SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. – One of the biggest boosters for the University of Miami Hurricanes football team has revealed his stadium dreams.
John H. Ruiz wants to build a 60,000 seat stadium for the Canes at Tropical Park off Bird Road in Southwest Miami-Dade.
Recommended Videos
The stadium would have a retractable roof, air conditioning and luxury suites.
Ruiz is working with HKS Architecture, which designed AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas where the Dallas Cowboys play.
HKS also designed SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, which is the home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.
SoFi Stadium hosted Super Bowl LVI in February. The proposed stadium at Tropical Park would have a floating scoreboard similar to the one at SoFi.
When asked about the road to making the stadium a reality, Ruiz said the project would be funded privately with no tax dollars.
“The process would be very similar to Freedom Park which was just approved by the voters. If you follow their path, we would likely mirror a similar process,” said Ruiz.
In this case, the deal for the land would need to be done with Miami-Dade County, and not the City of Miami.
Ruiz believes the Tropical Park site is ideal, because it about three miles from the UM campus in Coral Gables.
Ruiz said these are just the first renderings for the stadium so that people can see the overall concept.
He promised that many more details are forthcoming, but hopes to get the stadium built by 2025.
In 2008, the Hurricanes signed a 25-year contract to play their home games at Hard Rock Stadium, per the Miami Herald. That deal ends in 2033.