represents the University of North Texas (UNT) in intercollegiate athletics. The teams compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). North Tex ...
on December 1, 2007, by a score of 38–19, snapping a 23-game losing streak that many attributed to the consequences of suspensions following the UM-FIU brawl the year before. Since the Golden Panthers had been using the Orange Bowl as their home field during the construction of
FIU Stadium Pitbull Stadium is a college football and soccer stadium on the campus of Florida International University (FIU) in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida with a Miami mailing address. It is the home stadium of the FIU Panthers football tea ...
, this win allowed the FIU team to boast that it was they who officially closed the Orange Bowl's college football career with a home win. A high school all-star game, "The Offense-Defense All-American Bowl", took place on January 4, 2008, and was the last game before the closing events. On Saturday, January 26, 2008, a "Farewell to the Orange Bowl Stadium" flag football game was held. The game featured former Dolphin and Hall of Fame quarterback
Dan Marino Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. ( ; born September 15, 1961) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He played college f ...
, plus
Mark Duper Mark "Super" Duper (born January 25, 1959) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1982 to 1992. He played college football ...
,
Mercury Morris Eugene Edward "Mercury" Morris (January 5, 1947 – September 21, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a running back and kick returner. He played for eight years, primarily for the Miami Dolphins, in the American Footbal ...
,
Dwight Stephenson Dwight Eugene Stephenson (born November 20, 1957) is an American former professional football player who was a center for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1980 to 1987. He played college football for the Alabama Cri ...
, A. J. Duhe,
Don Strock Donald Joseph Strock (born November 27, 1950) is an American former professional football player and coach. He played as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) with the Miami Dolphins (1973–1987), Cleveland Browns (1988), and Ind ...
,
Jim Kiick James Forrest Kiick (; August 9, 1946 – June 20, 2020) was an American professional football player. He played as a running back for the Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, and the Washington Redskins in the American Football League (AFL) fr ...
,
John Offerdahl John Arnold Offerdahl (born August 17, 1964) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire eight-year career as a linebacker for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for t ...
,
Jim Kelly James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers o ...
,
Bernie Kosar Bernard Joseph Kosar Jr. (born November 25, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, leading the team to a natio ...
, Melvin Bratton,
Brian Blades Brian Keith Blades (born July 24, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). Early life Blades graduated from Piper High School in Sunrise, ...
,
Bennie Blades Horatio Benedict Blades Sr. (born September 3, 1966) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). A three-time All-Pro, Blades was named to both the Detroit Lions 75th Anniversary Te ...
and Eddie Brown. The NFL's winningest coach
Don Shula Donald Francis Shula ( ; January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American professional American football, football player, coach and executive who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. He played seven s ...
coached the Dolphins while
Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...
and former Hurricanes coach and former Dolphins assistant
Howard Schnellenberger Howard Leslie Schnellenberger (March 16, 1934 – March 27, 2021) was an American football coach with long service at both the professional and college levels. He held head coaching positions with the National Football League (NFL)'s Baltimore Co ...
coached the University of Miami. The Orange Bowl was open to the public for the last time February 8–10, 2008 when a
public auction A government auction or a public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a governmen ...
of stadium artifacts and memorabilia was held. The stadium was stripped and pieces were sold by a company called Mounted Memories. Demolition of the Orange Bowl began on March 3, 2008, and was completed on May 14, 2008. The Orange Bowl is one of eight stadiums that are no longer standing that have hosted a Super Bowl. The other seven are:
Tulane Stadium Tulane Stadium was an outdoor American football, football stadium in the Southern United States on the campus of Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. It stood from 1926 to 1980 and was officially the Third Tulane Stadium, followin ...
(hosted three Super Bowls; demolished in 1980),
Tampa Stadium Tampa Stadium (nicknamed The Big Sombrero and briefly known as Houlihan's Stadium) was a large open-air stadium (maximum capacity about 74,000) located in Tampa, Florida, which opened in 1967 and was significantly expanded in 1974–75. The fac ...
(hosted two Super Bowls; demolished in 1999),
Stanford Stadium Stanford Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium located on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, United States. It is the home of the Stanford Cardinal and hosts the university's commencement exercises. Opened in 19 ...
(hosted one Super Bowl; demolished and redeveloped in 2006), the
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League's (NFL) ...
(hosted one Super Bowl; demolished in 2014), the
Georgia Dome The Georgia Dome was a Stadium#Types, domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown Atlanta, downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of th ...
(hosted two Super Bowls; demolished in 2017), the Pontiac Silverdome (hosted one Super Bowl; demolished in 2018), and San Diego Stadium (hosted three Super Bowls; demolished in 2021).


Commemorative marker

As part of the new Marlins Park, the home field of the
Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...
of
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
, Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places commissioned Daniel Arsham and Snarkitecture to design a public art work to commemorate the Miami Orange Bowl. Their project uses the letters from the original "Miami Orange Bowl" sign as the basis for the orange concrete letters rearranged across the east plaza of the new ballpark so that they form new words as visitors move around them.


