Dolphins Insist Bill Victory If Election Continued, Pollster Disagrees
MIAMI (CBS4) - From the start, the Miami Dolphins knew they were up against a lot but optimism always followed.
In the aftermath of the failed effort to use public funds for a stadium overhaul, reality is setting in. Of the 60,000 plus votes cast before the election was called off, 57% of Miami-Dade voted against the Dolphins.
Wednesday, CBS4's David Sutta obtained a list of those who voted. Dialing randomly it wasn't hard to find the reason the Dolphins lost.
"If they want to raise the hotel tax, I don't care about that. What I don't want is for that money to go to rich ball players. I would rather see our city and our attractions be repaired," Joan Block said.
Block went on to say she believed the money would be better spent on something that brings tourist year round, not every few years.
Michael Drennen felt similar.
"This is a rich person's problem." he said. "Well he's a billionaire. What's he worth? $4.2 billion?" he asked.
Actually it's $4.4 billion.
"Oh cool for him." Drennen responded.
We found a handful of those who voted for the stadium. They were all senior citizens. They all really had no real reason for voting for the renovations. They just did.
And what about the whole notion about Super Bowls no longer coming here because of the decaying stadium?
"Oh please. I get cold looking north. People love coming to Miami. Forget that routine," Drennen said.
Miami first, the political action committee charged with promoting the stadium effort, maintains the election would have gone their way if they had their final two weeks.
Their campaign planned to target Hispanics heavily. A commercial featuring Cristiano Ronaldo was set to run. In the ad the soccer sensation tells viewers to vote for the renovation so he can "come back every year to Miami to play".
So could the Fins have made a fourth quarter comeback?
"Looking at these numbers it seems clear to me that the Dolphins never really had a chance. They learned an expensive lesson in the process," Veteran pollster Fernand Amandi said.
Amandi of Bendixon-Amandi told us the partial election results show the Dolphins, even with Ronaldo, couldn't have statistically recovered.
"It was almost impossible, if not outright impossible, for the Dolphins to have turned the tide in favor in time for the result they were looking for," Amandi said.
Now that the Florida House Speaker has spoken and Miami-Dade voters have spoken, sort of, all that's left is NFL Owners. They will decide Super Bowl 50 and 51. By this time next week, we will know where they stand.
