Miami Marine Stadium

Prints: RalphVentura.com/mms The Miami Marine Stadium is a marine stadium on Virginia Key, Miami, Florida, United States. The facility, built and completed in 1963 on land donated to the City of Miami from the Matheson family, is the first stadium purpose-built for powerboat racing in the United States.The 6,566 seat stadium was built in 1963 on land donated for water sports, and designed by architect Hilario Candela, then-a 28-year-old recent immigrant from Cuba. It was dedicated as the Ralph Munroe Marine Stadium opened, completed at a cost of around $2 million ($15.5 million, adjusted for current inflation). From its opening for nearly 30 years, the stadium was used for its intended water sports as well as concerts, sporting events such as boxing, which began in 1972. In the wake of Hurricane Andrew, it was declared an unsafe building under Miami-Dade County building code on September 18, 1992. In 2004, $3,000,000 was pledged in a municipal bonds by county residents for the restoration and renovation of the facilities.