Plan for soccer stadium at Miami Freedom Park is in motion. But what do neighbors think?
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Miami Freedom Park
David Beckham and his local co-owners of Major League Soccer franchise Inter Miami want to develop a $1 billion complex commercial and soccer stadium complex.
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Plan for soccer stadium at Miami Freedom Park is in motion. But what do neighbors think?
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Mindy Andrade gestured toward Melreese golf course one block to the west, a large stretch of green tucked between Miami International Airport and the neighborhood where she’s lived her whole life, Grapeland Heights.
Raising her voice to be heard over the sound of the plane overhead, she said for years she’s been hearing about plans to build a soccer stadium and commercial complex next door. She hopes they can break ground soon.
“I’m excited,” she said. “I’m really ready for something different around this area.”
While Andrade is enthusiastic, some of her neighbors worry that the project could bring traffic snarls, a top concern among those who live directly across the street.
If the city approves the proposal for the complex, Melreese golf course could be replaced with Miami Freedom Park, a sprawling campus that would include a stadium to host home games for Major League Soccer franchise Inter Miami, shops, a hotel, offices and 58-acre park.
Retired soccer star David Beckham and his local Inter Miami co-owners Jorge and Jose Mas are seeking approval from Miami’s commission to lease the land for 99 years to build the complex. Commissioners are scheduled to consider the agreement April 1.
Such redevelopment could radically transform the working-class neighborhood that is filled with homes built around the 1950s, where chickens amble about, multiple generations live under one roof and people move between Spanish and English seamlessly.
Andrade, 35, said she would welcome the change of pace, even if it came with some game day headaches. Some of her neighbors share her desire to finally see something replace the golf course, and they support plans to develop a place where they can gather to shop, attend a game or enjoy the park.
One street over, Denise Estopinales said she and some others on her street are worried they’ll have fans trying to park on their swales and in their driveways. They already struggle with drivers cutting through their otherwise calm streets, speeding fast in an area where children play outside.
“This is a quiet neighborhood,” said Estopinales, 53, who has lived in the area for decades. “I don’t think it’s a great location for the stadium. It’s going to be a larger version of Bayside.”
Several neighbors who spoke with the Miami Herald cited traffic as a top concern. Luis Velez, a five-year resident of a rented home in Grapeland Heights, said he loves soccer and wants to see Inter Miami succeed. Just not at the expense of the peace he and his family enjoy in the neighborhood.
“It’s my favorite sport,” he said. “But with the congestion it would bring, it’s too much.”
Pablo Leon has seen Miami change since 1955, and he’s not crazy about a lot of it. He said Miami was un pueblo, meaning a town, when he arrived from Cuba. He wasn’t pleased to see Brickell’s skyline rise on Biscayne Bay’s shores, and he’s not pleased about the prospect of a mega-development springing up a few blocks away.
A Grapeland Heights homeowner for more than two decades now, Leon said the project will do more for the owners’ profit than for the neighborhood.
“They’re doing this because they want to make money,” said Leon, 82. “Not out of the goodness of their hearts.”
On the other hand, John Taylor, who lives in a historic home down the block, said he thinks the redevelopment will bring an economic windfall for the city and neighborhood.
“It would mean money for the city,” he said. “I’d like Beckham to have it. I hope he gets it.”
Andrade sees an injection of energy that would liven up the area. For her, the plan to build Miami Freedom Park is a welcome change of pace. She envisions walking to the park and attending games with her family. She likes the idea of having shops and restaurants in walking distance, too.
“I don’t mind it being right there,” she said. “I say go for it.”
This story was originally published March 18, 2022 at 5:01 PM.
