Source: Politics<\/p>\n
For all the<\/a>FIFA promotion<\/a> of the World Cup\u2019s arrival in Miami \u2014 think downtown skylines, Latin music and speedboats on Biscayne Bay \u2014 today\u2019s quarterfinal match between Norway and England this afternoon will not, in fact, take place along the azure waters of Miami proper.<\/p>\n Instead, star strikers Erling Haaland and Harry Kane will duel this evening in an inland, now-suburban stadium that was once a sandy tract of land where locals would take weekend dirtbike joyrides and come to dump their trash<\/a>.<\/p>\n The city of Miami Gardens, a predominantly Black community of 114,000 about 15 miles northeast of downtown Miami, is the true host of Florida\u2019s World Cup experience. Since the tournament began, the city has hosted five matches at what has temporarily been rebranded Miami Stadium, with a third-place match next Saturday still to come.<\/p>\n As with many sporting venues in the United States, Miami Stadium was never built to be accessible to a central, walkable, downtown urban core. Instead, the site was chosen by Miami Dolphins owner Joe Robbie in 1984 as a low-income, rural and then-unincorporated alternative to the city of Miami, which wanted to raise rent<\/a> on the NFL team’s stadium. Instead, Robbie signed a 99-year lease with Dade County for the stadium site, paying $1 a year.<\/p>\n At the time, the local populace was little enthused about the prospect of welcoming a $100 million pro sports stadium in its backyard. Despite a civil rights lawsuit from local homeowners, many of whom were Black, by 1987 the stadium opened to the public.<\/a><\/p>\n Nearly 40 years later, that stadium is now a major economic engine for Miami Gardens, which incorporated in 2003. The city, never a glamour destination in the region, is now host to one of the world\u2019s largest sporting events. The Oxford Economics Company\u2019s Tourism Economics Event Impact Calculator predicted that the World Cup would generate about $650 million in economic activity, spread across South Florida, a number that may have been optimistic<\/a>.<\/p>\n But local leaders are hoping there are intangible benefits for a city too easily confused with its much bigger neighbor.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will give us an opportunity to sell our story and the city of Miami Gardens,\u201d Mayor Rodney Harris said in a promotional video for the World Cup. \u201cWe want them to come back and visit us after FIFA is all gone \u2026 open up a business here in Miami Gardens.\u201d<\/p>\n