Sunlife Stadium thoughts

[FMCANE]

Food choices any better? Are all choices still fried food and pizza?

 

[the storm]

Sebastian needs to practice...can't do Canes cheer. UM band was late taking field, video board pump up wasn't timed right with Canes entrance. They need to get all of this synchronized for Nebraska! Loved when BC's band started bleating at one point & we turned up the music & put on the siren to drown them out....old school home cooking at it's best

 

[Hurracanes]

Food choices any better? Are all choices still fried food and pizza?

Pretty much.

 

[Chuckles]

I went on a free ticket because while I support the players I do not support the marketing of the U or some of the coaching staff.

Arriving from upstate through a puzzling turnpike toll gate a little late I was surprised to see what appeared to be a full Orange parking lot. Forced to turn left a long way I ended up parking facing
the boundary fence near the main stadium entrance. Walking in it appeared the game was a sellout. When we got to our seats a look around the stands showed what looked like the crowd might fill Lockhart Stadium. But with the rain delay the promenades were crowded as we walked all the way around the stadium.

Which brings me to the "improvements." The first impression is that the seats are nice if one prefers the Dolphins blue to the Orange that works for both teams. A standard issue Miami gordo-plus size was complaining loudly and often about the smaller seats. The seats appeared to be the same cast seat frames with new bottoms backs and cupholders, the frames looked like they had been removed, painted and reinstalled. Maybe it was gordo's increased girth and not the seat width?

The area beneath where the seats removed from the corners have tables seems to offer a place to eat your pizza with an interesting view from the upper corners.

And now let me opine on the food. What Bob Griese seemed to gush about at the last Dolphin telecast is different from my experience. Perhaps the problem was that some vendors were not open for the Canes game. The menu's I saw were if anything worse than last year and at higher prices. For a double wide like gordo-plus there was some kind of desert looking pastry dishes at $14.00. I would have paid an exorbitant $3.00 to try one. Before the start of the game my son bought me a very ordinary hotdog (Haute Dog!) of lesser quality than I get at my local flea Wednesday flea market for a dollar to chase down with a dollar can of Coke.

Back in the days when I had season tickets upper deck on the fifty (section 414 I think, now it's in the 300 numbers) the promenade had been expanded so one could sit at a table for a snack and a beer and enjoy the view Northeast and to the Broward beach skylines. An ugly structure has reduced the size of the area and we're back to rubbing shoulders again. At another location up top there are rest rooms and a restaurant keeping it crowded.

Bottom line first impression is that it's mostly lipstick on a pig. The once proud JRS now has pretty blue seats, a ridiculously bright CRT band that changes the brightness on the field of play, and except for the lucky few on one side who will pay for the living room lazy boy experience doesn't do much to change the impression that the improvements so far were not for the average fans. The vendor areas have new dull colored paint scheme, but mostly my impression is of a facility gone long past its prime with a cheap makeover. The OB after a hurricane was more enjoyable.

Perhaps when the roof addition is completed there will also be other fan-friendy improvements. Yet, I don't see any way this stadium as a chance to compete with other facilities around the NFL. Miami's only chance to get a Super Bowl here rests only on the city's weather and attractions.

 

[Hurracanes]

Sebastian needs to practice...can't do Canes cheer. UM band was late taking field, video board pump up wasn't timed right with Canes entrance. They need to get all of this synchronized for Nebraska! Loved when BC's band started bleating at one point & we turned up the music & put on the siren to drown them out....old school home cooking at it's best

This program is run by morons. It's amateur hour in Coral Gables.

Let's play more house music in a football game too, morons.

 

[Chuckles]

Sebastian needs to practice...can't do Canes cheer. UM band was late taking field, video board pump up wasn't timed right with Canes entrance. They need to get all of this synchronized for Nebraska! Loved when BC's band started bleating at one point & we turned up the music & put on the siren to drown them out....old school home cooking at it's best

This program is run by morons. It's amateur hour in Coral Gables.

Let's play more house music in a football game too, morons.

