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According to the Miami Herald, a referendum for public renovations to the Miami Dolphins’ Sun Life Stadium was rejected by the Florida state legislature in Tallahassee. Either Miami or San Francisco will be competing against Houston for the right to host Super Bowl LI in 2017.
NFL owners will vote on the sites of Super Bowl L and LI at their meetings in Boston from May 20-22. San Francisco and Miami are competing to host Super Bowl L. Houston will face the loser in the voting for Super Bowl LI.
The Dolphins were seeking up to $289 million in public funding for renovations to Sun Life Stadium, which was built in 1987. San Francisco will open $1.2 billion Santa Clara Stadium in 2014. The Texans’ Reliant Stadium was built in 2002.
No politics, so I won't get into the merits or negatives of the voting public refusing to foot the bill for stadium upgrades. I will, however, note that from the NFL's perspective, a non-refurbished stadium built in 1987 would seem to be less desirable than a brand new stadium in San Francisco or Reliant Stadium. San Francisco's a shoo-in to host a Super Bowl, and I'd guess they'll get it in 2016. Miami's setback would appear to make Houston the front-runner for the 2017 affair.