Inter Miami to allow a few thousand fans for Saturday home game vs Orlando City
A few thousand Inter Miami season ticket holders will finally get a chance to watch the team play in person. The club is opening its Fort Lauderdale stadium at a reduced capacity of no more than 20 percent for Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. home game against Orlando City.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the stadium has been closed to the public throughout the team’s inaugural season. Only family, staff, and 360 members of the team’s official supporter groups have been allowed to attend recent games.
Tickets for the Saturday game were available for purchase exclusively to full season ticket members on a first-come, first-serve basis via the ticket holder’s log-in. The full allotment was sold out by Thursday night.
The club would not say an exact number of tickets available, but it will not exceed 20 percent capacity, which has been the league norm in markets permitting fans. The stadium seats 18,000, so the expected crowd will likely be 2,000 to 3,000. A small number of tickets were also offered for purchase to Orlando City’s fan group. There is no general public sale for this game.
“We are very excited and happy that some fans can be with us,” said coach Diego Alonso. “I’m sure they will be our 12th player against Orlando.”
COVID-19 protocols will be strictly enforced. Face masks are mandatory in the stadium. Fans will have their temperature checked at entry point, and tickets will be scanned. A socially-distant seating plan has been set up to keep fans apart within parties of four or fewer. All concessions will be pre-packaged.
All fans must have a prepaid parking pass to enter the stadium lot, which opens at 2 p.m. Stadium gates open at 2:30 p.m.
It is a critical game for Inter Miami, which is trying to make a late-season push for a playoff spot and facing an Orlando City team that is riding a 12-game unbeaten streak and just clinched a playoff spot for the first time in their club history.
Orlando is in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with an 8-2-8 record.
With four games remaining in the regular season, Inter Miami is in 12th place in the Eastern Conference with a 5-11-3 record and 18 points. Atlanta United is in 11th place with 19 points, and Chicago Fire in 10th place with 20 points. The top 10 advance to the playoffs.
It will be the fourth meeting between Inter Miami and Orlando City. Orlando City won twice, both by 2-1 scores, and Miami won 3-2 on Aug. 22.
Inter Miami will be without Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain, who is suspended after receiving a red card for arguing with a referee following Saturday’s 2-1 road loss to the Montreal Impact.
Alonso said losing Higuain for such a big game is tough, and lamented that tempers flared after the Montreal game.
“I like players to have competitive spirit and to defend the team on the field; but it is not necessary to be expelled with a red card to prove your commitment to the team,” Alonso said. “The referee may make a mistake, but he can’t be an excuse, ever. We have to play better and respect the referees and our opponents. This is something we have to correct. I had a conversation with the players about it.”
Defender Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, who also complained to the referee along with Higuain, Nico Figal and Blaise Matuidi, said: “We were so angry because their second goal happened after a clear foul on Nico Figal that they did not call. We also wanted the referee to check on (an apparent foul) at the end of the game, and he didn’t want to. This is why we were so mad, so angry. He was a little arrogant with us.”
Inter Miami’s dynamic playmaker Rodolfo Pizarro is expected to be back in the starting lineup after missing four games while on duty with the Mexican national team. Defender Andres Reyes is also slated to return, in a face mask, after suffering a facial fracture.
For fans unable to attend the game, it will be nationally televised in Spanish in UniMas and streamed on TUDN’s Twitter and the Univision 23 app. Fans can also listen on Spanish radio (WQBA 1140 AM). There is also live commentary on the team app.
This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 10:55 AM.