The Shark is Out of the Bag: Sentinel Reporter Catches New Stadium Name

Fri, May 8, 2009

As I reported a few days ago, the Dolphins are holding a press conference tomorrow. If you just go by what the Dolphins are saying, then you have no idea why because they aren’t saying anything. But we do know that Jimmy Buffett will be performing. Buffett wasn’t much more forthcoming, only saying that he would be at the announcement and that it would be good. The reason, as things often do in sports news, has already gotten out. The Dolphins are selling the naming rights to Dolphin Stadium to Landshark Beer, a Busch beer brewed in conjunction with Buffett’s Margaritaville restaurants. But now, thanks to the quick eyes and quicker camera reflexes of Sun-Sentinel reporter Ted Hutton, the shark is officially out of the bag.

Well, that pretty much makes it official, doesn’t it? Our thanks to Hutton, as well as Sentinel Business of Sports blogger Sarah Talalay, who posted about it. And looking at it just now, you can also see the name again on the strip sign at the bottom of the picture. Rumors can sometime be wrong, but this is pretty concrete evidence. Tomorrow, the Dolphins WILL announce a naming rights deal with Landshark Beer, and Dolphin Stadium will become Landshark Stadium.

As I said before, this deal probably will only cover one year. Landshark doesn’t really have the resources for a long-term deal. But what a year to pick! Besides the normal exposure that the naming rights sponsor gets (I would assume the rest of the Marlins season and the Dolphins season), this year Landshark Stadium will host the Super Bowl. Oh, that’s right, AND the Pro Bowl. Landshark will get tons of exposure from this deal. The Dolphins get money from their naming rights now, and can wait the economy out a little more. Maybe next year, the economy will have improved enough to make a company sign a long-term naming rights deal.

The purists are very upset, naturally. But it’s not a practical reality to change the name back to Joe Robbie Stadium. A) No money in that, unless a few inspired millionaires team-up and buy the rights to do that. B) Joe Robbie, as much as he did for the franchise, is now TWO owners removed from today. Team owner Stephen Ross also owns the stadium. It’s HIS. Why would he name it for someone that used to own it? I do, however, support some sort of memorial to what he did. Either some part of the stadium that acknowledges him clearly, or naming the field. Joe Robbie Field at Landshark Stadium. Doesn’t sound too bad.

And what I most look forward to is Buffett’s impact on the surrounding area. The Dolphins have been focused, if not successful, on turning the area surrounding Whatever-It-Is Stadium into a shopping and dining experience. Now, Buffett can lend his Margaritaville-brand to that effort. So, we may finally see it. What we will see is the Dolphins playing football next season, for better or worse, in Landshark Stadium.

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