WARMING UP MIAMI IS SEPARATED FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN BY BISCAYNE BAY AND MIAMI BEACH WARMING UP 8
The region surrounding the city of Miami Florida is known as the Gold Coast With some of the warmest weather and most beautiful beaches in the United States it is a popular destination year-round for vacationers from all over the world A glamorous city famous for its art music and fashion scenes Miami also enjoys its sports Up until 1988 however the city was strictly a football town dominated by the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League and the University of Miami’s college football team the Hurricanes But sports fans in southern Florida were eager to root for a team in another sport In 1988 the National Basketball Association NBA gave Miami fans that new professional franchise Because Miami’s tropical temperature plays such a prominent role in the life and identity of the city the new club was named GLEN RICE 9
SOUTHERN FLORIDA HAS A REPUTATION FOR BEING SUNNY AND VACATION-FRIENDLY the Miami Heat At the time the Heat were born the NBA was thriving thanks largely to the appeal of superstars such as Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird Los Angeles Lakers guard Magic Johnson and Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan To take advantage of this boom in popularity the NBA decided to expand from 23 teams to 27 The expansion occurred in two phases the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat were admitted in the 1988 89 season and the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic joined in 1989 90 The original Miami starting lineup featured three veterans point guard Rory Sparrow and forwards Billy Thompson and Pat Cummings and two rookies center Rony Seikaly and guard Kevin Edwards On November 5 1988 before a sold-out crowd in Miami Arena head coach Ron Rothstein’s squad took the floor against the Los Angeles Clippers for its inaugural NBA game losing 111 91 It was the start of what 10
Becoming the Heat In the mid-1980s when the NBA decided to expand from 23 teams to 27 Miami was an ideal candidate to receive an NBA franchise The city was growing rapidly and in the midst of a cultural renaissance as hundreds of local organizations in the arts and sciences were being founded and flourishing With only the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins in town there was plenty of room for another professional sports team So the Miami Sports and Exhibition Authority endorsed an investment group led by NBA Hall of Fame player Billy Cunningham former sports agent Lewis Schaffel and former Broadway producer Zev Buffman to begin wooing the NBA expansion committee Between the allure of Miami and the formidable investment group the city had a strong case But it wasn’t until Carnival Cruise Lines founder Ted Arison who would become the club’s majority owner came on board with financial backing that the Miami group’s proposal became irresistible Something big was happening in Miami NBA commissioner David Stern remembered Something big in terms of the revitalization of the city And we wanted to be part of that growth COURTSIDE STORIES Becoming the Heat 11
