Stephen Ross: Chances ‘great’ for Miami to host a Super Bowl

The next time the NFL’s 32 owners are in one place, they’ll decide on the location of the 2019, 2020 and 2021 Super Bowls.

That means in just two months, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross will learn if his $425 million bet has paid off.

Ross’ Sun Life Stadium is a finalist for all three, competing against Atlanta and Tampa plus New Orleans for the 2019 game and Los Angeles for the games in 2020 and 2021. South Florida hasn’t hosted America’s biggest sporting event since 2010, due largely to the condition of Ross’ 29-year-old facility.

So Ross, using largely private funds, commissioned a nearly half-billion dollar renovation project, which team CEO Tom Garfinkel said Tuesday remains on schedule. The shade canopy should be in place for the start of the coming season.

While league ownership won’t decide host cities until its May meeting, Ross spent part of the last few days reminding his fellow billionaires how great South Florida is in the winter.

“You’re always selling,” Ross said at the annual league meeting in Boca Raton, which ended Wednesday. “I think we’re spending the money on the stadium and for a purpose, to bring Super Bowls to South Florida, as I’ve expressed in the past. And I think our chances are great.”

Ross added: “But I think that the proposal that Tom has been working with the Super Bowl Committee on is great. I think our stadium is really as good for a Super Bowl as any stadium in the country. And I think that we should have the best weather of any of the 32 teams at that time of the year. And Miami is a place where people want to go. So I think it all adds up to putting Miami in the mix for a lot of Super Bowls.”

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 12:38 PM with the headline "Stephen Ross: Chances ‘great’ for Miami to host a Super Bowl."