South Florida has typically great weather for BIG events such as the cultural phenomenon we call the Super Bowl. Each year, the media frenzy grows to a new astounding and inconceivable level, and hosting the Super Bowl is a highly coveted ‘privelidge’ that is fought over year after year. 

While flipping through all the feel-good stories, a story about an ‘umbrella’ catches one’s attention. Could it be? Rain on this day of utmost importance, the holy of holies? How will we truly know which team deserves the top trophy if the Super Bowl is played while hydroplaning on an inch of water?

After further review, this ‘umbrella’ was actually referring to the team’s interest in putting a new roof on Sun Life Stadium (recently changed from Land Shark Stadium), home of the Dolphins, as part of a new series of upgrades required by the NFL to continue to host future Super Bowls. 

The word shark may have left the stadium’s name, but not the team’s legal department working on funding this umbrella. Guess who they would have pay for it all. That’s right, the taxpayers.

It is fair to assume that if the Miami-Dade Commissioners would sign off on the $490 million to support the new Florida Marlins stadium, it wouldn’t be a stretch to add half that, another $250 million rennovation project on the bottom of the tab. It’s like a really good tip that if you add it into the bill for large parties of 6 or more, you might just get tipped again without anyone noticing. 

We’ve noticed. Miami residents have noticed and are showing resistance. The Sports Fans Coalition supports all of those local groups who oppose hefty public financing requests for sports stadiums. 

The evidence shows that all the projected value – in terms of gentrification, luring business, and increased quality in fan experience – to an area where new stadiums are paid for with public funds is wrong. The boulder of debt on the shoulders of local government and taxpayers causes teachers to be laid off while a city such as Miami gets back into contention for Super Bowl 2014. More often than not, the projectors often have a stake in the game, and the taxpayers lose theirs.

Come to think of it, maybe a little rain wouldn’t hurt.