Miami Marine Stadium Update

With the new year on its way, it is great to see the efforts to save the Miami Marine Studium continue.
Consider joining the friends of Marine Stadium and support our effort.

Village Green Man




Latest news:

Results of Engineering Study of Miami Marine Stadium
Friends of Marine Stadium and the World Monuments Fund are pleased to release the results of the engineering study which has analyzed the structural condition of the concrete in the Stadium. In a nutshell, we have good news-with a caveat.

While a study by City of Miami in the summer of 2008 estimated the costs of concrete restoration to be as high as $15 million, it was based on an examination of previous documents and a visual inspection. Our study, done by the highly respected engineering firm of Simpson Gumpertz and Heger (SGH), estimated the costs of the concrete work to be anywhere from $5.5 million to $8.5 million, depending upon how much work is done to extend the life of the facility. The SGH study was in-depth, utilizing core sampling and x-ray techniques to evaluate the structure.

SGH is especially well qualified to examine the Marine Stadium since they had done a study of the Stadium after Hurricane Andrew in 1993. In fact, Michael Brainerd, who was an engineer for SGH in 1993, was the Senior Project Engineer for this study. Structural Preservation Systems (SPS) provided the cost estimating for the City's study in 2008 as well as for our study.

The "qualifier" in this is that SGH has recommended that we examine the condition of the piles below the ground and under the seabed. We do not know their condition-and it is important for us to document this to insure a more accurate cost estimate. Therefore, we will have to fund a second study. Another caveat- the cost estimate provided by SGH does not include other necessary improvements such as: new seats, railings, bathrooms, ADA accessibility requirements.

The results of this study did not surprise Jack Meyer, the original engineer of the Stadium with Dignum Associates. Jack has been involved in the effort to save the Stadium since we started in winter 2008. He has provided us a complete set of engineering plans-which has been vital to our effort. Here's what Jack has said: "When we built the Stadium in 1964, it was built to the highest standards. The workmen took great pride in this project and it was very well engineered. When we poured the first concrete shell on the roof, I estimated that the roof would dip 18 inches. It didn't. It dipped six inches. That building is not going to fall down."

You can read the engineering study by going to our website, www.marinestadium.org and going to the section "City Reports". it is the first link in this section.


What Did You Experience At the Marine Stadium?
The Marine Stadium has a colorful and storied history. So many memorable events took place here during its 28 year run from 1964-1992: boat races, Easter Sunrise services, concerts of all types, sculling, TV shows, political rallies, boxing, and much, much more (to the left is Sammy Davis Jr. hugging Richard Nixon at a very famous campaign rally in 1972 ). We are hard at work trying to document these events. Click here to see the list we have compiled so far. We know the list in- complete, so email us with who or what you saw that is not included!

Better yet, please participate in our project to document great memories of the Marine Stadium. As you know, Girl Scout Hannah Imberman is compiling these memories for a book called IF SEATS COULD TALK. Just jot down your best, most personal memory of the Marine Stadium-and email it to Hannah at ifseatscouldtalk@gmail.com A couple of paragraphs is fine. We have over 70 stories so far!

A Busy Time For us

2010 is off to a stellar start. Students from three classes at the University of Miami-a Town Planning class, an MBA Finance Class, and an Architecture and Land Use Planning Class-will be collaborating to develop and test some alternatives for the Marine Stadium site and Basin area. We hope this will provide useful information as the City continues work on the Virginia Key Master Plan.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation held a Board meeting in Miami in January, with the Trustees and staff from the Regional Offices participating. We took them on a boat tour of the Basin and made a presentation about the Marine Stadium. We appreciate both the support and involvement of this important organization.

The Marine Stadium was featured in season premier of Burn Notice, the #1 rated show on Cable Television, on January 21. We noted a significant spike in website traffic after the show.

Since the beginning of January, we have made presentations to the following groups:

Downtown Miami Partnership
Coral Reef Yacht Club
South Florida Triathletes
Latin American Business Association
City of Miami Sports and Exhibition Authority

No matter where we go, the Marine Stadium is always well received. If there is a group or organization that you think would be interested in hearing a presentation about the Marine Stadium, please let us know!

Jorge Hernandez
Becky Roper Matkov
Don Worth

Friends of Marine Stadium
www.marinestadium.org