Dolphins sought more World Cup subsidies. Miami-Dade handed it over — no questions asked | Opinion

Sport franchises have for decades convinced Florida governments that they need to spend millions of dollars to make these already profitable businesses happier.

It’s become such common practice that local officials act as if they don’t owe the public an explanation, or in-depth discussion, before approving more public incentives for deep-pocketed teams.

With little fanfare, the Miami-Dade County Commission on Tuesday approved a bigger subsidy deal for the Miami Dolphins and Stephen Ross, the team’s billionaire owner. That includes up to $15 million in subsides for the privately owned Hard Rock Stadium to host 2026 World Cup soccer games.

There was virtually no debate over the measure.

The item was sneaked onto the commission agenda at the last minute Monday night and approved unanimously the next day. Only one commissioner, Rene Garcia, asked questions about the legislation before voting for it, the Herald’s Doug Hanks reported.

The vote reworked a 2014 agreement by lifting the yearly cap from $5.75 million to $7 million on what the Dolphins can earn from the county for hosting big events.

A big boost

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s administration negotiated the new deal. In June, the World Cup organization picked the Miami area as one of 16 venues for the 2026 championships being held in North America. The Hard Rock Stadium was selected as one of 11 World Cup venues in the United States.

In other words, on top of the opportunity to host the world’s largest sports event — and becoming internationally known — the Dolphins will get extra help from taxpayers to make its business more profitable.

The team argues, according to county documents, that hosting the World Cup “will exclusively encumber the Stadium” at a greater expense than any other event.

We’re not against all kinds of government partnerships with sports franchises. There are reasons why local officials would offer incentives to bring a football stadium to town, though those sweeteners tend to be too generous.

Miami-Dade County and the Dolphins have a 2014 agreement that provided financial incentives for the team to remain in Miami-Dade, renovate its stadium and attract large-scale “marquee” events. That deal already included incentives for World Cup games: $3 million for each non-final game and $4 million for a final. Bringing the Super Bowl and college football games also earns the team subsidies.

In 2018, the Dolphins got even more from the county in exchange for moving its practice facility from Davie to Miami Gardens. That was to counter incentives and land the city of Miramar offered to lure the facility to another Broward County location.

It’s tradition

Americans for Prosperity-Florida, a conservative group known for its small government stances, said at the time: “The Dolphins went fishing for taxpayer subsidies and Miami-Dade and Miami Gardens elected officials swallowed hook, line, and sinker,” Florida Politics reported.

It’s the old game sports franchises have played with local governments in Florida: Pay us, or someone else will.

Four years later, the Dolphins, argue, again, they aren’t getting enough public dollars. One of the reasons they give, according to the county document, is that their investment in stadium renovations was larger than anticipated.

Maybe — maybe — they have a point. But where were the Powerpoint presentations before the commission? Where was the public vetting? All we got were behind-the-scenes negotiations by the mayor’s office and rubber-stamping by the commission.

Levine Cava’s office told the Herald Editorial Board that, “Major events hosted in Miami-Dade like World Cup games bring significant economic impact and put dollars back in our community.”

The mayor’s spokeswoman cited $350 million of local economic impact generated by the stadium hosting the Formula 1 Grand Prix — the Dolphins provided that figure to the county, according to the document — and $532 million generated by the Super Bowl.

Levine Cava’s spokeswoman also noted the subsidies are “only paid to the Dolphins if the games take place.” The money won’t come from property taxes paid by homeowners, but from the tourism tax generated largely by hotel stays. That’s still public dollars, no matter the source.

There are many reasons why stadiums and spring-training facilities can be a boon to communities, but their true cost-benefit relationship is hard to pin down and often seems more steeped in perception.

Let’s not forget that the other major deal the county negotiated to build Marlins Park in Little Havana resulted in a boondoggle for which taxpayers will spend years paying.

At what point should we stop offering sports teams public dollars? At what point does government stop rewarding a private enterprise for making investments in its own business?

Clearly, Miami-Dade County hasn’t reached that point yet.

This story was originally published November 19, 2022 at 12:48 PM.