Wayne Huizenga
Encyclopedia
Harry Wayne Huizenga is an American businessman who grew Blockbuster Video, Waste Management, Inc., and AutoNation
into successful companies. He is the former owner of the National Football League
's Miami Dolphins
, the National Hockey League
's Florida Panthers
and the Major League Baseball
's Miami Marlins.
descent. His parents, Gerrit Harry and Jean Huizenga, were both products of the Chicago Dutch community. Wayne was born in Evergreen Park, a Chicago
suburb, on December 29, 1939. He has one sister, Bonnie, who is five years younger. Wayne grew up in Evergreen Park until he was about 15 when the Huizenga family moved to Florida and settled in the Fort Lauderdale area.
Wayne spent part of his high school years in the Chicago area, where he attended Timothy Christian School
. His family then moved to Florida
, the remainder of his high school years were spent at Pine Crest School
. Wayne is remembered by his Pine Crest teachers and classmates as a happy and popular student who played on the school's football team, was elected to senior class treasurer, and earned decent grades. After high school graduation Wayne moved back to Chicago where most of his friends, grandparents and other relatives still lived. In 1956 he enrolled at Calvin College
, a liberal arts college in Grand Rapids, Michigan
.
In September 1959, Wayne enlisted in the Army reserve and spent six months in the service full time to complete his basic training. On September 10, 1960 he married Joyce VanderWagon, a woman with a Dutch
background. He had known Joyce since his early school years in Evergreen Park, Illinois
. Wayne and Joyce had two children, Wayne Jr. and Scott. The marriage ended in divorce in 1966. Wayne married his second wife, Marti Goldsby, in April 1972.
companies, and by the time he took the company public in 1972, he had completed the acquisition of 133 small-time haulers. By 1983, he grew Waste Management into the largest waste disposal company in the United States
.
Huizenga repeated his business success with Blockbuster Video, opening a handful of stores in 1987, and becoming the country's leading movie rental chain by 1994. Eventually, Huizenga would also build and acquire auto dealerships, from which in 1996 he formed AutoNation
, which has become the nation's largest automotive dealer and a Fortune 500
company, and remains his most recent major business venture. Huizenga has been a five-time recipient of Financial World
magazine's "CEO of the Year" award, and was the Ernst & Young
"2005 World Entrepreneur of the Year".
In late 2004, he sold his ownership share in a group of hotels that included The Hyatt Pier 66 Hotel and Radisson Bahia Mar Hotel & Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
, The Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton, Florida
, and several others in Naples, Florida
and Arizona
.
In 2004, Huizenga purchased the private luxury yacht
Aussie Rules from the Australian boat builder and the golfer Greg Norman
. The yacht cost $77 million and was further modified by Huizenga and now features a helipad
for a twelve-seat helicopter
. Aussie Rules was renamed Floridian after his private golf course designed by Gary Player
.
, as well as 5% of Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens
. He held 50% of the team and stadium until January 2009 when he sold 45% of his remaining 50% stake to Stephen M. Ross
.
He purchased 15% of the team and their sports venue in 1990, during a period of financial hardship for the franchise. Long time owner Joe Robbie had recently died and his family found it difficult to keep the team afloat. In turn, Huizenga bought out the remaining shares of the team to become full owner in 1993. He then pulled the Joe Robbie name off the building and sold that space to a corporate sponsor who later went under (Pro Player). It has since been renamed Dolphins Stadium, Dolphin Stadium, LandShark Stadium, and Sun Life Stadium. On February 22, 2008, Huizenga sold 50% of the Miami Dolphins
and 50% of the then Dolphin Stadium to Stephen M. Ross
, a New York City
-based real estate developer and founder, chairman and CEO of The Related Companies
.
