You get what you plan for: the multi-use Miami Hard Rock Stadium versus typical football stadiums | Washington Commanders

Upper Northwest DC resident Binta Robinson has a letter to the editor of the Washington Post, "How to fix D.C.’s crumbling sports infrastructure," making the point that even with renovations ("Rock Creek Tennis Center set for repairs, but neighbors have questions") the Rock Creek Park tennis courts aren't a great place for the Mubadala Citi DC Open, a stop on the professional tennis circuit as they are embedded in a neighborhood with limited parking and transit options and owned by the National Park Service, which isn't positioned well to run such an event in the facility, even though there is a "public-private partnership" which manages the facility.

She suggests the forthcoming Commanders football stadium ("Mendelson reaches deal with Commanders on RFK site amid growing pressure") as a better alternative, based on how the Miami Open tennis tournament plays at the Hard Rock Stadium ("How The Miami Open Is Repositioning Itself At Hard Rock Stadium And Increasing Ticket Sales," Forbes).

I am embarrassed to write that I didn't know that Hard Rock Stadium is a huge exception in football stadiums ("Framework of characteristics that support successful community development in association with the development of professional sports facilities," ) in that they deliberately plan to have multiple events, partly by additional tenants, so that they are likely to have 4x as many events as a typical stadium, making public financing at least tolerable ("Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium: A Modern-Day Multi-Purpose Venue," Forbes).

The home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and University of Miami Hurricanes football team, Hard Rock Stadium has turned into an example of using both the stadium and the site for mega-events far beyond just one sport. Even after the stadium adds a marquee football event to its roster, hosting the Orange Bowl Jan. 9, one of the College Football Playoff’s semifinals, the 265-acre site will transform as the regular home to one of the largest tennis tournaments on the sport’s calendar, hosting the Miami Open each spring since 2019, and one of the newest stops on the worldwide F1 circuit, hosting the Miami Grand Prix since 2022.

That’s not all. Hard Rock Stadium will also host FIFA World Cup games in 2026, eight FIFA Club World Cup matches in 2025, the College Football Playoffs national championship game in January 2026 and plenty of additional concerts, such as Shakira, Post Malone and Cold Play.

... “I think we are fortunate to have an owner who had a vision to make this a global entertainment destination,” Boyan says. The site has hosted the Dolphins for over three decades and also welcomed MLB for 19 years. The venue once resembled a more traditional multi-purpose stadium. That all changed when the baseball team moved out and a 2015 major overhaul set the stage to host new events to bring in a diverse mix of fans.

... The 17 practice courts and nine competition courts outside the stadium get resurfaced every year. The stadium court, inside Hard Rock Stadium, is built on the football field with a 6,000-seat temporary structure with suites, a press box and luxury seating all pushed against the south sideline of the stadium to create a 14,000-seat stadium within a stadium. It takes a couple of months to build the structure ahead of the roughly two-week event.

This 23-acre tennis complex is situated around Hard Rock Stadium, featuring 18 practice courts, 10 tournament courts, a 5,000-seat grandstand court, and a 14,000-seat stadium court inside the stadium structure. The tennis campus seamlessly connects to the existing stadium via a centralized plaza and public squares

At the same time, outside bleachers are going up around the courts and sponsor activation areas, food and beverage spaces, hospitality and plenty of décor takes shape. “Our group does a good job of trying to evolve and improve every year,” Boyan says, “and the design of what we do we try to take up a level every year.”

While each stadium and each market come unique, Boyan says the international flavor of Miami with the site and climate allows the venue to really embrace such a range of events on its calendar. “We have found content we think is great for south Florida,” he says. “Each city needs to look at what their assets are and what makes sense for them.”

Formula 1 racing in Hard Rock Stadium. 

That’s how stadiums can build a modern-day multi-purpose event space. “Multi-purpose facilities are not different types of content in the seating bowl,” Boyan says, “but what else can you do to generate content on the property? Each stadium is a little bit different.” For its part, Hard Rock Stadium has created an internationally flavored blueprint.

