June 26 – The concrete skeleton of Miami Freedom Park Stadium is rising beside Miami International Airport, and Inter Miami officials are confident their 25,000-seat palace will be ready for spring 2026.
Construction is accelerating on schedule, though Major League Soccer (MLS) may grant the club a familiar grace period by scheduling early road games next season – a common practice when new stadiums come online.
“We’ve seen a precedent for that in the league, we’re actively working with MLS as they set the schedule,” said Graham Oxley, Vice President of Miami Freedom Park, during Tuesday’s media tour. “We want to make sure that when we open, we’re ready and it’s not rushed. The goal and what we’re aiming for is for all of our home matches to be here.”
The stadium’s showpiece feature – a massive tensile cable canopy – is already half-complete structurally. When finished, it’ll be MLS’s largest roof system.
“It basically starts from inside the pitch, from the touchlines all the way out over the concourse,” Oxley explained. “It’s a challenging engineering feat, especially when you throw in the hurricane codes we have to build and adhere to here in Miami, but [team co-owners] Jorge and Jose Mas and everyone loved it, so we found a way to do it.”
Inter Miami’s stadium saga stretches back to David Beckham’s 2014 MLS expansion bid. After years of political wrangling, Miami’s city commission finally approved the $1 billion Miami Freedom Park project in April 2022, built on the former Melreese Golf Course site.
The development includes the $350 million stadium, a 750-room hotel, retail village, office park, and 58-acre public park – all privately funded except for an $8 million state infrastructure grant.
Meanwhile, the club are hawking premium season tickets through an immersive Wynwood exhibit. East Club packages run between $3,825-$5,525, West Club hit $5,865-$12,495, and Loge Boxes top out at $60,520 – with multi-year commitments required.
After six years in Fort Lauderdale exile, Inter Miami and Lionel Messi are finally coming home to South Beach, and a stadium they can call their own.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, moc.l1750935227labto1750935227ofdlr1750935227owedi1750935227sni@r1750935227etsbe1750935227w.kci1750935227n1750935227