Inter Miami “scored big” when it lured Lionel Messi to play for the team, now the next challenge is to “complete a stadium before its superstar’s contract expires at the end of 2025,” according to Deborah Acosta of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The $350M stadium is part of the $1B Miami Freedom Park project, which also includes more than one million square feet for commercial retail, entertainment venues, office space and three hotels. The development has “secured government backing and zoning changes,” and crews and equipment are now on site. But according to Miami-Dade County officials, “environmental approval as well as logistical issues remain before stadium construction can begin.” Acosta notes one of the issues regarding the site is it sits on a “former city-owned golf course and contains pesticides and arsenic” and “any potential exposure to these chemicals must be eliminated to meet the required environmental standards.” Another issues is raised in an initial report from Miami-Dade County, which raised the prospect that the stadium “would be too high to meet the airport zoning code.” Acosta writes failure to navigate the final permissions in a timely manner “could be costly.” And -- unless Messi signs a contract extension -- it could mean that the Argentine great is “through before the Miami soccer stadium opens,” and the team would “need to fill the seats without Messi’s presence” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/29).
STARTING THE PROCESS: In Miami, Michelle Kaufman reported that fencing “gone up, crews and heavy equipment are now on site, performing earthwork and sitework” for the new stadium. The project also includes a 58-acre public park and entertainment district. The project team consists of Miami-based architecture firm Arquitectonica, global arena and stadia design firm Manica and large-scale stadium project managers CAA Icon. The official groundbreaking ceremony for the 131-acre project will take place later this year. Kaufman added that leasing and commercial partnership efforts are “underway to attract partners, tenants, and retailers, including established and emerging brands” (MIAMI HERALD, 8/28).