My original blog entry "Framework of characteristics that support successful community development in association with the development of professional sports facilities" (2021) is a continuation of a thread that dates to the mid-2010s, and in particularly was spurred by a minor league ballpark area planning initiative in Salt Lake, which made the point that when the stadium was built in the early 1990s claims for revitalization were made, but nothing happened.  But there was a reason, the stadium wasn't built with a purposive area development plan.  Any benefits would be "trickle down" if at all as a result.

In the piece, football stadiums are criticized for having few events, which means even more minimal contribution to the city and regional economy.  

RFK campus

You could take that for granted, or as the Miami Dolphins NFL team shows us, you could require a "programming plan" as part of the original contract, in return for financial contributions, and as part of stadium planning and zoning more generally.  Although maybe the Miami location is better for its appeal to South America, and the related ability to market to a greater audience.  Basically, programming plans for football stadiums will vary considerably, depending on potential opportunities. 

Note that the concept of a broader programming action plan dovetails nicely with the statement expressed by former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk that arenas can be thought of more broadly as performing arts centers ("Good quote on arenas and stadiums as "performing arts centers" attractions for cities" [2024]).

And that's the problem with the Commanders stadium proposal for DC.  There's no time for planning.   It's a bum's rush.  I haven't written about it but meant to do so.  

First, I am against public financing for such ventures, which are purely profiting for the team owner, with only scraps for the local jurisdictions.  Second, despite opposition, in most cases public financing is approved, unless local laws require a vote of citizens for final approval.  Third, that's why I have the "Framework" entry, to help communities make the best of a bad situation.  

Especially because fourth, at least in DC, you can augur development in the RFK stadium site without a football team ("Yes, modify and extend the RFK Campus lease; No, don't do it for the Washington Redskins football team" [2018], "Capital One Arena, Wizards and Capitals may move to Alexandria | Why not the RFK campus?" [2023], "I wonder if Mayor Fenty hadn't dissolved the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative in 2007, merging it into another city agency, if development would have happened faster?" [2024]).

But the Commanders thing is even worse than that because the city is under an artificially strict deadline for an agreement, which means THERE'S NO TIME FOR PLANNING of any sort, at least to get items into the preliminary agreement.

An example is how most of the Mayor's arguments in favor of a stadium are incomplete and wouldn't stand up to an impartial review.

DC Mayor Bowser claims that only a football stadium can bring about new development to that site, a point about which most people disagree ("Arguments in defense of a stadium at RFK fall short of a first down," and "Alternative anchors for RFK await." GGW, and my entries).

Binta Robinson's idea of co-location of professional tennis at the Commanders site is brilliant and a great way to improve the benefits to the city, as well as improvements in tennis facilities, and the ability to host a top-notch tennis tournament, as opposed to a half-assed program at the Rock Creek Tennis Center.

No time for negotiation.  No time to bring the parties together.  Even though the party behind the is Mark Ein, a minority investor in the football team.

Another item that should be negotiated for but there is no time, is Nick Stementelli's point, at Greater Greater Washington ("Whether or not it gets a stadium, RFK needs a second Metro station"), that another Metrorail station could be added to the site at the northeast, the station that was originally proposed for the system at Oklahoma Avenue.  (I've suggested that too, in various posts about "east of the river" revitalization.) 

Another problem with professional sports teams is that communities have no input into the ownership.  They aren't necessarily good partners ("Public entities ought to be more careful of whom they do business with" [2016]).

In that vein, Josh Harris, the Commander's managing partner, screwed over Philadelphia in negotiations of a possible relocation of the 76ers basketball team ("Fool me once, fool me twice: Mayor Bowser has it all wrong about the Washington Commanders football team," 2025).  DC needs to strongly negotiate upfront, or it won't get these "nice additions" of ancillary development unless the team agrees.  

For example, the Washington Nationals don't pay extra for Metrorail service past system closure.  It should have been a requirement as part of the contract, as part of transportation demand management planning for the site.

DC should not make the same mistake twice.