2013 Miami Dolphins Top 10 Stories

Number 6:  Mike Dee Steps Down After Failure To Gain Funding For Stadium Project

It was not all roses for Miami over the summer when they tried and ultimately failed to gain 200 million dollars or more in public money for new renovations to their stadium which would include closer seats to the field and a canopy overhead.  At the center of the war or words with a local former millionaire was President and CEO Mike Dee.  Dee engaged in a verbal spat with Miami auto-magnate Norman Braman.  The back and forth got ugly at times as Dee took his stance to the public with attacks on Braman who opposed the public spending.  The dust never seemed to settle but Dee’s continued push against Braman made the Dolphins look like a millionaire grubbing team who was trying to bilk the city of more money.  In the end it didn’t matter.

Faced with an assurance that the special legislation would at least be heard on the States floor in Tallahasee the bill failed to hit the floor for a vote.  The vote would have given the city of Miami a special vote where it would have then been decided by Miamians.  Instead the bill wasn’t never voted on.  Stephen Ross erupted after spending 100 million dollars to get the vote ready and turned on the states Speaker of the House saying he was buying votes for a campaign for Governor…and then let it be known he would do all he could to stop such political gain.

The end result was simple.  The Dolphins lost out on that May’s vote for the next two awarded Super Bowls including the 50th Super Bowl and the Super Bowl that coincided with Miami’s 50th NFL season.  Shortly after the failure to gain a Super Bowl, Mike Dee stepped down taking the same position with the MLB’s San Diego Chargers.  He was replaced a few weeks later by Tom Garfinkle who ironically had held the same position with the Padre’s the year before.