For those wondering why Inter Miami so desperately wants a stadium in the urban core of Miami, not in Broward or out in West Dade, this is why:
From the moment Major League Soccer kicked off 25 years ago the league’s goal has been to have a team in the Miami city limits that would not only cater to the soccer-crazed melting pot population, but also become a bilingual global brand that would extend the league’s reach into South and Central America and the Caribbean.
The idea was to get fans from those regions to adopt the Miami team as their U.S.-based team, buy team merchandise, watch games on TV, get to know the league, see beautiful views of the city skyline and travel to Miami to watch MLS games in person.
That was the plan when the Miami Fusion was launched in 1997, but the team owner and Miami politicians could not agree on lease terms for the Orange Bowl, so the team moved to Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale and folded four years later.
That is still the MLS vision for Inter Miami, and with international icon David Beckham as a co-owner now, the hope is that this team could spread its brand beyond this region into Asia, Europe and other corners of the world.
As MLS has grown, the league’s most desired stadium locations are in or near urban neighborhoods, where die-hard soccer fans — be they immigrants, millennials, tourists or city dwellers — can drive or take public transportation and congregate before and after matches.
In Seattle thousands of fans gather downtown on game days for the “March to the Match.” The Ohio MLS stadiums that opened last season in Columbus and Cincinnati are in urban downtown. The Crew stadium is next to the baseball and hockey venues. Cincinnati’s stadium is in the West End neighborhood.
Austin’s new stadium is in a retail, residential and restaurant development called the Domain. The proposed stadium in St. Louis is in the heart of downtown, and the new Nashville stadium will be on the edge of downtown at the Fairgrounds site, next to the NASCAR track.
Meanwhile, the team called Inter Miami, the team MLS desperately wants to play in the “urban core” of Miami, is playing at DRV PNK Stadium on the nondescript corner of Commercial Boulevard and Powerline Road in Fort Lauderdale. The only dining options within walking distance are fast food joints.
Unable to lock down a site in Miami in time for the team’s inaugural 2020 season, Beckham, Jorge and Jose Mas and their partners invested upwards of $100 million to build the complex in Broward County on the former Lockhart Stadium site. The 18,000-seat pink-and-black stadium is as nice as a temporary stadium can be, and the fields and training facilities are world-class, but it was not intended as Inter Miami’s permanent home stadium.
Miami-Dade fans (and sportswriters) typically drive an hour to get to weekend games, and the commute for weeknight games is more than an hour and a half during rush hour.
On March 2, 2020, MLS commissioner Don Garber said of the Inter Miami franchise launch: “I think their temporary stadium will be terrific, and we hope to get the big stadium in downtown Miami over the finish line. They’re going to play [in Fort Lauderdale] as long as they have to, but they are not going to stay in Fort Lauderdale. There will come a time where we’re going to have to push the envelope and get that deal finalized.
“This is a Miami team playing temporarily in Fort Lauderdale. The training environment is state of the art, absolutely awe-inspiring. They need to move out of there, get their academy programs and USL teams playing there and they need to get downtown. ... This is a gateway city to the southern part of the world, and we are so committed to seeing this complicated deal all the way through.”
In fact, MLS included the desire for a Miami urban core stadium in the expansion agreement.
The proposed privately funded Miami Freedom Park stadium would be 28,000 seats. The extra 10,000 seats would generate more revenue for the player payroll, which would help the team be more competitive on the field. The complex would include retail, dining, fan experiences and a soccer museum, which is a feature found in many iconic stadiums in Europe.
Beckham and the Mas brothers envision a soccer tourist destination, reachable by public transportation and visible from major roadways.
The Dolphins, Heat and Marlins play in Miami-Dade County in first-class venues. Inter Miami and MLS want the same. Finally, the Miami location is personal to the Mas brothers. Jorge has said on many occasions that he and his brother want to leave a legacy in the city. Not in Broward. Not in West Dade. In Miami.
The lease agreement for Miami Freedom Park, on the site of the publicly owned Melreese Golf Course, awaits political approval.
It has been a long odyssey, with more hurdles likely to come. Even if the lease is approved, Inter Miami will probably play in Fort Lauderdale through the 2024 season, which means lots more long commutes on I-95.
But if that Miami stadium is ever built, here’s guessing it will be worth the wait.