Huizenga is notable for introducing both baseball and hockey to the South Florida
area as the initial owner of the Florida Marlins
and Florida Panthers
. He was criticized for naming his two teams for the state of Florida rather than the city of Miami, but as an advocate for the city of Fort Lauderdale, he explained that his goal was to include Broward County
and Palm Beach County
in his teams' fanbase. (Indeed, Huizenga claimed at the time that he had not even considered naming the teams after "Miami" as an option, and that in his view the only legitimate choices had been "Florida," "South Florida," and "Tri-County.") This goal of expanding the team's fan bases has not been achieved, as both the Marlins and Panthers have consistently finished near the bottom of their respective leagues in annual home attendance; the name has had little observable impact on the teams' popularity in Huizenga's favored suburbs, while decreasing their popularity among fans who identify themselves with the city of Miami.
Huizenga, in keeping with his previously stated intentions, sold the Marlins to current Boston Red Sox
owner John Henry
at the end of the 1998 season. Since then, however, relations between Huizenga and new Marlins management has been tepid, mainly because of stadium lease disagreements.
Huizenga operated the Panthers as a public holding company, buying numerous real estate properties in the name of his Panthers Holding Group. In 2001, Huizenga sold the Panthers to pharmaceutical juggernaut and friend Alan Cohen
and his partner, former Cleveland Browns
quarterback Bernie Kosar
, for a discount price. In all three team ownerships, he is very well known for minimizing costs while maximizing profits.
Huizenga, while attempting to build his sporting empire in South Florida, attempted to purchase the NBA's Miami Heat
, but was unsuccessful.
in Fort Lauderdale. The business school at NSU is named H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship
. As well, Huizenga has donated to Pine Crest School
, a private preparatory school, with their science building named the Huizinga Science Building after him. Mr. Huizenga was inducted into the Junior Achievement U. S. Business Hall of Fame in 2006.
H. Wayne Huizenga Received the prestigious Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans Award in 1992 for his active role in funding scholarships throughout Florida. His donations also help the National Scholar scholarships presented annually by Horatio Alger, and the association named him the 2008 Norman Vincent Peale Award recipient, the highest honor bestowed upon any member.
AutoNation
AutoNation, the largest auto retailer in the USA, was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H. Wayne Huizenga, also founder of Blockbuster and Waste Management. The company is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The current Chairman and CEO is Mike Jackson, former CEO of Mercedes Benz North America...
into successful companies. He is the former owner of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
's Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and are the...
and the Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
's Miami Marlins.
Background
H. Wayne Huizenga is of DutchNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
descent. His parents, Gerrit Harry and Jean Huizenga, were both products of the Chicago Dutch community. Wayne was born in Evergreen Park, a Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
suburb, on December 29, 1939. He has one sister, Bonnie, who is five years younger. Wayne grew up in Evergreen Park until he was about 15 when the Huizenga family moved to Florida and settled in the Fort Lauderdale area.
Wayne spent part of his high school years in the Chicago area, where he attended Timothy Christian School
Timothy Christian School
Timothy Christian School is a private, coeducational school in Elmhurst, Illinois. It was founded in Chicago as a school for the children of Dutch immigrants in the area...
. His family then moved to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, the remainder of his high school years were spent at Pine Crest School
Pine Crest School
Pine Crest School is a private college preparatory school with campuses in Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was founded in Fort Lauderdale in 1934 by Mae McMillan who began as a tutor to children of families spending the winter in South Florida, USA. In 1995, Dr. Lourdes Cowgill became...
. Wayne is remembered by his Pine Crest teachers and classmates as a happy and popular student who played on the school's football team, was elected to senior class treasurer, and earned decent grades. After high school graduation Wayne moved back to Chicago where most of his friends, grandparents and other relatives still lived. In 1956 he enrolled at Calvin College
Calvin College
Calvin College is a comprehensive liberal arts college located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1876, Calvin College is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reformed tradition of Protestantism...
, a liberal arts college in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
.
In September 1959, Wayne enlisted in the Army reserve and spent six months in the service full time to complete his basic training. On September 10, 1960 he married Joyce VanderWagon, a woman with a Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
background. He had known Joyce since his early school years in Evergreen Park, Illinois
Evergreen Park, Illinois
Evergreen Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 25,044 at the 2009 census.-Geography:Evergreen Park is located at . The suburb is surrounded by the city of Chicago on three of its sides, while Oak Lawn and Hometown border it on the west...
