Miami to decide fate of stunning stadium where speedboats raced and Jimmy Buffett played

MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Marine Stadium, considered a masterpiece of midcentury Brutalist architecture with its massive cantilevered roof and a stunning view of the city, opened in 1963 as the nation’s only race venue for powerboats, a major symbol of South Florida.

The historic gem designed by a Cuban refugee was the backdrop of Elvis Presley’s 1967 film “Clambake” and a beloved venue of Gloria Estefan and the late Jimmy Buffett, who performed on a movable, floating stage.

But since closing in 1992 after suffering serious damage during Hurricane Andrew, the 6,500-seat venue has fallen into disarray and today is fenced off and covered in graffiti despite being listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

On Tuesday, voters will decide whether to allow the city to partner with a private company to return the unique stadium situated on Virginia Key across the water from downtown Miami to its former glory.

President Richard Nixon and Sammy Davis Jr. appeared together at the stadium during a 1972 campaign rally to support Nixon's reelection bid. And residents would gather for Easter sunrise services, as well as celebrate Our Lady of Charity, a representation of the Virgin Mary honored by many Cubans and Cuban Americans.

“It encapsulated a time period in Miami that’s incredibly unique with an incredible story that touches all Miamians,” Miami Commissioner Damian Pardo said. “So this is really a place that connects with Miami at a very deep and personal level.”

Hilario Candela was in his late 20s and a recent refugee from the Cuban Revolution when he designed the structure. He spent decades designing buildings around Miami and led community efforts to restore the marine stadium until his death in 2022.

When it was added to the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places in 2018, then-Secretary of State Ken Detzner called the stadium “one of the state of Florida’s most unique architectural and historic resources,” and “an ambitious example of mid-century Modernist architecture” that represented the “multi-cultural influences evolving in the city of Miami during the 1960s.”

The year before his 2023 passing, Buffett wrote a letter to Miami officials, urging them to save the “little cathedral of musical fun.” The Mayor of Margaritaville described a 1985 concert at the marine stadium that ended with him jumping off the floating stage into the surrounding water, joining cheering swimmers and boaters.

“Those were the ‘Miami Vice’ days, and Don Johnson introduced us,” Buffett wrote of the actor in the popular 1980s television crime drama. “WITCO Desperadoes from Trinidad opened the show, and the Coral Reefer Band finished the night with what I think was one of the most fun shows, for band and fans, that I have ever done.”

Buffett's daughter, Savannah, continues to work with Restore Miami Marine Stadium. The group's co-founder, Donald Worth, began a mission to save the stadium in 2008, shortly after city officials at the time announced plans to tear it down.

“The architecture gives it the wow, the history gives it its soul,” Worth said. “It’s just a special, magical place, and so many people in Miami have had such memorable experiences there.”

Breakwater Hospitality Group co-founder Emi Guerra, who's working with the company selected to partner with the city, said the stadium’s view of the city skyline and its location right off Biscayne Bay could make it an entertainment destination that rivals Denver’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre, an open-air venue built into the side of a mountain.

“There’s just something here that can’t be duplicated, and that’s the view,” Guerra said of the marine stadium.

Guerra said he can understand the cynicism felt by some voters, but he points out that this isn’t a developer land grab to build more condos. The city of Miami will retain complete ownership of the stadium and surrounding area, and the management company will be stewards of the city’s vision, Guerra said.

“When it’s something that’s historic, you have two options: restore it or let it rot,” Guerra said.

Ernesto Cuesta, head of the Brickell Homeowners Association, sees another option.

He said the group supports the preservation of a historical landmark, but members are worried about how noise and traffic from a large-scale event space will affect residents across the bay and nearby wildlife. He said he’d prefer a park with more green spaces.

Despite sitting unused for more than three decades, multiple studies have shown that the stadium remains structurally safe.

Project architect Richard Heisenbottle, who has previously worked to restore other Miami landmarks, said he hopes reviving the marine stadium will honor its original architect.

He said renovations will have to include modern amenities and accessibility requirements, but the galvanized steel rebar used to reinforce the concrete during its original construction has protected the stadium from serious deterioration. Completed construction documents for the restorations have already been permitted by the city of Miami, he said.

