Our purpose is the restoration and return to operation of Miami Marine Stadium. It is the goal of Friends of Miami Marine Stadium to work with the City and community at large to accomplish this purpose and have it operated in the public interest. 

MIAMI MARINE STADIUM - FACTS AT A GLANCE

Background

• Built on Virginia Key as the first purpose-built venue for powerboat racing in the United States.
• Dedicated as the Ralph Munroe Marine Stadium on December 23, 1963. Stadium was built at a cost of $1 million; basin was dredged for approximately $900,000. 

Architecture

• The 6,566 seat stadium was designed by architect Hilario Candela, a 28-year-old recent immigrant from Cuba at that time.
• Considered a Modernist icon because of its cantilevered, fold-plate roof and construction of lightweight, poured-in-place concrete, popular in mid-century stadiums. 
• At 326 feet in length (longer than a football field), it was the longest span of cantilevered concrete in the world when it was built. Its eight big slanted columns are anchored in the ground. 

Boat Races and Other Sporting Events

• The stadium hosted many world-class powerboat events including Unlimited Hydroplane, Inboard, Outboard, Performance Craft, Stock, Modified, and Grand National divisions.
• It was the site of many nationally televised events including the Bill Muncey Invitational and the ESPN All American Challenge Series.

Concerts and Cultural Events

• With a floating stage, the stadium would become host in later years to different events ranging from boxing matches to classical, rock and pop music concerts, even Sunday services.
• The stadium is where Sammy Davis Jr. hugged Richard Nixon in 1972, and the site of a legendary and raucous 1985 Jimmy Buffett concert.
• The 1967, the Elvis Presley movie "Clambake"—about an oil tycoon's heir swapping places with a poor water-skier—was filmed there.
• Other memorable performances: Queen, The Beach Boys, Steppenwolf, Dave Brubeck. Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, Miami Philharmonic, Ray Charles and many more.

The Sleeping Beauty Years

• In the wake of Hurricane Andrew, it was declared an unsafe building under Miami-Dade County building code and shuttered by the City of Miami on September 18, 1992.  An engineering study demonstrated it was sound and not damaged by the hurricane but it was closed to the public, nonetheless.
• Since then, the stadium has become a haven for vandals, graffiti artists and taggers.

The Future

• On February 20, 2008, Friends of Miami Marine Stadium (FMMS) was formed.  The effort undertaken by FMMS is the first-and only feasible plan in 20 years for restoration and operation of the property.
• FMMS secured historic designation by Miami’s Historic Preservation and Environmental Board.
• The stadium was also recognized as an architectural masterpiece by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It was named to the National Trust’s 11 Most Endangered List in 2009.

• In 2009, the Worlds Monuments Fund, the foremost organization worldwide devoted to the preservation of architectural and cultural sites, named the Marine Stadium to its 2010 Watch List (significant endangered sites), along with places such as Macchu Picchu, the historic center of Buenos Aires, the City of Old Jerusalem, and Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
• On April 6, 2010, Miami-Dade County Commissioners passed a resolution to allocate $3-million to the stadium to start its historical preservation and return it as a venue for water sports and major concerts.
• On July 22, 2010, the Miami City Commission approved the Virginia Key Master Plan, which includes the Miami Marine Stadium.
• In January 2012, Miami Sports and Exhibition Authority (MSEA), a quasi-public organization, approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Resolution, the first step in the creation of a partnership between FMMS, MSEA and the Miami City Commission to restore the Marine Stadium.  
• In March, 2012, the Miami City Commission approved the MOU. Friends of Miami Marine Stadium must submit a business plan within six months and develop full funding within two years.

About Friends of Miami Marine Stadium (FMMS)

• Friends of Miami Marine Stadium was created as an all-volunteer organization in February 2008 to advocate for restoration of the Marine Stadium, under the administrative umbrella of the Dade Heritage Trust. Since then, FMMS has provided over $600,000 to the cause and has never received nor requested funding from the City of Miami for its efforts.  

• FMMS has now transitioned from a group focused on advocacy to one that is prepared to guide the restoration of the Marine Stadium.  It incorporated in December 2010 and received its (501)(c)(3) designation in August 2011.  Current board members are:

            Hilario Candela, AIA                            Architect of Miami Marine Stadium, Past

            Co-chair FMMS                                      President, Spillis Candela

            Albert Dotson, Jr.                                Partner, Bilzin Sumberg

            Daniel Diaz Leyva                               Partner, Infante, Zumpano

            Helen Aguirre Ferre                             Journalist                                                                      

            Jorge Hernandez, AIA                         Principal, JLH Architects

            Roberto Martinez                                Shareholder, Colson Hicks Eidson

            Jose Mendana, Jr, CPA                        Berkowitz Dick Pollack and Brant

            Treasurer

           
            Cliff Mezey                                        Former CEO and Owner

                                                                   Interstate Industries  

            Charles D. Urstadt                              Principal, Urstadt Real Estate 

            Donald Worth                                    Community Activist

            Co-chair, Secretary

            Lynn Lewis                                          Lynn Lewis, P.A.

            General Counsel