Hard Rock Stadium is a venue in or near Miami that is most often used for Tennis
Because of the fact that the stadium is off of the highway, it might just be best to find a place to drink a bit of a distance away. You could always find something at Miami Gardens or Miramir, but I would not recommend it. But either way, if you are hungry enough, you could always get some really good Italian food from Tony's!
Uber recently partnered with Hard Rock Stadium to create an 'Uber Tailgate' space. It seems like it has been designed for travellers – you register a space in the week leading up to the game (for a fee), and you're provided with all of the supplies. "No setup, no clean up”. It's a bit expensive, but could be worth checking out: http://www.hardrockstadium.com/uber/The Uber Tailgate area is in Lot 14 of the Hard Rock Stadium parking lot.Otherwise, you can visit Hard Rock Stadium's 'Stadium Policies' page to read about the tailgating guidelines at games in Miami: http://www.hardrockstadium.com/stadium-policies/
Well, I was coming from Orlando, so it was about three hours. We took the Florida Turnpike all the way down until we got to NW 199TH ST. So, basically if there was no traffic, you would have a very smooth ride down.
The crowds could be different at different games. We were fortunate to get a really fun loving crowd. We were all chanting the regular football chants, and building our teams up. We all had fun, and I never got into anything or saw anyone get into anything while I was there.
If you are a junk food lover, then you will definitely love the food that the stadium has to offer. I only got a pretzel from the concession man, but the only downside to it was that it was kind of expensive. The pretzel was good though, hot and fresh - like it was freshly made!
The only restaurant I went to when I was in the area was Antonio's Pizzeria, which was very good, very affordable pizza! I have also heard that they have a lot of good Caribbean food nearby in the Gardens location, so if you are a fan of Roti or Jerk Chicken, that may be a good restaurant for you. There is also a couple of seafood places in that area as well. The next time I visit, I planned on going to Gabriel's BBQ... I have heard a lot of good reviews for that one!
Make sure to hit up the Team store on the ground level of the stadium. They have so many little things and souvenirs that you can buy for your family! Make sure you also bring a good amount of money, because like any stadium store, things can get expensive. I bought a t-shirt for my Grandmother and it cost me around $19.99!
Oh the safety at the stadium is pretty good. I have never had anything stolen from me while I was there. Even so, there are people who are out to just steal and pickpocket from people, so I would suggest being careful with your stuff! By the way, I didn't bring a big bag or anything, but they did stop other women at bag check who had really big bags. They were told to put their stuff in clear bags. So just be careful of that!
The Stadium parking is fine, but the only thing is that it can be a bit expensive. Parking for a couple hours can be around $22, and the season pass is $309. You can buy them off of Stubhub. Some people suggest that it would be best to park in the residential area a little away from the stadium on 199th street and then take a nice walk to the stadium. If you aren't a fan of walking and you do not mind paying the parking fee, then by all means! They also have disabled parking available for those who need it.
Definitely check out the general Gardens area, they have a lot of events and concerts that happen year round and if you are lucky, you might be able to catch something while you are there. Other than that, you can visit Antonio's Pizzeria, really inexpensive, but good pizza. It's only about a mile out from the stadium.
Well, my family and I were going to a football game last year, and we wanted to tailgate before hand, so we brought a little mini grill... you know, those ones from Wal-Mart. When we finished grilling, there was no place for us to empty out the grill and the hot contents, so we had to douse it out with water and throw it out in a regular trash can and hoped for the best. My insider tip would be to just bring pre-made food! So you don't have to worry about disposal! And that way, you enjoy your tailgate to the fullest.
Just like any other stadium, you do have the option of getting the best seats in the house, or the less favorable seats in the house. The stadium is split into sections - you have the field level, the upper and lower level, and the club level (the best live action seats). You can also chose your seating based on what you are willing to pay. The club level is the most expensive, and the field level is the cheapest.
My advice is to just ignore them. They would definitely try to get you to buy, even though they probably know that you already came through to the game with pre bought tickets. If they come up to you and start to get a little aggressive with you, just try to wave down security.
At the time that I was at Hard Rock Stadium, they did not have any giveaways at the time. I assume that the closest thing to a giveaway would be an out of range ball, or a signed ball thrown out to the audience for them to catch. I never saw any giveaways at the game that I was, but I am sure that a few times a year they have a really good one, maybe raffle off some season tickets or something of that sort.
Definitely check out the renovations that they have going on right now! I haven't been there since 2014, but they started the renovations in January of 2015 to make the stadium more up to date. I would walk around and see what they are up to! The update pictures that I have seen online make me want to visit again!
The traffic can vary depending on the day. If you choose to go to a game on a weekday instead of on the weekend, the traffic will be a bit more intense, since you are choosing to mesh with work commuter traffic. The stadium is located right next to the highway, so it is easy to enter and exit...it is not like you have to maneuver through different streets or anything. Also! Make sure that you don't park not too close or too far from the stadium, because if you park to close, then it might take a while for you to get out of the stadium parking lot.