MIAMI-Fresh from the team's opening day victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross on Monday said he is prepared to improve his offer to help fund renovations at Sun Life Stadium.
Ross' current plan called for team and NFL funds to pay for approximately 55% of the proposed $350-million project, according to the Miami Herald. Miami-Dade and the state of Florida would provide funding for the remainder of the project. However, Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford declined to put the proposal up for a vote this past May.
In a news conference where he announced the hiring of Tom Garfinkel as the team's new president and CEO, Ross said, “I offered the best deal that's ever been offered by an owner of a professional sports team. It didn't succeed for different reasons. Some of those reasons were not in the best interest of this community and were too personal…I was to pay back almost the entire loan (from Miami-Dade County). I am prepared to still do that and work with the community. I am prepared to make my offer better.”
Ross suggested that any new offer would not be made in the short term. The Florida Legislature must approve an increase in the hotel bed tax before Miami-Dade residents can vote on the proposal. See story in the Miami Herald.
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