. Wayne and Joyce had two children, Wayne Jr. and Scott. The marriage ended in divorce in 1966. Wayne married his second wife, Marti Goldsby, in April 1972.
Professional career
Starting with a single garbage truck in 1968, he grew Waste Management, Inc. into an entity that would become a Fortune 500 company. Huizenga aggressively purchased independent garbage haulingWaste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
companies, and by the time he took the company public in 1972, he had completed the acquisition of 133 small-time haulers. By 1983, he grew Waste Management into the largest waste disposal company in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Huizenga repeated his business success with Blockbuster Video, opening a handful of stores in 1987, and becoming the country's leading movie rental chain by 1994. Eventually, Huizenga would also build and acquire auto dealerships, from which in 1996 he formed AutoNation
AutoNation
AutoNation, the largest auto retailer in the USA, was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H. Wayne Huizenga, also founder of Blockbuster and Waste Management. The company is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The current Chairman and CEO is Mike Jackson, former CEO of Mercedes Benz North America...
, which has become the nation's largest automotive dealer and a Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
company, and remains his most recent major business venture. Huizenga has been a five-time recipient of Financial World
Financial World
Financial World was the United States' oldest business magazine before going out of business in 1998. In the magazine's later years of publication, its signature issue was the "Sports Franchise Valuation Issue".- History :...
magazine's "CEO of the Year" award, and was the Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers ....
"2005 World Entrepreneur of the Year".
In late 2004, he sold his ownership share in a group of hotels that included The Hyatt Pier 66 Hotel and Radisson Bahia Mar Hotel & Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
, The Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA, incorporated in May 1925. In the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 74,764; the 2006 population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 86,396. However, the majority of the people under the postal address of Boca Raton, about...
, and several others in Naples, Florida
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on July 1, 2007...
and Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
In 2004, Huizenga purchased the private luxury yacht
Luxury yacht
The term luxury yacht, “Superyacht” and "Large Yacht" refers to very expensive, privately owned yachts which are professionally crewed. Also known as a Super Yacht, a luxury yacht may be either a sailing or motor yacht.-History:...
Aussie Rules from the Australian boat builder and the golfer Greg Norman
Greg Norman
Gregory John Norman AO is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s...
. The yacht cost $77 million and was further modified by Huizenga and now features a helipad
Helipad
Helipad is a common abbreviation for helicopter landing pad, a landing area for helicopters. While helicopters are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard surface away from obstacles where a helicopter can safely...
for a twelve-seat helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
. Aussie Rules was renamed Floridian after his private golf course designed by Gary Player
Gary Player
Gary Player DMS; OIG is a South African professional golfer. With his nine major championship victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of golf. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. Player has won 165 tournaments on six continents over six...
.
Sports team ownership
Huizenga currently owns 5% of the Miami DolphinsMiami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, as well as 5% of Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens
Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name comes from one of the major roadways through the area, Miami Gardens Drive. According to the 2010 U.S...
. He held 50% of the team and stadium until January 2009 when he sold 45% of his remaining 50% stake to Stephen M. Ross
Stephen M. Ross
Stephen M. Ross is an American real estate developer. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of The Related Companies, L.P., a New York City-based real estate development company. It is jointly owned by his business partner, Jorge M. Perez. He owns 95% of the Miami Dolphins NFL football franchise and...
.
He purchased 15% of the team and their sports venue in 1990, during a period of financial hardship for the franchise. Long time owner Joe Robbie had recently died and his family found it difficult to keep the team afloat. In turn, Huizenga bought out the remaining shares of the team to become full owner in 1993. He then pulled the Joe Robbie name off the building and sold that space to a corporate sponsor who later went under (Pro Player). It has since been renamed Dolphins Stadium, Dolphin Stadium, LandShark Stadium, and Sun Life Stadium. On February 22, 2008, Huizenga sold 50% of the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and 50% of the then Dolphin Stadium to Stephen M. Ross
Stephen M. Ross
Stephen M. Ross is an American real estate developer. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of The Related Companies, L.P., a New York City-based real estate development company. It is jointly owned by his business partner, Jorge M. Perez. He owns 95% of the Miami Dolphins NFL football franchise and...
