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Sports as Big Business

When we think of the beginning of sports as a big business in South Florida, many of us will think back to the late 1960s when the Miami Dolphins first hit the gridiron. But the region actually has a rich sports history that dates back to the 1920s.

Miami adopted the title “America’s winter playground” during the Roaring ’20s. Hoping to lure northerners and fuel fascination with the area, sports became a form of tourism. The Miami Jockey Club launched Hialeah Park’s thoroughbred horse-racing track on Jan. 25, 1925, and sports betting in Miami was off to the races.

The 1920s also brought the world’s fastest sport, jai alai, to South Florida. The Miami fronton soon became known as the “Yankee Stadium of jai alai” and drew the largest crowds in American history. The best players in the world gathered in Miami every winter, and the pari-mutuel gambling business boomed.

By the early 1960s, the newly opened Miami Marine Stadium was gaining popularity, and the sport of powerboat racing symbolized “sun and fun.” Meanwhile, the Fifth Street Gym in Miami Beach was home to Muhammad Ali and other champion boxers. These attractions channeled the energy and spirit of the time, and created a sports identity for South Florida.

The Miami Dolphins franchise followed, as did the rise of the University of Miami’s football program, confirming Miami’s status as a modern metropolis.

Today, the sports industry has a more than $5 billion impact on the South Florida economy. The 2020 Super Bowl will further affirm the region’s status as the premier destination for sun and sport.

For more on the history of sports business in South Florida, visit HistoryMiami’s new exhibition, “Beyond the Game: Sports the and Evolution of South Florida,” opening on July 15.
For more information, visit historymiami.org.

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Drew Limsky

Drew Limsky

Editor-in-Chief

BIOGRAPHY

Drew Limsky joined Lifestyle Media Group in August 2020 as Editor-in-Chief of South Florida Business & Wealth. His first issue of SFBW, October 2020, heralded a reimagined structure, with new content categories and a slew of fresh visual themes. “As sort of a cross between Forbes and Robb Report, with a dash of GQ and Vogue,” Limsky says, “SFBW reflects South Florida’s increasingly sophisticated and dynamic business and cultural landscape.”

Limsky, an avid traveler, swimmer and film buff who holds a law degree and Ph.D. from New York University, likes to say, “I’m a doctor, but I can’t operate—except on your brand.” He wrote his dissertation on the nonfiction work of Joan Didion. Prior to that, Limsky received his B.A. in English, summa cum laude, from Emory University and earned his M.A. in literature at American University in connection with a Masters Scholar Award fellowship.

Limsky came to SFBW at the apex of a storied career in journalism and publishing that includes six previous lead editorial roles, including for some of the world’s best-known brands. He served as global editor-in-chief of Lexus magazine, founding editor-in-chief of custom lifestyle magazines for Cadillac and Holland America Line, and was the founding editor-in-chief of Modern Luxury Interiors South Florida. He also was the executive editor for B2B magazines for Acura and Honda Financial Services, and he served as travel editor for Conde Nast. Magazines under Limsky’s editorship have garnered more than 75 industry awards.

He has also written for many of the country’s top newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Boston Globe, USA Today, Worth, Robb Report, Afar, Time Out New York, National Geographic Traveler, Men’s Journal, Ritz-Carlton, Elite Traveler, Florida Design, Metropolis and Architectural Digest Mexico. His other clients have included Four Seasons, Acqualina Resort & Residences, Yahoo!, American Airlines, Wynn, Douglas Elliman and Corcoran. As an adjunct assistant professor, Limsky has taught journalism, film and creative writing at the City University of New York, Pace University, American University and other colleges.