Start a new era! Inter Miami to bid farewell to Chase Field as stadium attendance declines

This Saturday, local time, Inter Miami will face Atlanta United at home. This will be the last MLS regular season game held at Chase Stadium. By the time the playoffs are over, it will have accomplished its mission.

The stadium was once owned by the defunct Fort Lauderdale Strikers and former MLS team Miami Fusion, and was even abandoned for a time. In 2019, the stadium was demolished and rebuilt by the newly formed Inter Miami. As local fan Abad said: "It's hard to imagine that a superstar like Messi is playing for our club and playing in this once-abandoned stadium."

Inter Miami is about to move into the new Miami Liberty Park, a stadium that can accommodate 25,000 people and will become the core of the "Football Village" integrating shopping, dining, offices and green spaces. The new stadium is located next to Miami International Airport, in sharp contrast to Chase Stadium in Broward County, which has a more modest surrounding facilities.

For many Miami fans, the time they spend traveling to Chase Stadium may be longer than the time they spend watching the game. But Chase Arena allows fans to watch the action up close, and even though it looks like the home of a lower-tier club, it's still awe-inspiring when you see stars like Messi, Busquets, DePaul, Alba and Suarez. David Beckham will be here too.

Many fans remember the game when Messi first came to Miami, especially his debut in July 2023, which was called the "Messi Hurricane", and the free kick he scored in his first appearance in the UEFA Cup. In the end, Messi led the team to win the championship.

This stadium has also witnessed the end of the careers of some legendary stars. Higuain retired here, Busquets and Alba will retire at the end of this season. Suarez is 38 years old and his contract will expire this season. After an up-and-down season, now Messi has a chance to cap off his time at Chase Field.

Miami fans heading to the new stadium, Miami Liberty Park, may not be able to avoid traffic jams, but the club said the new 2.5-mile road leading to the stadium will be the widest among new stadiums in the United States in decades, and the new 5,000 parking spaces will also be the most among MLS stadiums.

Inter Miami will not bid farewell to Broward County completely, and Chase Stadium will continue to host major events. The training ground, club headquarters and youth academy will remain within the complex. Beckham has pledged to create a women's team under the club's banner, which could give the stadium a lasting football legacy.

And attendance at Chase Stadium has dropped, since everyone who wanted to see Messi has already seen him. While the reported numbers are still high, there are actually a lot of empty seats. Tickets for Saturday's game can be purchased on the primary market in almost any area.