, a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based real estate developer and founder, chairman and CEO of The Related Companies
The Related Companies
The Related Companies L.P. is a real estate developer, manager and financier. The developer of numerous high-profile projects in New York City and around the United States, Related is best known for its historic 2.8 million-square-foot $1,700,000,000 Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle...
.
Huizenga is notable for introducing both baseball and hockey to the South Florida
South Florida metropolitan area
The South Florida metropolitan area, also known as the Miami metropolitan area, and designated the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area by the U.S...
area as the initial owner of the Florida Marlins
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
and Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and are the...
. He was criticized for naming his two teams for the state of Florida rather than the city of Miami, but as an advocate for the city of Fort Lauderdale, he explained that his goal was to include Broward County
Broward County, Florida
-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...
and Palm Beach County
Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in total area, and third in population. As of 2010, the county's estimated population was 1,320,134, making it the twenty-eighth most populous in the United States...
in his teams' fanbase. (Indeed, Huizenga claimed at the time that he had not even considered naming the teams after "Miami" as an option, and that in his view the only legitimate choices had been "Florida," "South Florida," and "Tri-County.") This goal of expanding the team's fan bases has not been achieved, as both the Marlins and Panthers have consistently finished near the bottom of their respective leagues in annual home attendance; the name has had little observable impact on the teams' popularity in Huizenga's favored suburbs, while decreasing their popularity among fans who identify themselves with the city of Miami.
Huizenga, in keeping with his previously stated intentions, sold the Marlins to current Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
owner John Henry
John W. Henry
John William Henry II is a futures and foreign exchange trading advisor who founded John W. Henry & Company . He is the principal owner of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool F.C., and co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing. In March 2006, Boston Magazine estimated his net worth at $1.1 billion, but noted...
at the end of the 1998 season. Since then, however, relations between Huizenga and new Marlins management has been tepid, mainly because of stadium lease disagreements.
Huizenga operated the Panthers as a public holding company, buying numerous real estate properties in the name of his Panthers Holding Group. In 2001, Huizenga sold the Panthers to pharmaceutical juggernaut and friend Alan Cohen
Alan Cohen
Alan Phillip Cohen is an American businessman, best known for his ownership of the Florida Panthers hockey team and his founding of several Pharmaceutical companies. Cohen holds several degrees from the University of Florida...
and his partner, former Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
quarterback Bernie Kosar
Bernie Kosar
Bernard Joseph "Bernie" Kosar, Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. Kosar played for the Cleveland Browns from 1985 to 1993 and then finished his career with the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins.-Early life and high school career:A Hungarian-American...
, for a discount price. In all three team ownerships, he is very well known for minimizing costs while maximizing profits.
Huizenga, while attempting to build his sporting empire in South Florida, attempted to purchase the NBA's Miami Heat
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...
, but was unsuccessful.
Philanthropy
Huizenga is a large donor to Nova Southeastern UniversityNova Southeastern University
Nova Southeastern University, commonly referred to as NSU or Nova, is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian, research university located in Broward County, Florida, with its main campus in the town of Davie...
in Fort Lauderdale. The business school at NSU is named H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship
H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship
The H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship is a business school in Florida, United States, and is accredited by Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and internationally by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education and the...
. As well, Huizenga has donated to Pine Crest School
Pine Crest School
Pine Crest School is a private college preparatory school with campuses in Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was founded in Fort Lauderdale in 1934 by Mae McMillan who began as a tutor to children of families spending the winter in South Florida, USA. In 1995, Dr. Lourdes Cowgill became...
, a private preparatory school, with their science building named the Huizinga Science Building after him. Mr. Huizenga was inducted into the Junior Achievement U. S. Business Hall of Fame in 2006.
H. Wayne Huizenga Received the prestigious Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans Award in 1992 for his active role in funding scholarships throughout Florida. His donations also help the National Scholar scholarships presented annually by Horatio Alger, and the association named him the 2008 Norman Vincent Peale Award recipient, the highest honor bestowed upon any member.