Design & Development

Inter Miami lift lid on temp home – 10 months in the making

Inter Miami has opened the doors to its temporary stadium for the first time, as the expansion franchise prepares to play its first home Major League Soccer (MLS) game on Saturday.

Having opened its debut MLS campaign with defeats on the road at LAFC and D.C. United, the team, which is owned by a consortium led by Jorge Mas and David Beckham, will christen Inter Miami CF Stadium against LA Galaxy at the weekend.

Ahead of Saturday’s match against Beckham’s former club, Inter on Tuesday welcomed more than 3,000 season-ticket holders to an open training session held at the new stadium built in place of the demolished Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

The 19,000-seat stadium has been developed in eight months, with the first roof structure being successfully fitted back in November. Inter currently intends to play its first two seasons at the stadium, which is part of a wider $140m (£108.4m/€123.6m) complex that will house its training base on a long-term basis.

The club’s permanent home is intended to be Miami Freedom Park. The $1bn project is currently in the planning stages and along with a 25,000-seat stadium, is earmarked to include one of the city’s largest public parks and a tech hub, among other components.

In October, MLS commissioner Don Garber locked horns with Miami authorities over the process surrounding the delivery of the stadium. Garber spoke out amid ongoing unease over securing a stadium for a franchise that was initially formed in 2014, before being ratified in January 2018.

The temporary stadium solution for Inter Miami CF was designed by MANICA Architecture.

David Manica, MANICA’s Principal and Founder told TheStadiumBusiness: “Inter Miami stadium in Lockhart was designed and constructed in 10 months. It utilized pre-engineered seating systems and highly strategic design and construction methods in order to accelerate the entire delivery schedule and lower costs. I believe it represents a new benchmark for high-quality stadiums that can be delivered in a short amount of time – at a very reasonable cost per seat”

Images: Inter Miami  MANICA (renders)