Miami is usually a name that a person associates with high living, remarkable skylines, buzzing nightlife and amazing beaches. This coastal city is situated in Florida, United States and is a major finance, entertainment, commerce, media and international trade centre. Several banks, media houses, television studios and banks have their own headquarters in this particular city and also have a large concentration of cruise liner companies, international banks and performing arts centers.
The citys changing skyline, with over fifty 400 feet skyscrapers, ranks it as being the 3rd most impressive city in the USA after New York and Chicago. Miami is considered to have an estimated population of 4, 24,662 based on the U.S Census report of 2008 and is also ranked as Americas Cleanest City by way of the Forbs Magazine.
Along with its fast paced life, Miami also has been in the news for its active sports scene. Miami is home to 5 major professional sports teams. Their National Football League team is known as the Miami Dolphins. The home games of the team are played in the Land Sharks Stadium which is located in the suburbs of Miami Gardens. They belong to the Eastern Division in the NFL and are also one of the oldest major league professional sports franchisees in Florida having started playing since 1966.
Miamis professional basketball team is named the Miami Heat. They are a part of the Southeast Division within the Eastern Conference in the NBA and are currently owned by Mickey Arison. They were formed in 1988 and also have been making successful play offs since then taking seven division titles. Additionally, they won the NBA Finals after having beaten the Dallas Mavericks in 2006 with a score of 4-2. They play all their home games in the American Airlines Arena.
The Florida Marlins are Miamis professional baseball team. They are an element of the Eastern Division of the National League of the Major Baseball League. They have been in existence since 1993 and play each of their home games in the Land Shark Stadium. They were the two times winners in the baseball World Series and have been the sole team to have won all of their post season series.
Ice Hockey is yet another popular sport in Miami and their professional ice hockey team goes by the name of the Florida Panthers. They are an element of the National Hockey League and play their home games in the Bank Atlantic Centre.
In addition to these four professional sports teams Miami also offers two other premier sports leagues from the sports of soccer and basketball. The professional soccer team from Miami is called the Miami FC. They are a professional American soccer team and play in the USL First Division as well as in the 2nd tier in the American Soccer Pyramid.
The Miami Topics are amongst the teams in the Premier Basketball League and are owned by the Imperiali Organization. They originally were a part of the American Basketball Association but transferred to the PBL in 2007. They have been the winners of the United States Basketball League champions and also have represented United States in the FIBA Americas League championships.