Stadium will soon operate at full capacity
Inter Miami CF will soon be able to fill their stadium to maximum capacity for the first time.
The club announced Tuesday afternoon that its 18,000-capacity DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale will operate at full capacity, starting May 29th against D.C. United, citing “rapid distribution of vaccinations in South Florida and increased demand from our loyal fans.”
The match versus D.C. United will kick off at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast locally on CBS 4, UniMás and the club’s app.
“It’s amazing,” midfielder Jay Chapman said. “It’s been so tough with COVID. I’ve played in this league for seven years and apart from last year, it’s been full stadiums and that’s what you look forward to as a player. When there aren’t fans in the stadium, it doesn’t feel like a professional game.
“Fans are what we need as players to get us out of the tough moments in the game. Without fans, the game’s just boring, to be honest with you. Once we can have everybody in the stadium, it’s going to be a fortress and I don’t think anybody’s going to like to come here and play.”
Inter Miami’s stadium hasn’t operated at full capacity since the team started playing in Major League Soccer last year.
Their 2020 home opener versus the LA Galaxy was suspended — and eventually canceled — due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Inter Miami closing their stadium to the public for most of last year.
They allowed about 350 members of their supporters groups to watch their match versus Atlanta United FC on Oct. 14, 2020, before allowing up to 3,000 fans in their final two home games of the 2020 season.
Inter Miami had announced attendances of 7,939 and 8,074 spectators at their first two home matches of 2021 versus the LA Galaxy on April 18 and Atlanta United on May 9, respectively.
They’ll continue to enforce the health and safety protocols currently in place at DRV PNK Stadium, including requiring face masks unless eating or drinking, encouraging social distancing and following cleaning protocols before and after matches.
“This is an exciting development for Inter Miami, our fans, and partners, who have waited over a year to truly debut our stadium and experience a night of fútbol at full capacity,” Inter Miami manag
ing owner Jorge Mas said in a statement. “Our community is taking great steps forward in helping us get back to normal, especially with the rapid distribution of vaccinations, and this coupled with the high demand from our fans gives us the confidence to operate at full capacity.” Current season-ticket holders will be able to watch matches from their originally selected ticket locations starting with the May 29 game versus D.C. United. Seasonticket holders can log into their account manager to view tickets for the remaining 14 regular-season home matches and will no longer have to select tickets in advance via a priority access window.
Season-ticket holders will soon receive a presale opportunity to purchase additional tickets to home games and the general public will be allowed to purchase tickets for all 2021 home matches after the presale window closes.
Inter Miami’s stadium for their home game versus CF Montreal on Wednesday will operate at reduced capacity.