Miami Commissioner Pardo said a significant hurdle to reopening the stadium previously has been the city government simply not having the capacity to properly run a major event space.

The referendum going before Miami voters on Tuesday would allow the city to enter into a management agreement.

The private company would develop the stadium’s large parking area into a flex park that includes public recreational facilities and a special events space. The city would collect revenue from events to fund the stadium repairs and upgrades, while paying the company a management fee. The total cost of the project hasn’t been determined, but Pardo insisted it will not be borne by taxpayers at all.

“It’s the right time to finally do this,” Pardo said.

The Miami Marine Stadium is seen from an aerial view Tuesday Aug. 11, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin)

The Miami Marine Stadium's seats are shaded by a concrete cantilevered roof Tuesday Aug. 11, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin)

The Miami Marine Stadium, facing Biscayne Bay with the skyline in the background, is seen from an aerial view Tuesday Aug. 11, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin)

Breakwater Hospitality Group co-founder Emi Guerra, left, and Miami Commissioner Damian Pardo walk through the Miami Marine Stadium on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/David Fischer)

A concrete roof cantilevers over the Miami Marine Stadium on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/David Fischer)

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — Van Mathias made a huge splash in his U.S. senior national team debut this week at the Pan Pacific Championships, the biggest international swim meet of the year for the Americans.

He won three golds and two silvers in five events, capped by swimming the breaststroke leg on the winning 4 x 100-meter medley relay Saturday night in the outdoor pool some 40 miles from the site of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Quite a stunner from a guy whose day job is director of operations for Indiana University's swimming and diving program. Mathias, who turns 26 later this month, swam five years for the Hoosiers. He then hung up his suit and goggles and went home to Beaverton, Oregon.

He worked various jobs, mostly stayed out of the water, and took up weightlifting with his mother and uncle, both former competitive lifters.

Then he got a call from IU coach Ray Looze, who was looking for an operations director. Mathias got the gig and moved back to Bloomington, where he oversees team travel, recruiting visits and all the little things that keep a Division I program running.

“Even just last week I was in the office pushing papers," he said. “Got a busy fall coming up for IU athletics. I haven't cracked my laptop in a couple days, so probably falling behind.”

Maybe on land. Not so in the water.

Mathias swam the breaststroke leg on the Americans' victorious 4 x 100 mixed medley relay that set a world record. He won the 100 breast in a championship-record time. He earned silver in the 50 butterfly and tied for silver in the 50 breast. Then he finished the four-day meet off with another relay gold.

“I don't take this for granted,” he said.

Mathias competed in butterfly at the U.S. trials for the Tokyo Olympics, but didn't come close to making the team. He switched to breaststroke in his final collegiate season and finished second in the NCAA Championships.

It wasn't until last year that Mathias and Looze entertained the idea of him competing again, given the declining state of men's breaststroke in the U.S. and the addition of 50-meter breast, fly and backstroke to the 2028 Olympic program.

Within a couple of months, he had qualified for Pan Pacs.

“Maybe to be this good at breaststroke,” Mathias joked, “you got to not swim it for six years.”

He projects an easygoing attitude, perhaps because of his winding career path.

“It’s taught me a lot of lessons, given me a lot of experience and wisdom,” he said. “When you swim your best, you're pretty relaxed.”

Besides his swimming, Mathias' black mustache makes him a standout on the pool deck. His girlfriend has been passing out stick-on 'staches to other swimmers and fans this week.

"It's a look good, feel good thing. It gives me confidence,” he said. “There's also some guys that just rock great mustaches — Tom Selleck, Kurt Rambis, look him up, Mark Spitz, John Naber. Legends. Hopefully, I can add myself to that Mount Rushmore of moustaches.”

And find himself on the podium at the LA Olympics.

"Hopefully I just keep getting better and better,” he said.

See AP’s full sports coverage here

Van Mathias, of the United States, right, celebrates after winning the 100 meters breaststroke alongside silver medalist Shin Ohashi, of Japan, at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026 in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Van Mathias, of the United States, competes in the 100 meters breaststroke at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026 in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Van Mathias, of the United States, competes in the 100 meters breaststroke at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026 in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Van Mathias, of the United States, celebrates after winning the 100 meters breaststroke at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026 in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)