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Hard Rock Stadium to host national college football championship game in 2026

Hard Rock Stadium. (Photo Hard Rock Stadium)

2026 is shaping up to be a good year for Hard Rock Stadium.

On the heels of being named a site for the World Cup in 2026, the stadium landed another major sports event Monday when the College Football Playoff announced it as the site for the national championship game on Jan. 5, 2026. The stadium hosted Alabama’s victory in the 2021 title game against Ohio State.

“[Miami Dolphins and stadium owner] Steve Ross privately invested hundreds of millions of dollars to make Hard Rock Stadium a premier venue for the world’s biggest events and bringing another college football National Championship here to South Florida is a testament to that vision and commitment,” Tom Garfinkel, vice-chairman and CEO of the Dolphins and the stadium, said in a statement.

In June, the stadium was named one of 11 sites in the United States that will hold World Cup games in 2026.

Hard Rock International, whose parent entity is the Seminole Tribe of Florida, is in the midst of an 18-year stadium naming rights deal with the Dolphins that was signed in 2016. Since then, the stadium and its campus have become the home of the Miami Open tennis tournament and a Formula 1 race. It also hosted the 2020 Super Bowl and several concerts, including the Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.

The University of Miami football team will kick off its season Sept. 3 against Bethune-Cookman at the stadium. Six days later the Dolphins will host New England in the opening week of the NFL season.

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