Sports
See also: Florida Sports Hall of Fame and List of sports teams in FloridaFlorida has three NFL teams, two MLB teams, two NBA teams, and two NHL teams. Florida gained its first permanent major-league professional sports team in 1966 when the American Football League added the Miami Dolphins. The state of Florida has given professional sports franchises some subsidies in the form of tax breaks since 1991.
About half of all Major League Baseball teams conduct spring training in the state, with teams informally organized into the "Grapefruit League". Throughout MLB history, other teams have held spring training in Florida.
Golf, tennis, and auto racing are popular. NASCAR (headquartered in Daytona Beach) begins all three of its major Series in Florida at Daytona International Speedway, and ends all three Series in November at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The PGA of America is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens while the LPGA is headquartered in Daytona Beach.
Minor league baseball, football, basketball, ice hockey, soccer and indoor football teams are based in Florida. Three of the Arena Football League's teams are in Florida.
Florida's universities have a number of collegiate sport teams.
| Club | League | Venue | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | National Football League | Sun Life Stadium (Miami Gardens) | 2 (1972, 1973) |
| Miami Heat | National Basketball Association | American Airlines Arena (Miami) | 2 (2006, 2012) |
| Miami Marlins | Major League Baseball | Marlins Park (Miami) | 2 (1997, 2003) |
| Florida Panthers | National Hockey League | BankAtlantic Center (Sunrise) | 0 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | National Football League | Raymond James Stadium (Tampa) | 1 (2003) |
| Tampa Bay Rays | Major League Baseball | Tropicana Field (St. Petersburg) | 0 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | National Hockey League | Tampa Bay Times Forum (Tampa) | 1 (2004) |
| Orlando Magic | National Basketball Association | Amway Center (Orlando) | 0 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | National Football League | EverBank Field (Jacksonville) | 0 |
Auto-racing tracks
- Daytona International Speedway
- Homestead-Miami Speedway
- Sebring International Raceway
- Streets of St. Petersburg
- Walt Disney World Speedway
- Palm Beach International Raceway
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American Airlines Arena
Miami
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Amway Center
Orlando
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EverBank Field
Jacksonville
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Sun Life Stadium
Miami Gardens
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Tampa Bay Times Forum
Tampa
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Tropicana Field
St. Petersburg
Read more about this topic: Sports In Florida
Famous quotes containing the word sports:
“Short of a wholesale reform of college athletics—a complete breakdown of the whole system that is now focused on money and power—the women’s programs are just as doomed as the men’s are to move further and further away from the academic mission of their colleges.... We have to decide if that’s the kind of success for women’s sports that we want.”
—Christine H. B. Grant, U.S. university athletic director. As quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A42 (May 12, 1993)
“In the end, I think you really only get as far as you’re allowed to get.”
—Gayle Gardner, U.S. sports reporter. As quoted in Sports Illustrated, p. 87 (June 17, 1991)
“In the past, it seemed to make sense for a sportswriter on sabbatical from the playpen to attend the quadrennial hawgkilling when Presidential candidates are chosen, to observe and report upon politicians at play. After all, national conventions are games of a sort, and sports offers few spectacles richer in low comedy.”
—Walter Wellesley (Red)