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Sports in Miami

Overview of sports in Miami From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sports in Miami
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The Greater Miami area or South Florida is home to five major league sports teams — the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League, the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association, the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball, the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League and Inter Miami CF of Major League Soccer.[1][2]

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Hard Rock Stadium is the home stadium for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League, the Miami Hurricanes football team of the University of Miami, and College Football Playoff's Orange Bowl game held annually each January.
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The Sony Ericsson Open, a major tennis tournament, is held in Miami annually.
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Casino Miami, built in 1926 and known as "The Yankee Stadium of Jai Alai"
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Geoff Brabham in the Nissan NPT-91 about to take the checkered flag at the conclusion of the 1992 Miami Grand Prix on the Bicentennial Park (Now Museum Park (Miami)) circuit.
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A group of tennis players in Coral Gables (1925).

Miami is also home to the Miami Open for professional Tennis, numerous greyhound racing and horse racing tracks, Boxing, marinas, jai alai venues, and golf courses. The city streets has hosted professional auto races, the Miami Indy Challenge and later the Grand Prix Americas, whereas the Homestead-Miami Speedway oval located 35 miles (56 km) southwest currently hosts NASCAR national races, and the Miami International Autodrome has hosted the Grand Prix of Miami (sports car racing) or Miami Grand Prix in Formula One since 2022. Miami is also home to Paso Fino horses, where competitions are held at Tropical Park Equestrian Center.[3]

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Major league teams

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See also: Florida Panthers, Inter Miami CF, Miami Dolphins, Miami Heat, Miami Hurricanes, and Miami Marlins

The Miami area is home to five major league sports franchises.[4] Each of those teams are currently worth over a billion dollars in value. Currently, the Miami Heat and the Miami Marlins play their games within Miami's city limits. The Heat play their home games at the Kaseya Center in Downtown Miami. The Miami Marlins home ballpark is LoanDepot Park, located in the Little Havana section of the city on the site of the old Orange Bowl stadium.[5] Wayne Huizenga once was the owner of all 3 South Florida Miami team franchises being the Miami Dolphins, Miami Marlins and the Florida Panthers. Huizenga was notable for introducing baseball and ice hockey to the South Florida area as the creator and initial owner of the Florida Marlins and Florida Panthers.[6] Also, he bought the cable television channel SportsChannel Florida (now Bally Sports Florida) in 1996 to air his teams' games in the region.

The city's first entry into the American Football League was the Miami Dolphins, which competed in the fourth AFL league from 1966 to 1969. In 1970 the Dolphins joined the NFL when the AFL–NFL merger occurred. The team made its first Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl VI, but lost to the Dallas Cowboys. The following year, the Dolphins completed the NFL's only perfect season culminating in a Super Bowl win. The 1972 Dolphins were the third NFL team to accomplish a perfect regular season, and they went on to win that year's Super Bowl VII, as well as the next year's Super Bowl VIII. Miami also appeared in Super Bowl XVII and Super Bowl XIX, losing both games. The Miami Dolphins play their games at Hard Rock Stadium in suburban Miami Gardens. They also hosted both the 1975 Pro Bowl and the 2010 Pro Bowl.

The Orange Bowl, a member of the College Football Playoff, hosts their college football bowl game annually at Hard Rock Stadium. The stadium has also hosted the Super Bowl; the Miami metro area has hosted the game a total of eleven times (six Super Bowls at the now Hard Rock Stadium, including most recently Super Bowl LIV and five at the Miami Orange Bowl), more than any other metro area but are now tied with New Orleans for hosting the most superbowls. It also had time for a Super Bowl LIV halftime show.

The Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association were formed in 1988 as an expansion team. They have won three league championships (in 2006, 2012 and 2013), and seven conference titles. City also hosted the 1990 NBA All Star Game.

The Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball began play in the 1993 season. They won the World Series in 1997 and 2003. From 1993 until 2011, Hard Rock Stadium also was the home field of the Marlins until their move to LoanDepot Park in 2012. The venue hosted the 2017 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

The Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League were founded in 1993 as an expansion team. They have made four appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals, losing in 1996 and 2023, and winning in 2024 and 2025. They play in nearby Sunrise at the Amerant Bank Arena.The arena also hosted the 2003 NHL All-Star Game and the 2023 National Hockey League All-Star Game. They also use to play in the old Miami Arena. In January 2026, the Florida Panthers will host a match against the New York Rangers in the 2026 NHL Winter Classic taking place at the LoanDepot Park in Miami.

