Sport in Miami

The Greater Miami area 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 also the home to the newly formed Inter Miami CF of Major League Soccer led by David Beckham.

Miami Jai Alai fronton, built in 1926 and known as "The Yankee Stadium of Jai Alai"

Miami is also home to the Sony Ericsson Open for professional tennis, numerous greyhound racing tracks, 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. Miami is also home to Paso Fino horses, where competitions are held at Tropical Park Equestrian Center.

Major league teams

The Miami area is home to four major league sports teams. Currently, the Miami Heat and the Miami Marlins play their games within Miami's city limits. The Heat play their home games at the American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami. The Miami Marlins home ballpark is Marlins Park, located in the Little Havana section of the city on the site of the old Orange Bowl stadium.

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 won 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.

The Sony Ericsson Open, a major tennis tournament, is held in Miami annually

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.

The Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association was formed in 1988 as an expansion team. They have won three league championships (in 2006, 2012 and 2013), and five conference titles.

The Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball began play in the 1993 season. They won the World Series in both seasons they qualified for the postseason, doing so in 1997 and 2003.

The Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League was founded in 1993 as an expansion team. They have made one appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996. They play in nearby Sunrise at the BB&T Center.

Inter Miami CF of Major League Soccer was founded in 2018 as an expansion team. Inter Miami CF will play their first two seasons at the new Lockhart Stadium until construction of the Miami Freedom Park is complete. Inter Miami has demolished the old Lockhart stadium and will be constructing a new 18,000-seat stadium and 50,000 square-foot training facility. The Lockhart site will remain the permanent training complex for the Clubs’ teams, including its youth Academy when Miami Freedom Park opens.[1]

Miami major league professional sports teams
Club Sport Miami Area since League Venue League Championships
Miami Dolphins Football 1965 National Football League Hard Rock Stadium Super Bowl (2) (1972, 1973)
Florida Panthers Hockey 1993 National Hockey League BB&T Center None
Miami Heat Basketball 1988 National Basketball Association American Airlines Arena NBA Finals (3) (2006, 2012, 2013)
Miami Marlins Baseball 1993 Major League Baseball Marlins Park World Series (2) (1997, 2003)
Inter Miami CF Soccer 2018 Major League Soccer Miami Freedom Park None

Other professional teams

Miami FC became the first professional soccer team based in the city to win a national soccer title after winning the 2018 NPSL Championship.[2]

Miami other professional sports teams
Club Sport League Venue League Championships
Atletico Miami CF Soccer United Premier Soccer League Tropical Park Stadium None
Miami FC Soccer USL Championship Riccardo Silva Stadium National Premier Soccer League Champions (2) (2018, 2019)
Miami United FC Soccer National Premier Soccer League Ted Hendricks Stadium None
FC Miami City Soccer USL League Two Tropical Park Stadium None

College sports

Miami is the home of many college sports teams. The two largest are the University of Miami Hurricanes, whose football team formerly played at the Miami Orange Bowl from 1937 until 2008, moving to Sun Life Stadium subsequently, and Florida International University Panthers whose football team plays at FIU Stadium.

Miami college sports teams
College / Athletics Football
(attendance)
Basketball
(attendance)
Division Conference National Championships
(Most Recent)
Miami Hurricanes Miami football (53,837) Miami basketball (5,777) D-I Atlantic Coast Conference 30 (2001 – Football & Baseball)
FIU Panthers FIU football (15,453) FIU basketball (1,474) D-I Conference USA 4 (1984 Men's Soccer)
Barry Buccaneers     D-II Sunshine State Conference 7 (2007 – Men's Golf)
NSU Sharks   NSU basketball D-II Sunshine State Conference 16 (2016 Baseball)

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.

See also

References

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