Don't get me wrong, Joe Robbie (it will always be JRS to me, dammit) is a fine stadium but when the lease is up in 2032 or so, it will have been 15+ years since the last facelift. It's a modern stadium now, but it's going to be showing its age. Ross will almost certainly have passed on by then. What if the next ownership group drags its feet in upgrading? Not a **** thing UM can do about it. A lot of fans have forgotten that prior to the major renovations in the 2015-2017 time frame, the stadium was the butt of a lot of jokes because it was so outdated and sterile.
The current lease is a relative bargain at 4 million per year, but I would bet a box of donuts the next lease is going to be at least 8-10 million per year, likely for 15-20 years. So looking at a cost of somewhere between 150-200 million total to lease. That is roughly what it would cost to expand the planned stadium up from 30k seats to around 55k. If the overall cost between leasing and buying are in the same ballpark (puns!) I think it is a smarter long term decision to be co-owner of a brand new stadium. UM would have a lot more control over renovations, events, concessions, etc. plus it would be much closer to campus. There is something to be said about the simplicity of another 20 yr lease, but if the city has already approved the plans for a brand new soccer stadium, I think UM should jump on board.