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Miami's Marine Staudium holds a special place in the heart of Ed Cooper and his Go3 Racing Team.
 In 1987, Ed Cooper Sr. and Jr. brought their unsponsored U-15 to race on Biscayne Bay. That race was the beginning of a Ed Cooper prepared Unlimited hydroplane racing full time with the world's fastest hydros.
The Unlimiteds first came to Miami in 1971. They raced in south Florida for 22 years, usually kicking off the season for the fleet. The last race was held in 1993, after the stadium was damaged by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Ever since this hydroplane landmark has set in disrepair and neglected. A group called Friends of MIami Marine Stadium have formed to see what it would take to resurrect the grand old place. Their hope is to hold events there once again---concerts, water acts and maybe even Unlimited hydroplane racing too!
Friends of Marine Stadium and the World Monuments Fund are pleased to release the results of the engineering study which has analyzed the structural condition of the concrete in the Stadium. In a nutshell, we have good news-with a caveat.
While a study by City of Miami in the summer of 2008 estimated the costs of concrete restoration to be as high as $15 million, it was based on an examination of previous documents and a visual inspection. Our study, done by the highly respected engineering firm of Simpson Gumpertz and Heger (SGH), estimated the costs of the concrete work to be anywhere from $5.5 million to $8.5 million, depending upon how much work is done to extend the life of the facility. The SGH study was in-depth, utilizing core sampling and x-ray techniques to evaluate the structure. 
SGH is especially well qualified to examine the Marine Stadium since they had done a study of the Stadium after Hurricane Andrew in 1993. In fact, Michael Brainerd, who was an engineer for SGH in 1993, was the Senior Project Engineer for this study. Structural Preservation Systems (SPS) provided the cost estimating for the City's study in 2008 as well as for our study.
The "qualifier" in this is that SGH has recommended that we examine the condition of the piles below the ground and under the seabed. We do not know their condition-and it is important for us to document this to insure a more accurate cost estimate. Therefore, we will have to fund a second study. Another caveat- the cost estimate provided by SGH does not include other necessary improvements such as: new seats, railings, bathrooms, ADA accessibility requirements.
The results of this study did not surprise Jack Meyer, the original engineer of the Stadium with Dignum Associates. Jack has been involved in the effort to save the Stadium since we started in winter 2008. He has provided us a complete set of engineering plans-which has been vital to our effort. Here's what Jack has said: "When we built the Stadium in 1964, it was built to the highest standards. The workmen took great pride in this project and it was very well engineered. When we poured the first concrete shell on the roof, I estimated that the roof would dip 18 inches. It didn't. It dipped six inches. That building is not going to fall down."
**Text provided by February 2010 Friends of Miami Marine Stadium Newsletter
For more information about Marine Stadium and how you can help in the effort to bring the stadium back to it's glory days, visit the Miami Marine Stadium website.
Read Steve Garey's story, "The Cooper's Memorable First Race in Miami", and see video of that race as well. |