Stadium events


Football

*
Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...
– home stadium from 1937 to 2007 *Orange Bowl (game), Orange Bowl game 1938–1995, 1999 *Miami Seahawks – home stadium in 1946 *North–South Shrine Game – college football all-stars – 1948–1973 *Playoff Bowl (NFL) – game for 3rd place – (1960 NFL season, 1961–1969 NFL season, 70) *
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
– home stadium from 1966 to 1986 *1975 Pro Bowl, 1975 NFL Pro Bowl Game *1976 Miami Palmetto HS vs Coral Gables HS Game - longest game in high school football history, kicked off 9/11/76 and ended 11/8/76 *1995 Canadian Football League, CFL exhibition game – Birmingham Barracudas vs. Baltimore Stallions *
Miami Tropics Miami is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a population of 6.14 million, is the second-largest metropolitan ...
– home stadium in 2000
Spring Football League The Spring Football League (SFL) was a short lived professional American football minor league that existed for only one season in 2000. Spring football Founded by several ex-NFL players such as Eric Dickerson, Drew Pearson, Bo Jackson, and ...
*
FIU Golden Panthers The FIU Panthers are the athletic teams representing Florida International University, an American public university located in Miami, Florida. The Panthers currently compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athlet ...
– 2007 home games due to
FIU Stadium Pitbull Stadium is a college football and soccer stadium on the campus of Florida International University (FIU) in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida with a Miami mailing address. It is the home stadium of the FIU Panthers football tea ...
renovations


Super Bowls

The Orange Bowl hosted five Super Bowls: *Super Bowl II – Green Bay Packers 33, Oakland Raiders 14 *Super Bowl III – New York Jets 16, Baltimore Colts 7 **(Super Bowls II and III are the only two Super Bowls to be played in back-to-back years in the same stadium) *Super Bowl V – Baltimore Colts 16, Dallas Cowboys 13 **(first Super Bowl played on
artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...
) *
Super Bowl X Super Bowl X was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for t ...
– Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Dallas Cowboys 17 **(last game in Orange Bowl played on artificial turf) *Super Bowl XIII – Pittsburgh Steelers 35, Dallas Cowboys 31


Baseball

*
Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...
– An estimated 57,000 fans watched 50-year-old Satchel Paige pitch there for the Marlins on August 7, 1956. On that occasion, the diamond was tucked into the southeast corner of the stadium, with a high temporary fence in front of the right field seating area. The minor league Marlins played occasional other games there between 1956 and 1960. *1990 Caribbean Series – The 20th edition of the second stage of the Caribbean Series was held at the Orange Bowl, which had not hosted baseball in decades. Many considered the series a botched experiment, especially since the stadium, by 1990, was ill-suited for baseball. Only about 50,000 fans attended during the seven-day Series, which featured teams from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The Leones del Escogido of the Dominican League won the title, led by manager Felipe Rojas Alou and series MVP Gerónimo Berroa.


Miami Field

Tucked into the northeast corner of 16th Avenue and Third Street, a ball field called Tatum Park was built in time for spring training in 191

The park was used for spring training games for six seasons, but with no new tenants booked, it was abandoned and demolished in December 1921.[Miami ''News'', December 22, 1921, pp. 3, 14, 31] In 1924, new seating was built on the site, and this facility was called Miami Field.[Miami ''Herald'', May 22, 1924, p. 15] It resumed being a site for spring training and other local events, including a revived Florida East Coast League minor league club. It served as the home field for Miami Hurricanes baseball, University of Miami baseball from 1940 through 1965. Both the old and the new fields had a small covered seating area at 16th and Third. As the Orange Bowl was developed and then expanded over time, it encroached somewhat on that small ballpark to its southwest. The ballpark's center field fence ran along the periphery of the stadium's outer concourse, and the right field fence bordered a driveway that led up to the big stadium. There was also a softball field to the east across the driveway. During football season, the baseball and softball fields were both used for parking. In December 1965, Miami Field's seating area was demolished, and the land occupied by the two fields was reconfigured into full-time parking areas. The Hurricanes played elsewhere for a few years, and then opened Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field in 1973. Miami Field can be seen in the 1940 aerial photo :File:Miami-Orange-Bowl-1940.jpg. It also appears often in old aerial view postcards of the big stadium.


Soccer

*The United States men's national soccer team played 19 international matches from 1984 to 2004. The team had a 2–10–7 record at the venue, the worst record in all stadiums in the country. *North American Soccer League (1968–84), NASL Miami Gatos (1972) / Miami Toros (1973–1976) *American Soccer League (1933–83), ASL Miami Americans (1976–1980), Miami Sharks / Miami Freedom (1988–1992) *Marlboro Cup (soccer), Marlboro Cup (1987–1988) * Final of the 1990 Recopa Sudamericana Boca Juniors 1 Atlético Nacional 0 *Millennium Cup: Rangers F.C., Rangers (Glasgow) 2-2 (extra time: 3–4) Clube Atlético Mineiro, Atlético (Belo Horizonte) (Jan 17, 1999) *Miami Fusion defeated Columbus Crew in Major League Soccer play 4-3 in 2001 *USL-1 Team Miami FC played 2 games in 2007 at the Orange Bowl. *Various friendly and pre-season matches with A.C. Milan, Real Madrid C.F., Real Madrid, Manchester United F.C., Manchester United and Brazil national football team *1996 Summer Olympics Football at the 1996 Summer Olympics, football preliminaries. *FIFA World Cup 2002 CONCACAF Qualifiers Play-off, Costa Rica national football team, Costa Rica vs. Guatemala national football team, Guatemala (5–2, January 6, 2001) *Club Atlético River Plate, River Plate 2–1 Boca Juniors, June 15, 2002 *CONCACAF Gold Cup *1996 Summer Olympics – soccer games * Boca Juniors 2 Haiti 0 * Mexico 3 Peru 1 *The stadium was used by the Haiti national football team, Haiti national team for their "home" matches, due to violent flare-ups in Haiti resulting from political instability.


