{"id":219330,"date":"2026-04-05T05:50:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T05:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/219330\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T05:50:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T05:50:11","slug":"nu-stadium-party-inter-miami-host-epic-home-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/219330\/","title":{"rendered":"Nu Stadium party! Inter Miami host epic home opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

MIAMI – Fans, celebrities and media flocked to Nu Stadium on Saturday to experience opening night at Inter Miami CF<\/a>\u2019s brand new, soccer-specific venue.<\/p>\n

The Herons were up for the occasion, throwing an epic housewarming party capped by a\u00a02-2 comeback draw<\/a> against Austin FC<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Club legends Lionel Messi<\/a> and Luis Su\u00e1rez<\/a> provided the goals that paced Miami to a dramatic start to life in their new home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, it\u2019s clear that for the last 20 to 25 minutes, we took a lot of risks,\u201d head coach Javier Mascherano told reporters post-match.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we\u2019re at home. We\u2019re MLS [Cup] champions, and we have to show it.”<\/p>\n

\n Electric atmosphere<\/p>\n

The Herons went all out to make Nu Stadium\u2019s opening match one to remember, christening their state-of-the-art Downtown Miami digs with fireworks and rousing pre-game speeches from co-owners Jorge Mas and David Beckham.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Famed Miami resident and four-time Grammy Award winner Marc Anthony<\/a> then belted out a stirring rendition of the national anthem, setting the stage for 90-plus minutes of non-stop chanting, cheering, and drumming from the sellout crowd of 26,700.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was beautiful. A sold-out crowd of people who made the effort to come and see us. And honestly, they cheered us from beginning to end,\u201d said defender Maxi Falc\u00f3n<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor them to welcome us like that, with today\u2019s spectacle, it was beautiful for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

That electric atmosphere helped the Herons recover quickly from Guilherme Biro<\/a>\u2019s sixth-minute opener for Austin, with Messi responding four minutes later to score Miami\u2019s first-ever goal at their new home with a precise header.<\/p>\n

A similar scenario played out in the second half, with fans spurring the Herons on as Su\u00e1rez came off the bench to cancel out\u00a0Jayden Nelson<\/a>\u2019s go-ahead strike by rifling home from close range in the 82nd minute.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nu Stadium briefly erupted in pandemonium after Su\u00e1rez appeared to score a last-gasp winner, only for the goal to be called off.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the field, you could definitely feel the atmosphere – especially when you score a goal to tie it up late,\u201d said goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe pushed for the winner as well, and we felt that the crowd was really with us and pushing and kind of suffocating them.”<\/p>\n

\n World-class venue<\/p>\n

While Saturday\u2019s draw wasn\u2019t the result they wanted, Inter Miami can take pride in boasting one of the best sporting venues in the world, according to MLS Commissioner Don Garber.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve done the unthinkable. The stadium is spectacular, it\u2019s breathtaking,\u201d Garber said. \u201cJose and Jorge [Mas] spoke to me this morning and they said, \u2018I wish I could be with you when you walk in because it will take your breath away.\u2019 And it did. It\u2019s absolutely spectacular.”<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels to me like a building that can rival any sports facility anywhere in the world. Not just soccer stadiums, but any sports building. I\u2019m very proud of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Mas, the venue that anchors the broader Miami Freedom Park project could launch the club to transformative heights.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cToday we\u2019re home,\u201d Mas told the crowd during his pre-game speech. \u201cI think this is a personification of what\u2019s possible. I think it\u2019s an amazing stadium, an amazing environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, listen, our goal is to lift trophies and win championships, and I think this will be a proper home to do that with and for our fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n Made in Miami\u00a0<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s match carried extra meaning for Miami beyond the outcome.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After six years playing 30 miles to the north in Fort Lauderdale, the Herons are now officially setting roots in Miami proper.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c[For the] fans to be able to have a permanent home where they know they\u2019ll be here,\u201d said St. Clair. \u201cSo I think for us, you just want to be able to reward the fans and give them wins and show them the effort. And be willing to do everything for the badge and for the club.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beckham, who helped plant the seeds of Inter Miami over a decade ago, was especially proud.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTo see this stadium come to life after years and years of trying to get this stadium up and running in Miami is something very special,\u201d said the England and LA Galaxy<\/a> legend.\u00a0\u201cI came to America and the MLS 20 years ago and I made a lot of promises. And 13 years ago, I made a lot of promises again, announcing that I was coming to Miami.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd today is just a dream come true for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n In with the Nu<\/p>\n

With Nu Stadium\u2019s first match in the books, Inter Miami are looking to build on the legacy they\u2019ve already created with MLS Cup 2025, 2024 Supporters\u2019 Shield and Leagues Cup 2023 titles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the favorite part is still to come,\u201d said Mas. “Everything to now has been frankly extremely stressful, the last few months. But I think the culmination of lifting an MLS Cup, us together here in December, would be a great shining cap off to an amazing year.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Miami\u2019s players, meanwhile, are more focused on the short-term.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a little bitter about not taking all three points because we know we\u2019re a strong team,\u201d said Falc\u00f3n.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026. We showed it last year, especially towards the end of the season. We have to get back to that, get our heads together and prepare well for our next game.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI – Fans, celebrities and media flocked to Nu Stadium on Saturday to experience opening night at Inter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219331,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[5429,123,125,124,97373,76891,4959],"class_list":{"0":"post-219330","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami","8":"tag-inter-miami-cf","9":"tag-miami","10":"tag-miami-headlines","11":"tag-miami-news","12":"tag-miavsatx-04-04-2026","13":"tag-priority-match","14":"tag-sendtonews"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219330","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=219330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}