Gloria Estefan joins The National Trust and Friends of Miami Marine Stadium to Restore Miami Marine Stadium

Estefan will serve as “Voice of Miami Marine Stadium” as Miami City Commission considers approval of a new site plan for the stadium

Washington (May 8, 2013) – The National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Friends of Miami Marine Stadium are pleased to announce that international superstar and Miami’s own Gloria Estefan, a seven time Grammy-winning artist and leading Miami businesswoman, will take a prominent role in the ongoing advocacy campaign to restore the iconic stadium as a centerpiece of cultural life in Miami. Estefan, a Trustee of the National Trust since 2012, will serve as the voice of efforts to preserve Miami Marine Stadium at a time when the Miami City Commission is weighing approval of a new site plan for the stadium.

Estefan will lend her support to the National Trust and Friends of Miami Marine Stadium’s ongoing campaign to preserve the stadium by appearing in public service announcements, sharing information about the campaign with her followers on social media, and appearing in print and video materials supporting the structure’s restoration. On April 24, Estefan participated in a photo shoot at the stadium with influential Miami artist/photographer Carlos Betancourt, whose work will grace the campaign.

“Miami Marine Stadium is a beautiful, one-of-a-kind place, and I am thrilled to be able to join the National Trust and the Friends of Miami Marine Stadium to help restore it to its former glory,” Estefan said. “As someone who once had the honor of performing at the stadium, I can attest to the fact that it is a completely unique place, and I know thousands of Miami residents feel the same kind of personal connection to the stadium.”

“The stadium reflects the diversity of South Florida. It was designed by a young Cuban-American architect, and has played host to artists from Jimmy Buffett to Sammy Davis Jr., as well as boat shows and many other events. We look forward to the day when this spectacular place is once again a thriving center of cultural life for people in South Florida.”

The campaign to preserve Miami Marine Stadium faces a critical milestone this spring, when the Miami City Commission will vote on a comprehensive site plan allowing the Friends of Miami Marine Stadium to continue their restoration efforts. Two of the five city commissioners have already voiced their support for the reuse plan. Members of the public can urge the City Commission to support the stadium’s site plan by visiting the National Trust’s website at http://bit.ly/miamimarine

The National Trust for Historic Preservation named Miami Marine Stadium one of America’s National Treasures in 2012. National Treasures are endangered places of national significance where the National Trust is committed to a long-term effort to preserve a place and shepherd its return to active use. The Friends of Miami Marine Stadium, an all-volunteer group, has been working to save the one-of-a-kind structure since 2008. The stadium was also named one of the National Trust’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in America in 2009, and was named to the World Monuments Fund Watch List in 2010.

In October, Miami Marine Stadium will be the focus of a special exhibit at the Coral Gables Museum. Titled Concrete Paradise: The Miami Marine Stadium, it will be the first-ever museum exhibit devoted exclusively to Miami Marine Stadium – past, present and future.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded nonprofit organization, works to save America’s historic places. www.PreservationNation.org

Friends of Miami Marine Stadium (FMMS), a not-for-profit organization, was founded in 2008 to save and restore the Miami Marine Stadium, which was built in 1963 and shuttered in 1992. FMMS’s plan not only will renovate the majestic, architecturally iconic structure, but also create a waterfront marine stadium park as a public space for concerts, triathlons, boat races, festivals, spectacles, and community events. FMMS’s plan will be topped by adding a state-of-the-art maritime center, which has already received a pledge of support from the Antique Boat Museum of Clayton, New York, to raise $7 million for a satellite maritime museum to be housed there. Despite more than 20 years of vandalism and neglect, the 6,500-seat stadium built of poured in-place concrete is structurally sound and is considered an engineering marvel now studied internationally. FMMS awaits final approval of their site plan from the Miami City Commission before fundraising efforts can begin. In-depth information can be found at www.marinestadium.org

LOOK OUT FOR AN EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT FROM SOUL OF MIAMI COMING SOON!

Photo credit: (c)Carlos Betancourt Inc.