Yup, why even have a marching band?

 

[the storm]

The program is NOT run by morons. These are all things that can easily be improved/fixed by UM Marketing dept & whomever handles the big board at the stadium. As for stadium improvements, most seemed pleased but some thought the new seats actually seemed smaller & not as comfy as the old ones. The people who ***** usually ***** about everything in their life (sky is falling mentality).

Sebastian needs to practice...can't do Canes cheer. UM band was late taking field, video board pump up wasn't timed right with Canes entrance. They need to get all of this synchronized for Nebraska! Loved when BC's band started bleating at one point & we turned up the music & put on the siren to drown them out....old school home cooking at it's best

This program is run by morons. It's amateur hour in Coral Gables.

Let's play more house music in a football game too, morons.

 

[String911]

Food choices any better? Are all choices still fried food and pizza?

Tons of food options in club, at least. Carved sandwiches, BBQ, etc.

 

[String911]

Was almost 44k there. I was there for the whole thing. People left during the lightning delays but it was a good turnout.

Problem is the TV side is always significantly less filled than home side. Sigh.

 

[wacane]

I loved the stadium. It looks and feels completely different. It feels smaller. More quaint. Next year will be even better. We don't need to go anywhere

 

[BisCane]

You can't polish a ****. Moving a few hundred seats closer doesn't make up for the fact that 95% of the seats are much further than the college and NFL average from the field. **** of a design ... yes in this case toss the baby with the bathwater.

 

[Southtampacane]

We aren't getting out of the stadium. This is where we will be playing for a long time.

I hate that they always show the feed facing the visitors side. My guess is that if they flipped that around it would look a lot better.

 

[Chuckles]

The program is NOT run by morons. These are all things that can easily be improved/fixed by UM Marketing dept & whomever handles the big board at the stadium. [so why aren't they?] As for stadium improvements, most seemed pleased but some thought the new seats actually seemed smaller & not as comfy as the old ones. [is that you Gordo?] The people who ***** usually ***** about everything in their life (sky is falling mentality). [pointing out deficiencies is not *****ing, deficiencies are what a marketing department ought to be responding to] .........................................................................................

Sebastian needs to practice...can't do Canes cheer. UM band was late taking field, video board pump up wasn't timed right with Canes entrance. They need to get all of this synchronized for Nebraska! Loved when BC's band started bleating at one point & we turned up the music & put on the siren to drown them out....old school home cooking at it's best

This program is run by morons. It's amateur hour in Coral Gables.

Let's play more house music in a football game too, morons.

........

 

[Southtampacane]

When was JRS ever a proud facility? Even when it was brand new and state of the art it had major problems. It's never been a great stadium.

I will have to see the changes first hand but the seats looked nice but certainly didn't mesh with the way they tricked out the stadium with Orange UM stuff. But anything is better than those awful orange seats which always looked terrible on camera with the typical late arriving, early departing Miami crowds.

 

[killacane]

Food choices any better? Are all choices still fried food and pizza?

Tons of food options in club, at least. Carved sandwiches, BBQ, etc.

Those options are not new

 

[Awsi Dooger]

Of course it's mostly hype. Anyone with multiple functioning brain cells could wade through all the garbage...."equivalent of a brand new stadium."

You'd have to be a door to door salesman's dream to pay a fleck of attention.

It's a drab 28 year old facility. Cracks and missing paint everywhere. I nearly documented it with pictures to post on a Dolphin forum, before changing my mind. Why bother? The PR crowd will trounce everything. From the parking lot I wondered how long it would take walking toward the stadium before I detected anything "new." Other than the missing upper corners, there was literally nothing. The outside of the spiral walkways are always decorated somewhat differently each year, to conceal the dull gray cement. This year I think they are white as opposed to multi color last season.

Entering the building it's still 1987 everywhere. I actually used that mocking phrase, "equivalent of a brand new stadium" out loud. Several people laughed along with me. I've been to the actual new or newer pro stadiums like Phoenix and Dallas. Nothing is similar other than human beings on the premises.

