The Dolphins and University of Miami football team's home field will not only have a new appearance after $500 million in upgrades, but also will feature a new name: Hard Rock Stadium, according to a source with direct knowledge.
An announcement is expected Wednesday.
Hard Rock Stadium will play host to its first event on Sept. 1, a Dolphins-Tennessee Titans preseason game, then play host to the University of Miami's football opener against Florida A&M two days later. The newly renovated stadium will feature a canopy that will cover most seats.
Hard Rock will become the stadium's fourth corporate naming partner since the facility opened as Joe Robbie Stadium in 1987. The others: Pro Player (a former division of Fruit of the Loom), Land Shark (associated with a brewing company) and Sun Life, a Toronto-based financial services company.
The facility was called Sun Life Stadium from 2010 until this past January. The Dolphins were determined to find a new naming rights partner by the start of the regular season.
Hard Rock International, an Orlando-based company founded in 1971, owns and operates restaurants, hotels and casinos in North America (including Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood), as well as the Caribbean and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said last month that several companies expressed interest, but he preferred the Hard Rock name.
