“Today, the Florida Senate spoke loudly, with a huge majority of Senators voting to let Miami-Dade residents have the final say on modernizing Sun Life Stadium. As Miami-Dade residents have learned about the project, which will create over 4,000 jobs and provide a substantial boost to the local economy, our momentum has grown.

“We look forward to working with leaders in the Florida House as they consider this legislation in the coming days.”

“With the Senate Appropriation Committee’s unanimous vote today, the bill that gives Miami-Dade voters the final say on bringing Super Bowls, college championship games and international soccer to our community now moves to the full Senate. The momentum to modernize Sun Life Stadium and create more than 4,000 jobs continues to grow. We look forward to continuing to work with our bill sponsors and the leadership as the bill works its way through the Legislature and to the governor’s desk.”

Reacting to the Florida Senate Rules Committee’s unanimous vote, Miami Dolphins CEO Mike Dee released the following statement:

“Today, we continued to build momentum with the unanimous vote of the Senate Rules Committee, taking the next step towards a vote on the Senate floor. Our efforts will continue as we work through the amendments that have been adopted with the bill sponsors and leadership.”

“Chairman Patronis’ announcement today that the House Economic Affairs Committee will take up the legislation to give Miami-Dade voters the final say on bringing Super Bowls, BCS Championships and international soccer to Miami is welcomed news.

“Now that the Senate Rules Committee is scheduled to consider the bill tomorrow and the House Economic Affairs Committee on Wednesday, it is clear efforts to modernize Sun Life Stadium and create more than 4,000 jobs continue to build momentum.

“We look forward to the committee hearings and continuing the dialogue regarding why this legislation is important to the voters of Miami-Dade, as we work with Mayor Gimenez and the Miami-Dade County Commission to finalize our partnership and schedule the referendum.”

As the Florida Legislature deliberates on a proposed bill that would provide $3 million a year tax rebate to help fund the modernization, Dolphins CEO Mike Dee announced the team has agreed to repay the principle balance derived from the potential rebate.

Watch the announcement below:

Miami Dolphins CEO Mike Dee and South Florida Super Bowl bid committee chairman Rodney Barreto took turns Thursday making major announcements regarding Sun Life Stadium and future Super Bowls.

Barreto spoke first and said the “core activities” for Super Bowl L would take place in downtown Miami, from the mouth of the Miami River north to the Adrienne Arsht Center.

Dee, back from the owners’ meetings in Phoenix, made a significant pledge on behalf of the Dolphins: Any stadium plan voted on by Miami-Dade voters would be contingent on South Florida being awarded a Super Bowl when the owners vote on May 22 in Boston.

On that day, owners will award Super Bowl L to either South Florida or Santa Clara, Calif.; and Super Bowl LI will be awarded to either Houston or the area that loses out on Super Bowl L.

“We believe it’s that important,” Dee said. “Super Bowl L has driven the process and has driven the timeline, and we believe that May 22 we’ll be returning from Boston victorious with Miami’s 11th Super Bowl with us.

“With this guarantee, Miami-Dade leaders and voters can know that by supporting the efforts to modernize Sun Life Stadium, they will directly be supporting the Super Bowl coming back to Miami. When I say guarantee, I’m not guaranteeing anything. I’m not Joe Namath predicting the outcome of a Super Bowl. But we are guaranteeing that the referendum will be predicated upon a successful Super Bowl outcome on May 22.”

Dee said Dolphins owner Stephen Ross worked diligently during the owners’ meetings to push the merits of South Florida getting another Super Bowl.

“I saw Steve Ross work harder perhaps than I’ve ever seen him work before on behalf of the Super Bowl bid committee and this community in meeting with NFL officials, meeting with other owners, promoting Miami as a great destination for the Super Bowl,” Dee said.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suggested Wednesday in Phoenix that stadium renovations could be key to South Florida’s Super Bowl bid.

“I think we’ve made the point several times that the competition for Super Bowls is elevated, in large part because of stadiums,” Goodell said. “Miami is a great, great city for the Super Bowl. We want to be back there, but they’re seeing increasing competition.”

Ross announced plans in January to modernize Sun Life Stadium through the use of a majority of private funds and a percentage of public money that would be generated without raising taxes on Miami-Dade residents. It’s a 22-project plan, which includes adding a canopy over the 25-year-old building, improving the seating and stadium lighting and adding four new video boards in each corner, among other upgrades. The public participation would be funded by a 1-cent increase in the tourist tax in Miami-Dade County and a $3 million per year tax rebate from the state of Florida on goods and services sold at the stadium.

To date, bills filed by Rep. Eduardo Gonzalez and Senator Oscar Braynon have passed three Senate Committees and one House Committee by overwhelming majorities. Once a firm deal is reached between the team and the county it will be brought to the voters in the form of a public referendum.