Inter Miami CF of Major League Soccer was founded in 2018 as an expansion team. Inter Miami CF will play their first couple of seasons at the Chase Stadium, which was built on the site of the former Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.[7] The site, which includes a 50,000 square-foot training facility, will remain the permanent training complex for the Clubs’ teams, including its youth Academy and Inter Miami CF II.[8] After their first couple of seasons, construction should start on the Miami Freedom Park and be completed in the year 2026. On August 19, in the 2023 Leagues Cup final against Nashville SC, Inter Miami won its first-ever Leagues Cup title, winning 10–9 in penalties after a 1–1 draw.[9] In the 2024 season, Inter Miami secured their first Supporters' Shield.[10]

Location of the five major league teams in the Miami Metropolitian Area

Sports venues

See also: List of baseball parks in Miami

Miami Metro Area holds the majority of sports arenas, stadiums and complexes in South Florida. Some of these sports facilities are:

Former venues include:

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The Miami Orange Bowl
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The Miami Arena in 2002

Planned:


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Minor league and other sports

The Miami area is also host to minor league sports teams, including:

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Other professional teams

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College sports

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Greater Miami is home to many college sports teams with football and basketball having preeminent status. The most prominent are the University of Miami Hurricanes whose football team plays at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens and whose men's and women's basketball teams play at Watsco Center on the University of Miami's campus in Coral Gables. The Florida Atlantic University Owls football team plays at FAU Stadium, and its men's basketball team plays at FAU Arena in Boca Raton. The Florida International University Panthers football team plays at Pitbull Stadium, and its basketball team plays at Ocean Bank Convocation Center in University Park. The most prominent college sports program in the Miami metropolitan area are the Miami Hurricanes of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, who compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the highest level of collegiate athletics.[14] The University of Miami's football team has won five NCAA National Championships since 1983 and its baseball team has won four national championships since 1982. Other collegiate sports programs in the metropolitan area include the Florida Atlantic Owls of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, the FIU Panthers of Florida International University in University Park, the Nova Southeastern Sharks of Nova Southeastern University in Davie, and the Barry Buccaneers of Barry University in Miami Shores.

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Defunct and relocated teams

A number of defunct teams were located in Miami, including:

The Miami Fusion, a defunct Major League Soccer team, played at Lockhart Stadium in nearby Broward County. The Miami Kickers, a Women's Premier Soccer League, played at American Heritage School in Plantation, Broward County.

In 1946, the Miami Seahawks played in the All-America Football Conference for one season, 1946, and then folded.

In 1996, Miami acquired the AFL team the Sacramento Attack, which was renamed as the Miami Hooters (due to its association with the Florida-based Hooters restaurant chain), and it played from 1993 to 1995. In 1996, the association with the chain was completed, and the team moved to West Palm Beach and renamed as the Florida Bobcats.

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Boxing

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See also: Willie Pastrano, 5th Street Gym, and Women's International Boxing Federation
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Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston in the second match after the famous "phantom punch"

Miami has hosted numerous boxing matches including high profile bouts at the Hard Rock Stadium.[15][16][17]

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Mixed Martial Arts

See also: Kimbo Slice, Jorge Masvidal, Dada 5000, Kill Cliff FC, Fight Sports, and Dawg Fight

Miami has hosted high profile Mixed Martial Arts bouts at the Kaseya Center including the following notable bouts:

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Wrestling

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See also: Dwayne Johnson, Montel Vontavious Porter, and Lola Vice
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A record at the time, 78,363 fans packed Sun Life Stadium for WrestleMania XXVIII in April 2012.

Miami has hosted well known high profile wrestling event bouts by WWE, WWE SmackDown, SmackDown (WWE brand), WWE Raw, Raw (WWE brand), WWE ECW, ECW (WWE brand), World Championship Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, All Elite Wrestling, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance, Ring of Honor Wrestling, & Ring of Honor.

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2017 International Champions Cup

See also: International Champions Cup
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El Clásico at Hard Rock Stadium, July 2017

Miami hosted a duel match of El Clásico between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF for the 2017 International Champions Cup on 29 July 2017 at the Hard Rock Stadium.[18]

2024 Copa América

See also: 2024 Copa América final

Miami hosted 2024 Copa América matches including the Final at the Hard Rock Stadium.[19]

2025 FIFA Club World Cup

See also: FIFA Club World Cup

Miami hosted some matches of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup including ones with Inter Miami CF vs Al Ahly SC and SE Palmeiras at the Hard Rock Stadium.

2026 FIFA World Cup

See also: United 2026 FIFA World Cup bid

Miami will be one of eleven US host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with matches set to be played at Hard Rock Stadium.[20]

Other sport traditions and events

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Dania Jai Alai in The Casino @ Dania Beach

There are other sport events that take place in South Florida or Miami includes:

Media

See also: Media in Miami

Miami also has many radios, networks and podcasts that speak or talk about their sports and team club franchises.

See also

Notes

  1. All four teams of the Tropical Hockey League—the Miami Clippers, Miami Beach Pirates, Coral Gables Seminoles, and Havana Tropicals—played in the Miami Coliseum in nearby Coral Gables

[21]

References

External links

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