A framework for a deal to give funding from Miami-Dade County to the Miami Dolphins for renovations to Sun Life Stadium is in place, Mayor Carlos Gimenez said Monday.
A spokesman for Gimenez said the deal was close but not finalized but was expected to be finalized later Monday.
Gimenez, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and team CEO Mike Dee met at the stadium Sunday night to settle the general terms of the agreement, Gimenez told the Miami Herald.
“I think we have a framework for an agreement," Gimenez told the Herald. "There’s still one or two items to be resolved."
Dolphins WIll Pay Back State Money for Sun Life Renovations
Gimenez said he wants to give a written package outlining the deal to county commissioners so a special meeting can be held Wednesday. Commissioners would have to agree to hold a May 14 referendum to allow Miami-Dade voters to vote on the plan. Gimenez said the team would pay for the election.
Gimenez wouldn't give specifics of the deal.
Ross wants to use state and local dollars to help pay for $400 million worth of renovations to the stadium. Bills now moving through the Legislature call for the state to pay $3 million a year for the next 30 years in the form of sales tax rebates. The Dolphins have agreed to pay back $47 million.
Dolphins Make Taxpayers Promise on Super Bowl Effort
The Dolphins have also pledged to repay $120 million that the team would get from an increase in hotel bed taxes in Miami-Dade County. However, the team will only repay funds used for stadium construction, and will not defray interest and financing costs incurred by the county. The Dolphins pledged to pay back the local government money by 2043, but the team's payments will not be indexed to inflation.
Additionally, the team has offered to scrap the plan altogether if it is not awarded Super Bowl L or LI by the NFL later this spring, and will pay penalties if the renovated stadium does not attract a certain number of Super Bowls, BCS games, international soccer matches and other similar events over the next 30 years.
The team will also sign a 30-year non-relocation agreement, and all these measures would remain in place even if ownership of the team changes.
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Photo Credit: Miami Dolphins