Sun Life Stadium has been the venue for historic sporting events in
the United States. Five Super Bowls: XXIII, XXIX, XXXIII, XLI and XLIV,
the 2010 Pro Bowl, the 1997 and 2003 World Series, four Bowl
Championship Series National Championship Games in 2001, 2005, 2009 and
2013, second round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, and the
WrestleMania XXVIII have all enjoyed the Sun Life Stadium facility. Sun
Life Stadium is also being considered for the Super Bowls of 2019 and
2020. Originally built to house the perennial presence, 21 seasons, of
the Miami Dolphins at the Orange Bowl, what was then Joe Robbie Stadium
was built at the behest of its namesake, Miami Dolphins founder Joe
Robbie. Looking ahead to inevitable arrival of a Major League Baseball
team in south Florida, Joe Robbie Stadium was built a bit wider than
most NFL stadiums, a design plan which makes the stadium more amenable
to conversions for different sports.
The Florida Marlins were born
with Joe Robbie Stadium as their home field for the first game in 1993,
and minimal renovations were necessary to convert the Stadium for
baseball thanks to the foresight of Joe Robbie. The remodeling of the
sidelines to narrow the field and bring seats closer to play after the
Marlins left the Stadium have since ended the field’s versatility for
baseball. Despite ongoing renovations which will reduce the Stadium’s
capacity to 65,000, the Sun Life Stadium where Ian Dewson added a whole
new dimension to his understanding of sport, will always be special to
Dewson.
