Inter Miami will open its new 26,700-seat Nu Stadium on April 4, though it “isn’t exactly the home” co-owner David Beckham originally envisioned, according to Michelle Kaufman of the MIAMI HERALD. Beckham “dreamed of a waterfront stadium with picturesque views and tried to cut a deal for a site at the county-owned Port Miami.” That proposal “got blocked, leading to another failed waterfront bid for a stadium at the boat slip on Biscayne Boulevard next to what is now Kaseya Center.” Plan C was “adjacent to Marlins Park in Little Havana, but that didn’t work out, either.” It “wasn’t until Beckham partnered with” brothers Jorge and Jose Mas, principals of construction and infrastructure firm MasTec, that a “viable stadium plan began to take shape.” The final seats at Nu Stadium are “scheduled to be installed by early next week.” The complex also will include “more than 4,500 parking spaces and 2.5 miles of new roads, plus a planned pedestrian bridge.” The area will “remain a construction zone for years,” while the rest of the $1B, 131-acre project is completed. Following delivery of the stadium and initial retail and entertainment offerings in 2026, “additional retail, hotel and commercial development will continue through 2030″ (MIAMI HERALD, 3/27).
PUBLIC TRANSIT: Kaufman in a separate piece wrote soccer fans are “encouraged (and will be incentivized) to use public transportation” to get to Nu Stadium. Trains, buses and the Metrorail will “drop fans off at the Miami Intermodal Center,” across the street from the stadium grounds. Ticket holders who travel to matches using public transportation will “receive a $10 food and beverage credit upon arrival” at Nu Stadium (MIAMI HERLAD, 3/27).
