Late last week, Inter Miami CF‘s Lockhart Stadium plan was unveiled, showing the club’s vision for a complex at the venerable Fort Lauderdale facility’s site.
In January, it was revealed that Inter Miami CF–the upcoming MLS expansion club backed by a group that includes David Beckham–is pursuing the site of Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale for a redevelopment project that includes a training academy. More details about that vision were presented on Friday, when the club released renderings and a video showcasing the plans.
Under the vision that Inter Miami CF is pitching, a new facility that would be built at the Lockhart Stadium site could accommodate a USL squad. The stadium would be part of a larger complex that also includes a training academy, offices for the organization, community space, and potentially new development such as restaurants. More from the Sun-Sentinel:
Miami Beckham United proposes tearing down Lockhart to replace it with a soccer stadium oriented north-south, which the group says is a superior alignment because of the sun. The group would start a youth soccer academy, and would build its administrative offices at the site.
There could be a restaurant if the city wanted it, under the Miami Beckham United proposal, which also offers green space, a dog park, a running trail, playground and public park.
Inter Miami CF site plan.
Inter Miami CF is not the only entity that is seeking to redevelop the Lockhart Stadium site. FXE Futbol, led by CEO John P. Reynal, is pitching a separate plan that calls for renovating Lockhart Stadium to land a Division II USL Championship squad, while redeveloping surrounding land to include soccer and multi-purpose fields, park space, dining and retail options, and a Topgolf facility. It will be up to Fort Lauderdale officials to decide whether to move forward with either proposal for the 64-acre, city-owned site.
Located near Fort Lauderdale Executive Aiport, Lockhart Stadium is a facility that opened in 1959 and has been home to numerous soccer clubs in the past, including MLS’s Miami Fusion (1998-2001) and multiple incarnations of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. The last incarnation of the Strikers (NASL) played their final match there in 2016, and the condition of Lockhart Stadium has detoriated in the years since.
Renderings courtesy Inter Miami CF.
RELATED STORIES: Inter Miami CF Faces Competition for Lockhart Stadium Redevelopment; Inter Miami CF Training Academy Pitched for Lockhart Stadium Site; Beckham Group Pitching Inter Miami CF Training Academy