Nu Stadium opens amid exulting fans

Article posted by Coliseum, April 7^th, 2026

Image: @InterMiamiCF on X

Thousands of jubilant fans clad in flamingo-pink conjured a party atmosphere at the Nu Stadium in Miami, Florida (US) more than three hours prior to kickoff on the night of April 4^th at the grand opening of the Major League Soccer (MLS) team Inter Miami CF’s new stadium.

‘MIAMI NEW TIMES’ stated that after more than two years of construction the Inter Miami’s $350 million Nu Stadium opened on April 4^th as the first new professional stadium in South Florida since the 36,742-capacity Marlins Park opened in 2012. It replaces the 21,550-capacity Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale as the Inter Miami’s home base – the team played its first six seasons and won its first MLS Cup at the Fort Lauderdale venue.

The Nu Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in Miami, Florida (US). The 26,700-seat stadium serves as the home field of the Major League Soccer (MLS) team Inter Miami CF replacing the interim Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

The Inter Miami CF, commonly referred to as Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in Miami (US). The club competes in the Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference.

‘MIAMI NEW TIMES’ further stated that despite having to navigate the nearby airport traffic and the still under-construction Miami Freedom Park development of which the stadium is just one part the fans were in a jovial mood.

The Miami Freedom Park is rapidly taking shape as a transformative mixed-use development poised to redefine urban living in Miami. Designed by the renowned master planner Arquitectonica the ambitious 130-acre project is being constructed on the site of a former public golf course and is intended to serve as a model for integrated, sustainable city planning.

Based in Miami and with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Paris (France), Hong Kong, Shanghai (China), Manila (the Philippines), Dubai (UAE), Lima (Peru), and São Paulo (Brazil), Arquitectonica is a major presence on the world architectural stage. Founded in 1977, the firm received popularity and critical acclaim almost from its inception due to a bold modernism that was immediately identified with a renaissance in Miami’s urban landscape.

The standing-only section (a trademark of the soccer stadiums around the world and the equivalent of a college football student section) was filled with pink-and-black flags, drums and brass instruments which played so loudly it was impossible to hear the referee’s whistle. The Inter Miami diehards serenaded the team for the first 10 minutes of the game.

The ‘La Famila Section’, as it’s called, reached a crescendo in the 10^th minute when the soccer giant Lionel Messi (Captain of the Inter Miami CF) bagged the team’s first goal in their new stadium. Unfortunately for the home side it wasn’t the first goal in the stadium history – the away side Austin FC claimed that milestone minutes earlier. But the embarrassing moment wasn’t enough to dampen the ‘La Familia’s’ (the Inter Miami CF’s supporters’ groups) voices which gave the stadium an atmosphere akin to the great European or South American cathedrals of the beautiful game.

The Inter Miami CF Co-Owner Sir David Beckham said to the crowd before the match began recalling the Inter Miami’s inception, “Thirteen years ago we didn’t have a name, a crest, or a home. Thank you to our fans. You are home, ‘La Familia’. Without you we are nothing and we couldn’t be happier to welcome you home.”

Beckham strode onto the field before the first whistle in his red bottoms and a sharp suit adorned with the Inter Miami crest. The crowd cheered just about as loudly for the retired soccer legend as they did for the active legend Messi.

The 26,700-seater stadium (which was nearly full for the opening match) anchors the work-in-progress Miami Freedom Park, a $1.3 billion, 131-acre development that will include more than one million square feet of retail, dining, entertainment, and office space surrounding the stadium.

The planned park presently sits as a labyrinth of dust-coated concrete and construction equipment for the fans to navigate. Several fans said they simply didn’t care about the unfinished development and that they were just excited to be there. And thankfully for the 20,000-plus fans an army of stadium staff orbited the venue to usher everyone to their seats.

Driving to the stadium was a maze of its own with orange cones woven through the construction site like a parking lot set up for driver’s license testing. There was thankfully no shortage of high-vis-vested staff to guide the drivers through the chaos.

Several thousand fans were already in their seats hours before the match started at 8 pm, a smart move considering the entry lines were reportedly backed up for an hour just ahead of kickoff.

As for the actual game the Inter Miami seemed to get off to lethargic starts in the first and second halves conceding in the sixth minute of the game and again seven minutes into the second half. The home side did grow into the game, however, and went on to control the long spells while creating several chances to score. Messi (38) and Luis Suárez (Uruguayan association football player and striker for the Inter Miami CF) (39) ran back the clock to their F.C. Barcelona (Spain) days with a goal apiece ultimately helping the team salvage a draw from the jaws of defeat with the game ending 2-2.

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