The new seats are the star, if there is one. I don't like the Canes color scheme being ignored but it was logically going to happen. The darker colors add a vibrancy and also a condensing impact. I wasn't closer, in the low upper deck, but it felt slightly more involved. The seats themselves are noticeably wider and also the rows are slightly further apart. At 6-4 I always had to stand up fully to allow others to walk past in my row. Now I can partially stand while mostly pushing back against the seat. The cup holders are in a more convenient location.

I noticed that 4 rows are missing below the wheelchair areas in the upper deck. Previously there were 5. Now only 1. That made room for the rows further apart. But those low rows in the upper deck were incredibly rowdy, at Canes games and Dolphin games. Now gone, at least in those areas.

The upper deck felt so open and comfortable with the corners removed. I could actually see the downtown buildings. Of course, this was Ft. Lauderdale skyline, not Miami. But there was a brief memory of how great it was in the Orange Bowl with that awesome open end and view to the east. This trash stadium confines you.

Without those upper corners there is less swirling wind. Flags on both goal posts were moving in the same direction. That's rarely the case at Sun Life. The wind direction always baffles me.

I have no idea why that stadium needs 4 massive screens. Nobody has complained about not being able to see the two already in place. As always, this is a $400 million patchwork process that merely fits the old flawed design, not an ideal blueprint from ground upward.

The sideline seating change is overrated. Vastly overrated. I never would have noticed minus all the hype. Doesn't threaten the Orange Bowl at all. The lower corners were not filled in so they are still miles removed. The new seating doesn't extend from goal line to goal line. On both sides the new lower seats peel back at roughly the 25 yard line. Then the seating doesn't resume until roughly 10 feet back. So there's a 50 yard gap with not much difference from previous. It was so startling I took a picture. It's especially startling on the visitor's side, where seemingly a low rowdy crowd is most needed.

The change in seat color adds to the TV impression of a more confined lower bowl. In person the seating is still too gradual in decline, and the rows don't look close to the field. If you changed the seats to white and not aqua it would provide a more accurate representation.

The upper deck is basically unchanged. The eateries had fancier signs. Not much else, other than the seats. I talked to several employees, all of whom were touting the improvements. One of them gave great detail and promised that the upper deck will be fully modernized, along with the canopy. I'll believe it when it happens. The 75 minute lightning delay allowed plenty of time to inspect the stadium. My takeaway was the same as months ago. David Beckham would have laughed at spending $400+ million on patchwork like this. Keep in mind that Jerry Jones initially planned to patch the old Texas Stadium in the late '90s. He wised up. That patchwork would already be passe by now. Instead he has a state of the art facility that will be viable for at least 30 or 40 years. Stephen Ross is a dullard who cheated the community and two football programs.

 

[Hurracanes]

The program is NOT run by morons. These are all things that can easily be improved/fixed by UM Marketing dept & whomever handles the big board at the stadium. As for stadium improvements, most seemed pleased but some thought the new seats actually seemed smaller & not as comfy as the old ones. The people who ***** usually ***** about everything in their life (sky is falling mentality).

Sebastian needs to practice...can't do Canes cheer. UM band was late taking field, video board pump up wasn't timed right with Canes entrance. They need to get all of this synchronized for Nebraska! Loved when BC's band started bleating at one point & we turned up the music & put on the siren to drown them out....old school home cooking at it's best

Lol. This. No coach in their right mind would want to come to Miami, with more $ thrown at them, with a QB like Kaaya because of a banner.
This program is run by morons. It's amateur hour in Coral Gables.

Let's play more house music in a football game too, morons.

Wow. Just wow.

 

[KevinCaneFace]

Of course it's mostly hype. Anyone with multiple functioning brain cells could wade through all the garbage...."equivalent of a brand new stadium."

You'd have to be a door to door salesman's dream to pay a fleck of attention.