“While there are many more details to resolve, we continue to do everything in our power to make this a private-public partnership that Miami-Dade County can be proud of, can be supportive of and, most importantly, vote for when we have the referendum in May, a winning partnership that promises to create a lot of economic value and jobs for this community,”

Dee said. “The partnership isn’t only about improving the fan experience for the Dolphins, it’s about benefiting the entire community and not just for Super Bowls but for national championship games and world-renowned soccer as well.”

Barreto’s announcement dealt with Super Bowl L specifically.

In addition to saying Miami would be the focal point of the Super Bowl activities, he said four “major event companies” would be involved. While he wouldn’t divulge their identities, Barreto said they were involved with the Olympics.

Said Barreto: “We have a group of companies that we have married together who’ve never worked together to help us put together an incredible production in downtown Miami, the likes that no one has ever seen before.”

Barreto also made it point that Broward County and all of South Florida would benefit from getting Super Bowl L, not just Miami.

“Broward is still our partner,” Barreto said. “The victory in Miami will be a victory for Broward. It’s real simple. If we’re going to have future Super Bowls here, Broward will certainly be a partner and they’ll benefit, whether they participate in this process or not.”

Barreto certainly seems to like South Florida’s chances of landing Super Bowl L. When Dee was asked what made him more confident after the owners’ meetings, Barreto jumped in with, “We’re believers, baby.”

The proposed modernization would, among other things, bring seats closer to the playing field and add a canopy atop the existing structure. If the plan is approved and renovations are made, Ross said, “it’s really going to be a new stadium.”

Regardless of what the timeline for the implementation of those proposed modifications could be, there will be some technological enhancements made at Sun Life Stadium prior to the start of the 2013 NFL season.

“This year we will be the only team in the NFL that has high density WiFi and we’ve been wired and we’re be ready to go in September,” Ross said. “Your cell phones will work in the stadium and you’ll be able to do a lot of the streaming and multi-tasking that you want to do. It’ll be things like when I had FanVision, which was terrific, but it wasn’t a cell phone, and we’ll be able to offer that as an app this year. Everyone’s talking about fan enhancement and we’re the only team that has that and there are a lot of other areas where we’re on the cutting edge of doing things.”

Hear more from Ross on Sun Life Stadium below:

Time continues to be of the essence for the Miami Dolphins in their plans to modernize Sun Life Stadium and improve their chances of landing the 50th Super Bowl, college championships, and international soccer, which makes today’s victory in the state legislature that much more important.

Dolphins CEO Mike Dee applauded the efforts of the House Finance and Tax Committee and their favorable 12-4 vote in support of a bill that would further advance the ability to modernize Sun Life Stadium. The bill would provide for a $3 million per year tax rebate on goods and services sold at the stadium, which, along with a proposed 1-cent increase in the Miami-Dade county tourist tax, could account for the minority portion not being covered by private sources.

Ross has pledged that private funds will cover the majority of the cost of the twenty-two project plan, which includes adding a canopy over the 25-year-old building, improving the seating and stadium lighting and adding four new video boards in each corner, among other upgrades. With the 31 other National Football League owners set to vote on the sites for Super Bowl 50 and 51 at the spring meetings in Boston on May 22nd, today’s vote gives Ross and the Dolphins a little more momentum.

“It’s very important to have the wind at our back in Tallahassee,” said Dee this afternoon in a press conference held at the stadium. “The time is short. We have 10 weeks until the Super Bowl vote and I think the legislature understands the sense of urgency. That’s why I think you’ve seen this move as quickly as it has. We’re just through one week of session and we’re through two committees on the senate side and through one on the house side.”

“So we hope this process will continue to move at a fast pace and it’s not just us requesting that, it’s Miami-Dade County and they have made it clear that this is a priority for them to move this forward in time to have a referendum in place prior to the Super Bowl bid. So I think that’s the shot clock, if you will, that everybody’s on.”

There have been a lot of different polls taken of potential voters to gauge how they feel about the issue and, with talks still ongoing between the dolphins and the county, more information will be disseminated soon. Dee remains confident that as the facts of the bill crystallize and the benefits to the community become more apparent, that public referendum will fall in line.

If there is one thing Dee is fully aware of it’s how knowledgeable the voter base down here is when it comes to anything involving the use of public money. He spoke in Tallahassee and helped address the nuances of the financial plan, but he knows how important it is to get everything in front of the voter.

“Voters are smart and one thing I can tell you is this is not a voting population based upon my exchange in the weeks since we announced the referendum that lack opinions, lacks ideas or lacks perspective,” Dee said. “So I think it’s going to be an interesting public debate and one that is going to make it especially important for us because the standard’s going to be set high to go out and sell this deal to the public and make sure that the facts are known.

“What we do know is when the facts are on the table the facts prevail. And even those who walk into the discussion dissenting or having a negative opinion of a prior deal or a negative opinion about private-public partnerships, once they engage and understand the facts, we don’t bat a thousand but we bat better than most Major League hitters in terms of converting people to thinking it’s a good idea.”