Chase Stadium

Chase Stadium (formerly Inter Miami CF Stadium and DRV PNK Stadium) is a soccer-specific stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Built on the site of the former Lockhart Stadium, the 21,550-seat stadium is the home pitch of Inter Miami CF of Major League Soccer and its MLS Next Pro reserve side Inter Miami CF II. Chase Stadium opened in 2020 as an interim venue for Inter Miami CF until the completion of the Miami Freedom Park stadium.

The stadium is the primary headquarters for the team and its youth academy, in addition to further training grounds.

History

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers announced in 2016 that they were moving out of Lockhart Stadium, after which the stadium fell into a state of disrepair. In January 2019, Major League Soccer expansion team Inter Miami CF announced its intentions to pursue the Lockhart Stadium site to serve as the club's training ground for its first team, youth academy, and then-future USL League One (USL1) team Fort Lauderdale CF. The Fort Lauderdale city council unanimously approved Inter Miami's bid for the Lockhart Stadium site in March 2019. In April, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission gave approval to Inter Miami to begin the demolition process.

On July 9, 2019, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission unanimously approved a 50-year lease agreement for the Lockhart Stadium site with Inter Miami; under the terms of the agreement, the city of Fort Lauderdale will retain ownership of the property while Inter Miami will be responsible for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the new facilities. The stadium is intended to be an interim facility for Inter Miami CF until the completion of the proposed Miami Freedom Park stadium in Miami; the expansion franchise was granted on the condition that a stadium eventually be built in Miami.

On November 13, 2019, Inter Miami CF announced that the club's inaugural home match would be scheduled for March 14, 2020, against the LA Galaxy. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MLS season was paused. Fort Lauderdale CF therefore played the first match of the new stadium, a 0–2 loss to Greenville Triumph SC. Inter Miami CF would not play home matches until August 22, 2020, when they beat their in-state rival Orlando City SC 3–2 in the first MLS match at the stadium.

On April 8, 2021, it was reported that Inter Miami CF had reached a naming rights agreement with Fort Lauderdale-based car retailer AutoNation; the agreement was officially announced the next day. The stadium was branded as DRV PNK Stadium, a tie-in with AutoNation's breast cancer awareness campaign (with pink also being one of Inter Miami's main kit colors).

On February 20, 2024, the day before Inter Miami CF's opening match of the 2024 regular season, the team announced a multi-year naming rights partnership with JPMorgan Chase. The stadium was rebranded as Chase Stadium effective immediately.

Expansion

Following Lionel Messi's June 2023 announcement of his planned move to Inter Miami CF, the club's managing owner Jorge Mas stated that the corners of the stadium would be filled to add 3,000 to 3,200 seats to handle some of the expected demand. The new sections use bleacher seating from the Miami International Autodrome, the temporary Formula One circuit built at Hard Rock Stadium for the Miami Grand Prix.

The Fort Lauderdale city government announced on June 21 that Inter Miami CF would need to cease work on the seating expansion due to alleged installations done without permits; the club claimed that no work had commenced. An agreement between the club and the city was quickly struck to resolve the permitting dispute, as well as outstanding payments the club owed for a temporary parking lot used by the stadium that is planned to be converted to a public park. The 3,000 new seats were completed ahead of Messi's unveiling on July 16, along with new security measures and barriers on the pitch and near the players entrance. The press box was expanded from 37 to 52 seats with an auxiliary area that is adjusted based on demand.

A second expansion was completed in January 2024 that increased capacity to 21,550 seats. A new section in the southwest corner, along with more seats in the northeast and southeast corners, added 1,200 seats; the expansion also included six "opera boxes" and nine "theatre boxes" with suite-like seats.

Soccer

On December 9, 2020, the stadium hosted its first international match between the United States and El Salvador; the United States won 6–0. During the 2021 MLS season, CF Montréal used the stadium to play their home matches since the start of the season after travel restrictions prevented the team from playing their matches in Montreal.

International matches

American football

Chase Stadium has also hosted American football games, including the Miami Hurricanes spring game, and the Florida High School Athletic Association state championships. The stadium is used for local regular season high school football games as well, with some schools which played games at the stadium including Fort Lauderdale High School, Pine Crest School, American Heritage School, and North Broward Preparatory School.

In September 2023, the stadium was announced as the venue for the inaugural Florida Beach Bowl, a college football bowl game for teams from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) within NCAA Division II.

Transportation

Chase Stadium is located near Interstate 95 at its junction with Commercial Boulevard (State Route 870) in Fort Lauderdale. The stadium has three designated parking lots for pre-purchased ticketholders and an additional lot for other visitors. The nearest Tri-Rail commuter rail station is Cypress Creek, but additional nighttime train service is not provided for Inter Miami CF matches.

In April 2022, Inter Miami CF announced a partnership with Brightline to provide passenger trains from Miami and West Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale station with a dedicated shuttle for fans. The service, named the GOOOL Getter, will have three round-trips before and after home matches.

References

External links

• Official website