Dolphins sign naming rights deal for stadium with Hard Rock
By Jason Parker
The Miami Dolphins have signed a deal to rename the stadium they have played in since 1987 after Hard Rock, known for their cafes and casinos.
When the Miami Dolphins take the field for their 30th season inside their current home stadium, the building will have its eighth name all-time. While natives and purists still refer to it as Joe Robbie Stadium, everyone from LandShark beer to Sun Life insurance and Pro Player underwear has had a turn putting their name on the stadium located north of Miami.
Lucky number eight will be one that South Florida fans know quite well — and for some, it will feel like second nature to have a building with this name taking hundreds of dollars from people in just hours, according to the Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero:
"I’m told the deal with Hard Rock International is so long, that kids entering kindergarten this fall will graduate high school and the name on the stadium when they get their diplomas will still be Hard Rock Stadium.So this deal will go past a dozen years. That’s very important because the facility has been the unofficial king of names in the past."
That’s right, fans of the Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes (who play their home games there as well) along with those attending the Orange Bowl game and the Super Bowl come February 2020. When you step foot inside the building, you will be inside of Hard Rock Stadium.
Pardon me if I’m not jumping with excitement.
Even with it being a long term name deal and meaning Miami sports fans won’t have to ask themselves the stadium’s name every season, the name Hard Rock doesn’t exactly go with football. It goes with men in their 50s and 60s looking at rock memorabilia from artists that haven’t been around in decades.
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Hard Rock International is also owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, who have made quite the profit with their casinos in the state, including one not 15 minutes from the stadium. Needless to say, the NFL nixed any association of the casinos with the naming deal … since all gambling should be run by the head pit boss, Roger Goodell, with that thing called fantasy football.