City says yes to Beckham’s Inter Miami Freedom Park stadium. When, where will it be built?
READ MORE
Soccer stadium deal
After a nine-year odyssey, retired footballer David Beckham scored a key victory Thursday when Miami commissioners voted 4-1 to lease 73 acres of city-owned land for a Major League Soccer stadium and commercial center, a massive complex that will host home games for Inter Miami.
Expand All
After years of political fights and delays, David Beckham’s Inter Miami is coming to the 305.
Miami commissioners on Thursday voted 4-1 to approve the team’s 99-year lease of city-owned land to develop the Miami Freedom Park project, bringing the Major League Soccer team one step closer to playing games in the Magic City.
Naturally, Beckham, the retired footballer who owns the team with partners Jorge and Jose Mas, is ecstatic.
If you weren’t following this soccer saga, or just need a refresher, here are some of the key facts to know:
Where will the new stadium be built?
The stadium will be built on publicly owned Melreese Golf Course and Country Club, 1802 NW 37th Ave., near Miami International Airport. A hotel, shops, office space and a 58-acre park with public soccer fields will also be built as part of the project.
When will Inter Miami play at the new stadium?
The goal is to have the stadium ready by March 2025 for the start of the Major League Soccer season. It will become Inter Miami CF’s home stadium. The University of Miami’s football team might also play games there.
However, the stadium’s construction can’t start yet. Miami commissioners still need to approve zoning changes, with a vote expected to take place by the end of the year. Plus, extensive environmental cleanup is needed for the site:
The golf course was built atop a layer of toxic ash from an old municipal incinerator.
READ NEXT: See how soccer celeb David Beckham reacted after Miami leaders approved his stadium
How many seats will the new stadium have?
At the moment, the plan is to build a stadium with 25,000 seats. However, if UM decides to break its lease with Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens to move its football team to Freedom Park, the new Inter Miami stadium could be built with 40,000 seats.
What will happen to Inter Miami’s Fort Lauderdale stadium?
Inter Miami’s temporary home is at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale in Broward County. Inter Miami officials, by the way, have always said Miami was their end game.
The team will continue to play in the 18,000-seat pink-and-black stadium in Fort Lauderdale through the 2024 season, assuming that the Miami Freedom Park stadium actually opens in March 2025.
Once Inter Miami moves into its new home, the club will continue to use the Fort Lauderdale stadium and training facility for its Division II team, youth academy teams, a potential women’s pro team and for other soccer matches and sporting events.
Will this move make Miami the “centerpiece of futbol in the world,” as Jorge Mas says? That’s the goal.
This story was originally published April 29, 2022 at 2:33 PM.
