A More Varied Phish Tank: Dolphins About To Rename Stadium

A stadium that has had 4 names in its scant 22 years of existance is preparing for number 5; Landshark Stadium.If a parent renamed their child as often as the Dolphins have renamed their stadium, that child would go through therapy as an adult.  The stadium opened as Joe Robbie Stadium in 1987.  In 1996, Wayne Huizenga sold the naming rights to Fruit of the Loom and the stadium was renamed Pro Player Stadium.  A few years later, FotL dissolved Pro Player.  The stadium retained the name even with the company being defunct until 2005.  Then the Dolphins finally changed the name, but unable to find a new buyer they just went with their own name, Dolphins Stadium.  A year later, they wanted to focus less on the football team and more on the overall experience.  In perhaps the most "dramatic" name change, they dropped the S and made its current name, Dolphin Stadium.Now, the Dolphins are taking a page from the Margaritaville book of stadium naming.  A news conference, complete with Jimmy Buffett appearance and concert is scheduled for Friday.  It's expected to be announced that Dolphin Stadium will be re-named Landshark Stadium in a short-term naming rights deal.  Landshark is a beer made by Busch and served at his Margaritaville restaurants, and Margaritaville may become a marketing theme around the stadium.  Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and Buffett have been discussing a business deal, but neither would comment.  "You're going to find out real soon," Buffett told reporters at a Miami Heat playoff game Monday.  "Real soon.  It's going to be great."The deal is not expected to be long-term, and may only last one season.  Some speculate that with the difficulty of finding a long-term naming rights buyer, the Dolphins may use this short-term deal to get naming rights revenue and to allow further recovery in the economy.  Then next season, if things have improved, they can sell the naming rights at a higher price for a long-term deal.I know some Dolphans will never think of it as anything besides Joe Robbie.  And others were really happy when it seemed the Dolphins were going against the big corporate sponsorships with the Dolphins/Dolphin names.  But the Dolphins are just like any other NFL...any other SPORTS...team, looking to pad the bottom line by selling what really amounts to an intangible asset (the name of the stadium) and some ad space.  Their noble renaming was due to Pro Player no longer being a viable company.  What I look forward to is seeing how this affects the rumored areas around the stadium.  If they can ever get them BUILT, Margaritaville is a great theme, attached to a great celeb, that really fits the area and will be great marketing for the team.I'll update on Friday to make it official, since for all we know it might just be a Margaritaville marketing deal that doesn't include naming rights.  Hey, why not just name it Margaritaville Stadium?  That would be AWESOME!