{"id":213314,"date":"2026-03-31T17:53:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T17:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/213314\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T17:53:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T17:53:08","slug":"nu-stadium-timeline-inter-miamis-road-to-new-venue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/213314\/","title":{"rendered":"Nu Stadium timeline: Inter Miami’s road to new venue"},"content":{"rendered":"

From their 2020 expansion season to the transformational 2023 signing of legendary Argentine No. 10 Lionel Messi<\/a>, the Herons continue to reach new heights.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are some key moments that have defined Inter Miami as they prepare to open the 26,700-seat soccer-specific venue.<\/p>\n

\n 1. Beckham’s Miami project<\/p>\n

The seeds of Inter Miami were planted in February 2014<\/a>, when England and LA Galaxy<\/a> legend David Beckham announced Miami as where he’d exercise the option to establish a new MLS club.<\/p>\n

Commissioner Don Garber subsequently confirmed Miami as an expansion side, and Beckham joined forces with brothers Jorge and Jos\u00e9 Mas, among other investors, as original co-owners.<\/p>\n

\n 2. Inter Miami founded<\/p>\n

Inter Miami were officially founded<\/a> as MLS’s 25th club on January 29, 2018, nearly two decades after the Miami Fusion folded following the 2001 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday is a proud day for Miami, and for our family,\u201d managing owner and CEO Jorge Mas said at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur club will have a global vision, but our fans in South Florida will always be our first priority, reflecting the best of our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n 3. Fort Lauderdale home<\/p>\n

Inter Miami previously played home matches in Fort Lauderdale, beginning with a 3-2 win<\/a> over Florida Derby rivals Orlando City<\/a> on Aug. 22, 2020.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After six-plus seasons, including last year’s MLS Cup presented by Audi triumph over Vancouver Whitecaps FC<\/a>, the Herons bid farewell to the venue long known as Chase Stadium.<\/p>\n

Their final match at the venue came on March 18 during the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a>\u00a0against Nashville SC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Inter Miami will maintain permanent training facilities at the Fort Lauderdale site for their senior team, MLS NEXT Pro<\/a> side and academy.<\/p>\n

\n 4. Miami Stadium approval<\/p>\n

On April 28, 2022, the Miami City Commission approved a 99-year lease agreement<\/a> with club ownership for a proposed stadium project near the Miami International Airport.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to a new stadium, the broader Miami Freedom Park project will include hotel rooms, commercial and office space, community fields and the largest public park in Miami, covering over 58 acres.<\/p>\n

“I always knew that this would happen, because I believe in our city and I believe in dreaming,” said Jorge Mas.\u00a0“And today a dream commences.”<\/p>\n

\n 5. Construction begins<\/p>\n

Work began on the site of what is now Nu Stadium in\u00a0August 2023<\/a>, with official groundbreaking activities following later that month.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Led by Miami-based architecture firm Arquitectonica, global arena and stadia design firm Manica, and large-scale stadium project managers CAA Icon, the entire privately-funded Miami Freedom Park project costs an estimated $1 billion.<\/p>\n

\n 6. Leo Messi Stand<\/p>\n

Inter Miami took an unprecedented step just before Nu Stadium opened, announcing the venue will include the Leo Messi Stand.<\/p>\n

It’s a rare and unique case in global sports: an athlete playing at his home stadium with a stand named in his honor.<\/p>\n

Memorably, Messi joined the Herons in July 2023 in a transformative move for global soccer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Argentine and FC Barcelona legend has since led Miami to three titles: the 2023 Leagues Cup, the 2024 MLS Supporters\u2019 Shield and the 2025 MLS Cup.<\/p>\n

To date, the back-to-back Landon Donovan MLS MVP has\u00a082 goals and 53 assists in 94 appearances across all competitions for the Herons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n 7. Nu Stadium opening<\/p>\n

Nearly four years after initial approval, Nu Stadium will open its doors on Saturday when Inter Miami host Austin FC for MLS Matchday 6.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The highly anticipated match promises to be a historic occasion, marking the Herons’ long-awaited arrival to Miami proper.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From their 2020 expansion season to the transformational 2023 signing of legendary Argentine No. 10 Lionel Messi, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":213315,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[38585,5429,123,125,124,97373,4959],"class_list":{"0":"post-213314","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami","8":"tag-essentials","9":"tag-inter-miami-cf","10":"tag-miami","11":"tag-miami-headlines","12":"tag-miami-news","13":"tag-miavsatx-04-04-2026","14":"tag-sendtonews"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}