Miami voters approved the referendum on Tuesday that authorizes the city to partner with a private company to restore the Miami Marine Stadium, the iconic venue in Virginia Key that has been abandoned for over three decades.
The unofficial results showed an approval rating of approximately 68.70% in favor and 31.30% against, a decisive victory for those who have been fighting for years to preserve this architectural monument designed by a Cuban exile.
The measure, identified as Item 172, allows the city of Miami to sign a management contract of up to 40 years with Global Spectrum L.P., a subsidiary of Oak View Group, to manage the stadium and the adjacent area known as "Flex Park."
Under the approved agreement, the city would receive 93% of the gross profits from events and 85% of the sponsorship revenues.
The total cost of the restoration is estimated to be between 65 and 85 million dollars.
The mark of a Cuban in the history of Miami
Behind that structure lies the story of Hilario Candela, an architect born in Havana in 1934 who fled Cuba in 1960. He was 27 years old when he conceived a work that defied all constructive logic: a cantilevered concrete roof of 99 meters long without a single intermediate column - the longest in the world at that time - oriented towards Biscayne Bay. The stadium opened in December 1963 with a capacity for 6,500 people and became the only one in the country dedicated to high-power boat racing.
The venue has accumulated decades of cultural history: the film Clambake, starring Elvis Presley, was shot there in 1967, and it hosted performances by Gloria Estefan, Ray Charles, Whitney Houston, and the Beach Boys. In 1972, President Richard Nixon and Sammy Davis Jr. shared the stage at a campaign rally.
It also hosted celebrations in honor of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, venerated by the Cuban-American community.
Hurricane Andrew in 1992 caused its closure, although subsequent engineering studies confirmed that the structure did not suffer any actual damage. Since then, it has remained fenced off and covered in graffiti, despite being listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States in 2018.
Hilario Candela passed away in January 2022 in Coral Gables at the age of 87, without seeing his work restored, although he defended its recovery until the end of his life.
The Miami commissioner Damian Pardo, who led the process before the Commission, has emphasized the symbolic weight of the site: "It encapsulated an incredibly unique stage of Miami with an extraordinary history that connects with all the city's inhabitants. It is a place that connects with Miami in a very deep and personal way."
A long battle for reopening
The previous attempts at restoration have been numerous and unsuccessful. In 2018, a $42 million plan was announced that never materialized.
In September 2025, a new attempt failed when the then-CEO of Oak View Group, Tim Leiweke, was indicted for alleged bid rigging in Texas. OVG paid $15 million in penalties, and Leiweke was pardoned by President Trump in December 2025, allowing the process to resume.
Even the singer Gloria Estefan, who performed there in the 80s with the Miami Sound Machine, led a campaign in 2013 to reclaim the venue.
In July of this year, Emi Guerra, co-founder of Breakwater Hospitality Group and associated with the selected consortium, compared the site's potential to Denver's Red Rocks Amphitheatre and emphasized that the city would retain full ownership of the stadium and the land.
For his part, Donald Worth, co-founder of Restore Miami Marine Stadium, who launched the campaign to save the venue in 2008 when municipal officials announced plans to demolish it, expressed: "The architecture gives it that sense of wonder; the history gives it soul. It is a special, magical place, and many people in Miami have had unforgettable experiences there."
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