It's a drab 28 year old facility. Cracks and missing paint everywhere. I nearly documented it with pictures to post on a Dolphin forum, before changing my mind. Why bother? The PR crowd will trounce everything. From the parking lot I wondered how long it would take walking toward the stadium before I detected anything "new." Other than the missing upper corners, there was literally nothing. The outside of the spiral walkways are always decorated somewhat differently each year, to conceal the dull gray cement. This year I think they are white as opposed to multi color last season.

Entering the building it's still 1987 everywhere. I actually used that mocking phrase, "equivalent of a brand new stadium" out loud. Several people laughed along with me. I've been to the actual new or newer pro stadiums like Phoenix and Dallas. Nothing is similar other than human beings on the premises.

The new seats are the star, if there is one. I don't like the Canes color scheme being ignored but it was logically going to happen. The darker colors add a vibrancy and also a condensing impact. I wasn't closer, in the low upper deck, but it felt slightly more involved. The seats themselves are noticeably wider and also the rows are slightly further apart. At 6-4 I always had to stand up fully to allow others to walk past in my row. Now I can partially stand while mostly pushing back against the seat. The cup holders are in a more convenient location.

I noticed that 4 rows are missing below the wheelchair areas in the upper deck. Previously there were 5. Now only 1. That made room for the rows further apart. But those low rows in the upper deck were incredibly rowdy, at Canes games and Dolphin games. Now gone, at least in those areas.

The upper deck felt so open and comfortable with the corners removed. I could actually see the downtown buildings. Of course, this was Ft. Lauderdale skyline, not Miami. But there was a brief memory of how great it was in the Orange Bowl with that awesome open end and view to the east. This trash stadium confines you.

Without those upper corners there is less swirling wind. Flags on both goal posts were moving in the same direction. That's rarely the case at Sun Life. The wind direction always baffles me.

I have no idea why that stadium needs 4 massive screens. Nobody has complained about not being able to see the two already in place. As always, this is a $400 million patchwork process that merely fits the old flawed design, not an ideal blueprint from ground upward.

The sideline seating change is overrated. Vastly overrated. I never would have noticed minus all the hype. Doesn't threaten the Orange Bowl at all. The lower corners were not filled in so they are still miles removed. The new seating doesn't extend from goal line to goal line. On both sides the new lower seats peel back at roughly the 25 yard line. Then the seating doesn't resume until roughly 10 feet back. So there's a 50 yard gap with not much difference from previous. It was so startling I took a picture. It's especially startling on the visitor's side, where seemingly a low rowdy crowd is most needed.

The change in seat color adds to the TV impression of a more confined lower bowl. In person the seating is still too gradual in decline, and the rows don't look close to the field. If you changed the seats to white and not aqua it would provide a more accurate representation.

The upper deck is basically unchanged. The eateries had fancier signs. Not much else, other than the seats. I talked to several employees, all of whom were touting the improvements. One of them gave great detail and promised that the upper deck will be fully modernized, along with the canopy. I'll believe it when it happens. The 75 minute lightning delay allowed plenty of time to inspect the stadium. My takeaway was the same as months ago. David Beckham would have laughed at spending $400+ million on patchwork like this. Keep in mind that Jerry Jones initially planned to patch the old Texas Stadium in the late '90s. He wised up. That patchwork would already be passe by now. Instead he has a state of the art facility that will be viable for at least 30 or 40 years. Stephen Ross is a dullard who cheated the community and two football programs.

How did Stephen Ross cheat anybody? He spent $400 mill of his own money. We're cheated? We get to sit under a roof next year during 1pm games and look like we're a slightly less crappy fanbase because the empty seats are less noticeable. Miami fans deserve nothing but feel so entitled. Clemson sold 81,500 tickets against Wolford yesterday.

 

[String911]

Food choices any better? Are all choices still fried food and pizza?

Tons of food options in club, at least. Carved sandwiches, BBQ, etc.

Those options are not new

But aren't fried food or pizza.

 

[killacane]

Food choices any better? Are all choices still fried food and pizza?

Tons of food options in club, at least. Carved sandwiches, BBQ, etc.

Those options are not new

But aren't fried food or pizza.

Valid point