Popular boxing bouts

*Archie Moore defeated Joey Maxim by UD 15 rounds on 1/27/1954 *Roberto Durán defeated Jimmy Batten by UD 10 rounds on 11/12/1982 *Aaron Pryor Aaron Pryor vs. Alexis Argüello, defeated Alexis Argüello by TKO 14 out of 15 on 11/12/1982


Non-athletic events

*
Monster Jam Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour operated by Feld Entertainment. The series began in 1992, and is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association. Events are primarily held in North America, with some addition ...
*Enchanted Dreamz Hip-Hop Car Show Bash *World Championships of Senior Citizen Dancing, 1984 *Drum Corps International World Championships, August 1983


Concerts

*Deep Purple, J. Geils Band, Elf (band), Elf - August 24, 1974 *Foreigner (band), Foreigner, UFO (band), UFO, Pat Travers & Bryan Adams – ''Rock Super Bowl'' – March 21, 1982 *Jimmy Buffett – ''Homecoming Tour'' – October 29, 1982 *The Police – ''Synchronicity Tour'' – October 28, 1983 *The Jacksons – ''Victory Tour (The Jacksons tour), Victory Tour'' – November 2–3, 1984, 134,000 attendance *Prince (musician), Prince – ''Purple Rain Tour'', with The Revolution (band), The Revolution, Apollonia 6 & Sheila E. – April 7, 1985 (In honor of the occasion, the stadium was renamed "The Purple Bowl.") *Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – ''Born in the U.S.A. Tour'' – September 9–10, 1985 *Genesis (band), Genesis – March 1, 1987 *Madonna (entertainer), Madonna – ''Who's That Girl World Tour'', with Level 42 – June 27, 1987 *David Bowie – ''Glass Spider Tour'' – September 18, 1987 *Pink Floyd – ''A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour'' – November 1, 1987 *U2 – ''The Joshua Tree Tour'' – December 3, 1987 *Monsters of Rock Tour 1988, Monsters of Rock Festival – Van Halen, Scorpions (band), Scorpions, Metallica, Dokken & Kingdom Come (German band), Kingdom Come – June 4, 1988 *George Michael – ''Faith World Tour'' – October 29, 1988 *The Rolling Stones – ''Steel Wheels Tour'' – November 15–16, 1989 & ''Bridges To Babylon Tour''Dave Matthews Band Opening Act – December 5, 1997 *Metallica – ''Garage Remains The Same Tour, M2K Tour'' – December 28, 1999 *AC/DC *Eagles (band), The Eagles


Professional wrestling

*1987 National Wrestling Alliance, NWA The Great American Bash (1987), The Great American Bash supercard


In popular culture

*The Orange Bowl was a central location in the 1977 in film, 1977 film ''Black Sunday (1977 film), Black Sunday''. A significant portion of the filming was done during
Super Bowl X Super Bowl X was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for t ...
on January 18, 1975 NFL season, 1976. *Two episodes of Spike TV's ''Pros vs. Joes'' third season series were filmed here. Those episodes were the South Regional playoffs. *Much of the on-field scenes for the 1994 in film, 1994 comedy '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'' were filmed at the Orange Bowl. *The stadium's role during the Mariel boatlift in 1980 is featured in the 1995 in film, 1995 film ''The Perez Family''. *A scene from the 1980 film sequel ''Smokey and the Bandit II'' was shot on the field at the Orange Bowl, and included cameo appearances by Terry Bradshaw and "Mean" Joe Greene of the Pittsburgh Steelers. *In the video game ''Driv3r'', Tanner, the main character, can enter the ground and the stands of the Miami Orange Bowl, where he finds an enemy to be dealt with. *A few scenes from ''Miami Vice'' were shot there in 1988 ("Indian Wars") and 1989 ("Hard Knocks"). *The Orange Bowl was a location in the 1977 film ''Crime Busters'' with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. *The Orange Bowl was a location in the 1980 film ''Super Fuzz'' with Ernest Borgnine and Terence Hill. *The Orange Bowl served as the home of the fictional Miami Sharks in the 1999 Oliver Stone film ''Any Given Sunday'', with several football scenes being filmed there.


References


External links


Miami Orange Bowl
at Stadiums of Pro Football
"An Ode to the Orange Bowl"
State of The U, November 22, 2019
Sanborn map from 1938 showing Burdine Stadium and the ballpark
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