Inter Miami announces home-opening date, opponent and offers sneak peek at new stadium
Mark your calendars, South Florida soccer fans. This is really happening.
After a six-year saga that had more plot twists than a telenovela, Inter Miami will play its inaugural home game on Mar. 14, 2020, at 2:30 p.m. against the five-time Major League Soccer champion Los Angeles Galaxy.
The game won’t be played anywhere near the Miami waterfront sites co-owner David Beckham first envisioned. Nor will it be played at the proposed Miami Freedom Park, a site adjacent to Miami International Airport whose lease terms are still being debated by the Miami City Commission.
Instead, it will be played at the team’s new yet-to-be-named Fort Lauderdale stadium, a 19,000-seat temporary home being built on the site of the former Lockhart Stadium, where South Florida’s last MLS team — the Miami Fusion — played from 1998 to 2001.
The stadium is part of a $100 million privately-funded soccer complex that will include a 50,000 square-foot team training facility, the largest in Major League Soccer. It has locker rooms, gym, an underwater treadmill, cafeteria, offices, meeting rooms and media work space. The grounds include six lighted natural grass soccer fields and a turf field with 1,500 seats for high school and community sporting events.
Inter Miami plans to play its first two seasons at that stadium, and it will serve as its permanent training ground. It will also house the club’s minor-league United Soccer League team and the youth academy, which is already in operation.
More than 300 construction workers were on site Wednesday morning, and they are working seven days a week to get the project completed on time. The East and West stands are already in place, floor decking was being installed and the seats will come next. The roof over the West stands is underway, and the East roof will be added next week. Scoreboards are scheduled for the end of November.
Construction has also begun on the training facility and a three-deck VIP Club in the northwest corner of the stadium, where suite seat owners can mingle, wine and dine.
The company installing the seats, Seating Solutions, also worked on the new Miami Open tennis stadium at Hard Rock Stadium last year. Overseeing much of the project is Don Lockerbie of Miami-based The Parker Company, a global leader in sports venues including Olympics, World Cups and more than 400 stadiums.
Lockerbie is familiar with the Lockhart site. His company was hired to renovate the former stadium in 1997 by Fusion owner Ken Horowitz 93 days before the season opener when the team’s deal with the Orange Bowl fell through. “We did what we could back then, but this will be much, much better,” Lockerbie said.
Most important to the players, the sod is being installed in the main stadium, and will be rolled out on the training fields in the coming weeks. John Sulinski, the chief operating officer of LTG Sports Turf One, is overseeing the field installations. He said they are using Latitude 36 bermudagrass, which is known for its playability, visual appeal and recovery time.
“This is a historic moment for us,” Inter Miami sporting director Paul McDonough said during a stadium media tour. “We announced our home-opening game and this is the site where we will build a special club for South Florida.”
McDonough feels fans will be excited by the Fort Lauderdale venue.
“People weren’t really sure what this was going to be, but you can see, we’ve invested and tried to make this a special home,” he said. “We’re going to continue the process in Miami, but it takes time, and we’re very fortunate to have this. It’s been a perfect storm. The city has been unbelievable, the commissioners have supported us, everyone has come together with one goal – to get this done by mid-February.”
McDonough built expansion teams Orlando City and Atlanta United before coming to Miami. This club has unique challenges.
“We’re on an accelerated timeline, so everything keeps us up at night,” he said. “Because of the condensed schedule and the pressure that goes with the ownership group and a global city like Miami, this has been an unbelievable opportunity.”
Inter Miami added three players to its roster through MLS trades during the past two days — midfielder Victor Ulloa from FC Cincinnati, goalkeeper Drake Callender from the San Jose Earthquakes, and Canadian midfielder Jay Chapman of Toronto FC. They have signed eight players total, and will announce another one or two before the MLS trade window closes Wednesday night. They can select up to five players in the MLS Expansion Draft on Nov. 19.
According to McDonough, they plan to add two high-profile “Designated Players” before the European winter transfer window, which runs from Jan. 1 to Jan. 31, 2020. David Silva of Manchester City and Edinson Cavani of Paris Saint Germain have reportedly been contacted. MLS training camp opens in mid-January. “Everything depends on negotiations, and it’s hard when they’re under contract, playing in major tournaments; but we know it’s getting later and we want to get it done,” McDonough said.
The head coaching search has been extended, likely because a leading candidate is still employed. One name that has come up in Argentine media is River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo, whose team plays in the Copa Libertadores final on Nov. 23. McDonough said he would like to have the coach in place by the end of the year.
“The good thing is the coach doesn’t need to coach right now because we’re just installing the field. In talking with David, we never felt it was super important to rush the coach. We want the right coach, and he will have some input with the final pieces.”
“We have to be entertaining, and we have to win. This is a very tough market, we know it. Our goal is to come in and be a top team in MLS and be a very entertaining brand.”
For season tickets, go to intermiamicf.com/tickets or call 305-428-0611. To register for pre-sale access to home-opener tickets, go to intermiamicf.com/tickets/home-debut
This story was originally published November 13, 2019 at 3:55 PM.