What is the capacity of Hard Rock Stadium?

The Miami Dolphins have been a historic franchise in the National Football League since being founded in the year 1966 by Joe Robbie and Danny Thomas. There have been a total of six Super Bowls held in this famed stadium. Today we will be looking into the details of the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins.

Miami Dolphins Home Venue

The Hard Rock Stadium, which is the home of the Miami Dolphins, is located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Miami Dolphins are one of the teams in the American Football Conference East Division (AFC East) in the National Football League. Apart from being the home for the Miami Dolphins, the Hard Rock Stadium is also the home for the D1 college team of the University of Miami, the Miami Hurricanes.

The 65,000-seat Hard Rock Stadium first opened in 1987. It was then called the Joe Robbie Stadium, named after the Miami Dolphins founder Joe Robbie. Through the years, the stadium has gone through different name changes and has stuck with Hard Rock Stadium after selling rights to Hard Rock Cafe in August 2016.

Hard Rock Stadium Capacity

The Miami Dolphins' home stadium started with a total of 74,993 seats during its inception in 1987. After years of renovation and improvisation, the Hard Rock Stadium holds a total of 65,326 permanent seats in 2023, ranking as the 26th largest NFL stadium in the United States of America.

The Hard Rock Stadium consists of 34,736 seats in the upper ring and 27,397 seats in the lower ring. There are a total of 3198 VIP seats forming the 193 executive suites. The Hard Rock Stadium also has Business seats of 10,209. The stadium also has special 300 seats for people with disabilities.

Apart from this, the Hard Rock Stadium also has seats for the press and radio booths, counting to 150 and 10 respectively.

Hard Rock Stadium History

The first ever game played by the Miami Dolphins in the Hard Rock Stadium (then Joe Robbie Stadium) was a preseason game against the Chicago Bears in 1987. The first regular season game in the NFL was played on 11 October 1987 during the players' strike, when the Dolphins dismantled the Chiefs 40-0. This game featured replacement players.

The first-ever regular season game with a fully stacked roster was played a couple of weeks later on October 25 when the Dolphins lost to the Bills 34-31 in overtime.

The multi-purpose stadium has been the host for various huge sporting events such as the World Series, which was hosted two times, the Miami Open, WrestleMania XXVIII, and the Orange Bowl. The Hard Rock stadium will also be hosting multiple games during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Originally named the Joe Robbie Stadium in 1987, the facility has gone through more than six name changes before finally landing with the Hard Rock Stadium in 2016. The different names during this period were Pro Player Park, Pro Player Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, Dolphin Stadium, Land Shark Stadium, and Sun Life Stadium.

In August 2016, the facility landed the name Hard Rock Stadium after handing over the naming rights for 18 years and $250 million to Hard Rock Cafe.

The Hard Rock Stadium (then Joe Robbie Stadium) was also the home for the MLB team Miami Marlins up until 2011 when the new LoanDepot Park was built.

Hard Rock Stadium Construction and Cost

The Hard Rock stadium has gone through many changes through the years since its inauguration on 16 August 1987. The Miami Dolphins played their first 21 seasons in the NFL in the Orange Bowl.

The reason to shift to a new stadium came from the reason of the city of Miami wanting to quadruple the rent in 1976. That planted the seed in the head of the Dolphins founder Joe Robbie for a new stadium. Joe Robbie was futuristic with his thinking to build this stunning multi-purpose stadium, which could also accommodate multiple sports such as baseball and soccer.

The construction cost for the Hard Rock Stadium (then Joe Robbie Stadium) was $115 million in 1985. The facility took two years to be finished since laying the ground in 1985. The construction of the stadium was carried out by the famous architect company HOK.

The reason why the construction of the Hard Rock Stadium is peculiar is because the entire construction was financed privately.

Hard Rock Stadium Seating Chart

The Hard Rock Stadium, the home of the Miami Dolphins, consists of three levels - the lower level, the club level, and the upper level.

The modern stadium provides a family-friendly experience with comfortable seating including premiere suites for guests.

Sections 101-154, consist of the lower level seats at the Hard Rock stadium. The home team, Miami Dolphins’ player tunnel is situated near sections 150 and 153. The player tunnel for the visiting team is near section 111. The club-level seats run from section 201 to 256. The upper-level seats are through sections 301 to 356.

What to bring to Hard Rock Stadium?

The Hard Rock Stadium is strict on the items that can be carried to the ground and there’s a long list of prohibited items. However, there are a few items that are allowed into the stadium

Here’s the list of prohibited items in the Hard Rock stadium:

• Alcohol

• Animals

• Cigarettes

• Fireworks and explosives

• Electronic devices bigger than 12″ x 2″ x 12″

• Flagpoles

• Bags and purses larger than 12” X 6” X 12”

• Cameras, Selfie sticks

• Weapons

• Umbrellas and strollers

• Lasers

The items that are allowed inside the stadium are:

• Bags less than the size of 12” x 6” x 12”

• Clutch Purse not larger than 4.5” x 6.5”

• Vital medical items

• Sealed water bottles (plastic)

What is the parking cost at Hard Rock Stadium?

Sitting on 140 acres of parking space, the Hard Rock stadium can accommodate 24,137 cars, 171 buses, 90 recreational vehicles (RV), and 85 LIMOs. Apart from this, the stadium also features a helipad.

Since the Hard Rock stadium serves as a multi-purpose stadium for various events, the parking cost varies depending on the nature of the event. For the Miami Dolphins game days, here are the parking costs.

Hard Rock Stadium Parking Map