IInter Miami will open its new permanent stadium on Saturday. The move will put it on par with NFL and NBA franchises in terms of matchdays and commercial revenue, and nearly three years after construction began, a stand will be installed to honor captain Lionel Messi.
Inter Miami, the current MLS Cup champions, will welcome Austin to their new home, New Stadium, in the first leg of Round 6 of MLS due to sponsorship issues.
Chase Stadium, a temporary stadium in Fort Lauderdale north of Miami that holds about 21,000 fans, can hold 26,700 fans, including luxury box seats overlooking the tunnel, and the club expects attendance to be more than 30% higher than last year’s numbers.
In contrast, Nu Stadium is located near downtown Miami and near the international airport. It is the centerpiece of Miami Freedom Park, a 53-hectare site currently under construction to create a public park, commercial space, hotel, and offices.
Sources of income after Messi
According to a report by Sportico, the construction of the stadium will give Inter Miami a new source of revenue, making it the most valuable club in MLS with a valuation of $1.45 billion at the start of the 2026 season.
In addition to ticket and merchandise sales, which will have a much larger store than Chase Stadium, the club expects to host concerts and other shows at its new home.
Only half of NFL teams and about eight NBA teams will generate more game and commercial revenue than Inter Miami in 2026, according to Sportico.
One of the first forms of exploitation was the contract signed with Brazilian digital bank Nubank to decide on the name of the stadium.
The deal also includes the placement of the wildebeest logo on the back of Inter Miami shirts and the securing of two spaces within the stadium: a premium lounge with seating for 770 people and Nue Plaza, a community center with meeting space, a giant screen and seating.
Moreover, Inter Miami has already completed its first concert. Mexican singer Karin Leon will be the first artist to perform there on June 28 as part of her North American tour.
All of this is to write off the $350 million investment in the stadium alone, according to estimates by the Miami Herald.
Tribute to Messi
On the soccer side, the stadium is already ready to welcome Austin, with the pitch, stands and lighting in good condition.
What’s more, it is unique in that it will hold a “Leo Messi” stand, which is unusual in the sports world and pays homage to the current Argentine star.
In the stands, players’ names are written in white letters on a pink background, and there is also a sign with the number “10” written on it, in reference to their uniform numbers.
Messi has been a fundamental pillar of the club’s sporting and financial success since arriving in Miami in the summer of 2023. Thanks to Messi, the team not only became the most valuable team in MLS, but also won the League Cup (2023), Supporters’ Shield (2024) and MLS Cup (2025).
the end of the odyssey
But to get there, Inter Miami had to travel to find a place to build a stadium.
Founded in 2018 by a group made up of former soccer player David Beckham and local businessmen Jorge Mas and Jose Mas, the team did not play its first competitive match until 2020, six years after it lost its permanent field.
Chase Stadium was a temporary solution while Inter Miami searched for a venue that met their needs and the requirements of local authorities.
The original idea for a permanent stadium was to build it on land owned by Miami-Dade County in the Port of Miami, but an alternative plan to build it next to Caseya Center, home of the NBA’s Miami Heat, was also blocked by officials.
Plans to move to the outskirts of the Little Havana area also fell through, and it wasn’t until 2022 that the city granted a 99-year lease to replace the golf course where the new stadium currently stands.
