Today is a special day for us… On this day in 2003, the Miami-Dade Sports Commission was created by the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners as a public-private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and opened for business a year later.
As the Executive Director for the Miami-Dade Sports Commission, I am proud of the amazing 8 years we have enjoyed to date. Since beginning full operation in 2004, we have secured more than 300,000 room nights, $375 million in economic impact, hosted nearly 100 events, and captured a lifetime of memories. We have seen past, current and future Olympians and World Champions compete in Boxing, Fencing, Judo and Volleyball, just to name a few, including the Gold and Silver medal winning Women’s Olympic Volleyball team go head-to-head at the Bank United Center. We saw several Miami and South Florida schools earn state championships at Dolphin Stadium and we watched Tim Tebow lead his high school team to a state title when we hosted the 2005 & 2006 FHSAA Football Finals. We have been a host of March Madness and the Sunshine State Games. We have welcomed the world with a dozen or more international events. It has been a great ride, and we are just getting started.
Our motto is “Connecting our Community through Sports”, and we think sports every day with a “Miami” state of mind. As we look back on our success, I would like to thank everyone who has made it possible…Miami-Dade County, our Board of Directors led by our Chairman, Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz, the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, all of our municipal partners, and all of our sports, tourism and community partners, our sponsors, our members, and the sports fans of Miami.
We believe there is always room to improve to make our community better through sports. For that reason, we are opening this channel of communication to engage with you “sport people”. Welcome to Sports under the Sun.
