US Soccer Players

The official site of the USMNT Soccer Players with soccer news, schedule, statistics, players, interviews, and exclusive stories.


Next Opponent

3/24/2023 8pm ET on TBD
  • Rankings
  • Schedule
  • Results
  • Home
  • Roster
  • USMNT News
  • MLS
  • Americans Abroad
  • Alumni
  • USNSTPA
  • Archive

Inter Miami in Fort Lauderdale

November 13, 2019 by US Soccer Players

Inter Miami logo

The soccer news starts with a familiar MLS story. The league expands to Miami and ends up playing in Fort Lauderdale. Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but the old Fusion scenario is now playing out again with David Beckham’s Inter Miami. We already knew that the team would start life in a rebuilt version of the Fusion’s old home Lockhart Stadium. Now, the team is talking about their eventual move to Miami potentially taking longer than expected.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Susannah Bryan reports that Inter Miami may be in Fort Lauderdale for multiple MLS seasons. It’s worth another reminder that in the old NASL era, Fort Lauderdale and Miami were considered separate markets. There’s a good reason for that with Fort Lauderdale 30 miles north. In the interim, the Florida Panthers NHL team decided to stretch the limits of the Miami region playing even further away from downtown Miami in Sunrise. That might speak to the overall growth of the region, but the biggest issue that led to the Fusion’s short stay in MLS was their location.

Miami entered the league the same year as Chicago in 1998, the original MLS expansion class. The Fusion lasted four seasons before joining Tampa as the first contraction class. A Miami team playing in Fort Lauderdale never unlocked the broader metropolitan area. Sitting so far north, it wasn’t a viable option for too many fans. Attempts to relocate to the Orange Bowl stalled, with the Fusion stuck at the old home of the NASL’s Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

Inter Miami is now following the Fusion’s lead. On the site of what was once Lockhart Stadium, Miami will begin MLS play this season. The stadium should be nicer than the original that was showing its age in the Fusion era. It’s still a difficult location, even for Fort Lauderdale fans. In an era where MLS is moving to the urban core, Lockhart isn’t even close to downtown Fort Lauderdale, much less the middle of the Miami metro area.

Whether or not Inter Miami underestimated Miami politics, the Fort Lauderdale option is two things at once. It’s not the best solution for a Miami team and it’s an old answer to an old problem for MLS. We’ve seen this before. How Inter Miami addresses that starts with their first home game and continues until they get a stadium approved somewhere in Miami.

SI.com’s Grant Wahl has sporting director Earnie Stewart’s comments about the USMNT’s situation going into the November friendlies. ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle also has Stewart talking about the USMNT program. Yahoo Sports’ Doug McIntyre has more from Stewart.

Pro Soccer USA’s Julia Poe talks to MLS Cup winners Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan now in camp with the USMNT. The LA Times’ Kevin Baxter interviews Dave Romney about his trade from the Galaxy to Nashville. The Austin American-Statesman’s Chris Bils reports on Austin FC’s proposed training facility.

BBC Sport’s Jack Skelton and David Lockwood look at the Premier League’s response to environmental issues. FourFourTwo’s Andy Mitten argues that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may work out for Manchester United.

All links are provided as a courtesy. US Soccer Players nor its authors are responsible for the content of third-party links or sites. For comments, questions, and concerns please contact us at editor@usnstpa.com

Logo courtesy of Miami FC

Like Google +1 Retweet

Filed Under: Featured, MLS, News Update, Soccer News Tagged With: 2020 mls season, Inter Miami, mls expansion

The rest of the 2022-23 season for USMNT players in Germany’s leagues

The rest of the 2022-23 season for USMNT players in Germany’s leagues

By Jason Davis

Jason Davis looks at the situations for clubs with USMNT players in Germany’s Bundesliga, 2.Bundesliga, 3.Liga, and Regionalliga West.

Defense, identity, and urgency from the USMNT vs Serbia

Defense, identity, and urgency from the USMNT vs Serbia

By Charles Boehm

Charles Boehm highlights the USMNT defense, tactical plan, urgency, and wide play during the 2-1 friendly loss to Serbia on January 25, 2023.

Plenty of tactical options for the USMNT vs Serbia

Plenty of tactical options for the USMNT vs Serbia

By Jason Davis

Jason Davis previews the USMNT vs Serbia friendly (10pm ET – HBO Max) with the focus on how the USMNT technical staff can use this squad.

More from our writers

US Soccer Players

reggie cannon usmnt player

Reggie Cannon - USMNT

Position Defender
Pro Team Boavista
Read more about Reggie Cannon - USMNT

UNITED STATES NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM PLAYERS ASSOCIATION

Players

  • Squad
  • Results
  • Schedule
  • Match Reports

Soccer News

  • National Team
  • Major League Soccer
  • Americans Abroad
  • Featured

About USNSTPA

  • About US Soccer Players
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Sponsorship and Licensing

Copyright © 2023 All Rights Reserved - US Soccer Players.