Lionel Messi and David Beckham linked up Thursday, as Inter Miami trained at Nu Stadium for the first time ever, testing out the pitch before the club’s inaugural match at the brand-new soccer-specific stadium.
The reigning MLS Cup champions will open the 26,700-seat stadium at Miami Freedom Park on Saturday night in a regular-season matchup against Austin FC, bidding farewell to Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, the club’s temporary home since joining MLS in 2020.
Beckham, the club’s co-owner, was among the first to take to the new Bermuda grass, which was grown remotely and recently installed, the soccer legend having a quick kick-around before the Herons’ practice, where he shared an embrace with Messi.
The Englishman was the catalyst for the stadium project, initially exploring other sites in the Port of Miami and downtown before landing on a plot of land near the airport and breaking ground in 2023.
Built for $350 million, the stadium sits adjacent to Miami International Airport. It will mark the club’s entry to Miami proper, after playing outside of the city throughout its first six seasons.
David Beckham at NU Stadium: pic.twitter.com/DM1aYAWoc4
— Lizzy Becherano (@lizzy_becherano) April 2, 2026
The Details of Nu Stadium
With one look around the stadium, there’s no mistaking who plays there. Pink, grey and white seats wrap around the bowl, and black seats that spell out “Inter Miami” fill the lower sections. The stadium features a standing supporters’ section behind the goal that includes decadent photos from the club’s 2025 MLS Cup, among other moments, and the largest club shop in MLS, spanning over 11,000 cubic feet.
There is also a tribute to Messi with the “Leo Messi Stand,” one of the first MLS stands to have a namesake, as is common in Europe, while also taking on the rare feat of honoring an active player.
“I was talking to Leo there about the stadium, the experience, how he felt seeing Lionel Messi stand when he walks out of the tunnel,” managing owner Jorge Mas said. “For a living player, that’s unheard of. It’s going to be amazing.”
The players have a spacious pink-and-black themed locker room inside the stadium, and the other player areas are lit with pink LED lights.
Mascherano Wary of Stadium Opener’s Emotions
Messi took to the field with his teammates soon after Beckham’s first touches but did not participate fully in the session after playing significant minutes for Argentina over the recent international break. His status for the weekend also remains unknown, as he has taken on significant travel this week.
Regardless of Messi’s availability for Saturday, manager Javier Mascherano emphasized that Inter Miami needs to be in top form coming back into MLS play. He doesn’t want the team distracted by the momentous occasion of the stadium’s debut, looking to continue building momentum in the league’s regular season following a big 3–2 win over New York City FC before the international break.
“We have to be careful about how we manage our emotions,” Mascherano said.
“We must try not to get too caught up in all the festivities and hype surrounding the pre-match celebration; often, whether consciously or subconsciously, that sort of atmosphere tends to make you relax too much. Instead, we need to harness the positive energy in the air, channel it onto the pitch, and strive to secure the win.”
Construction Ongoing, Parking a Concern
While the weekend will bring a formative moment for the club, not everything at Nu Stadium is ready. Some areas are still to be painted, and several elements, including the parking structures, are still under construction. There will be just 4,500 availble parking spots on site on Saturday, so the team is urging fans to take public transit, an uncommon mode of transportation in South Florida.
Nevertheless, there are no safety concerns, and the club is confident that Saturday and the upcoming matches will go off without a hitch, aside from the limited parking.
“We have some things obviously to finish and touch up, and things that happen with construction,” Mas said. “But the most important thing for me is to give an amazing experience, a place where we'll be very hard to beat.”
Once the stadium is 100% complete, it will likely rank among the best in MLS and help to kick off a new wave of soccer-specific stadiums, soon to be followed by New York City FC’s Etihad Park in 2027, Chicago Fire FC’s new ground in 2028 and a potential Vancouver Whitecaps stadium after that.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Beckham, Messi Link Up as Inter Miami Set to Debut Brand-New Stadium.
