Haute 100 Miami Update: Stephen Ross

Our Haute 100 list details the accomplishments of the most influential people in each of our markets—Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. These people continue to make moves, so rather than waiting for the next Haute 100 issue to come out, we thought we’d provide you with regular updates on those Haute 100 members who are making headlines. On our Haute 100 Miami list is Miami Dolphins owner and real estate tycoon, Stephen Ross.

Stephen Ross

Category: Billionaires

Company: Related Cos., Miami Dolphins

Industry: Real Estate, Football

What Makes Him Haute: Ross’ Related Cos. has been a force in the industry since its inception, with trophy developments like West Palm’s CityPlace, New York’s Time Warner Center and Los Angeles’ The Century developments under its belt, and major projects like the huge renovation of Penn Station and Aspen Snowmass base village in the works. In 2008, Stephen Ross purchased 50 percent ownership of the Miami Dolphins and the stadium for $550 million, and followed that up in 2009 by becoming 95 percent owner. He immediately made waves that turned the then-named Land Shark Stadium into the host destination for “the best party in South Florida on Sundays,” as he said during an interview for a cover feature in Haute Living. He felt that the ownership base should reflect “the face of South Florida,” so he brought on celebrity minority owners, including Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Marc Anthony, Venus and Serena Williams, Fergie and others. He partnered with Jimmy Buffett to create the ultimate “Dol-Phan” experience, which resulted in national media attention that caught attention of a new sponsor for the now-named Sun Life Stadium, despite the state of the economy. He then hosted the 2010 Super Bowl during his first season as owner.

What Makes Him Haute Now: Entrepreneur Stephen Ross’ mobile technology company FanVision is developing a smartphone-compatible version of the service synonymous with the instant replay.

Formerly known as Kangaroo TV, the company has operated at various sporting events using a wireless device that provides replays, alternate video angles, radio broadcasts, fantasy football content and statistics in real time.
Having acquired the business late last year, the company has made noteworthy gains under Ross’ leadership. In order to gain brand exposure, each NFL club was offered 5,000 free units to distribute to fans. So far, 12 teams, including Arizona, Chicago, Denver, Seattle and the New York Jets, have accepted the offer.

The roll out of FanVision is due in large part to the NFL’s efforts to improve fans’ in-stadium experience in the high-definition era. The current FanVision units are comparable in size and weight to the Nintendo DS. The FanVision will offer the NFL RedZone channel and live video of  select NFL games.