Grand Stadium Opening, Messi Scores — Everything but a Win for Inter Miami

MIAMI — The curtains rose on Inter Miami’s $350 million Nu Stadium with every bell and whistle South Florida could muster: speeches, a Marc Anthony national anthem, fireworks, and a giddy David Beckham working the concourses like the host of a long-planned housewarming. Yet when the confetti settled, the expansion-night script still lacked its storybook finish, the home side held 2-2 by visiting Austin FC in a breathless 2026 MLS opener Saturday.

Lionel Messi, the headliner whose name was literally bolted onto the “Leo Messi Stand” hours earlier, supplied the moment every ticket buyer craved, darting through the penalty area in the 14th minute to head home the equalizer and awaken a sold-out crowd of 26,700. Luis Suárez, another member of Miami’s star-studded strike force, appeared to author the perfect coda, punching in a rebound from Messi’s 90th-minute free kick for a would-be winner. An offside flag erased the drama, leaving the brand-new venue with a result as incomplete as the surrounding construction fences.

“We could’ve been better,” coach Javier Mascherano admitted afterward, acknowledging a sluggish first half in which his side allowed Austin too many chances. “We didn’t come into the match right. I hope it doesn’t happen again.”

The draw did little to dampen the festive mood inside Freedom Park, the 135-acre redevelopment of the former Melreese Golf Course that now anchors a $1.3 billion mixed-use project. MLS Commissioner Don Garber, on hand to christen the ground, called the 25,000-seat bandbox “breathtaking,” while Beckham hailed the culmination of a 13-year pursuit that began when the former England captain exercised an expansion option in his original MLS contract.

“We had no name, no fans, no stadium,” Beckham told reporters. “Today I stand in our new home, we are champions of MLS and we have the best player in the game playing here in Miami.”

The club received its occupancy permit only Friday, and tarred access roads were still drying Saturday morning. None of that deterred supporters, who snapped up the cheapest available ticket at $338 on Ticketmaster and packed southbound Tri-Rail cars from Broward County for the final 10-minute walk to the ground.

Inter Miami will continue to train in Fort Lauderdale, meaning the franchise’s daily operations—and most players’ residences—remain well north of the new site. Still, the symbolism of the shift was not lost on managing owner Jorge Mas, who addressed the crowd in Spanish moments before kickoff: “We’re finally home.”

If Suárez’s late strike had survived VAR review, the night would have matched the perfectly choreographed spectacle that preceded it. Instead, the stadium and its marquee star had to settle for a tantalizing glimpse of what awaits.

Inter Miami return to league play next week, searching for the victory that will validate both the venue and the star power that fills it. On this night, the show was everything the club imagined; the three points, however, remain on the to-do list.