A growing handful of vendors that helped get the stadium for Inter Miami CF ready to open for this year's Major League Soccer season claim they have yet to be fully paid for their work by the team's billionaire owners.
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Subcontractors that handled things like seats, fire protection systems and flooring for Nu Stadium have filed more than $20M in liens and lawsuits against entities tied to the owners of the $1B Miami Freedom Park, the mixed-use district anchored by the soccer stadium, according to records filed with the Miami-Dade County court system.
Miami Freedom Park's owners, billionaire brothers Jorge and José Mas and David Beckham, first announced their plans for the park in 2019 and gained final approval from the City of Miami Commission in 2022. The Mas brothers also lead major infrastructure engineering and construction company MasTec Inc., founded by their father.
Ares Management has invested $225M in preferred equity into Inter Miami CF, which supported the growth of the franchise and the stadium's development.
The $350M stadium's delivery in April was the first phase of a 131-acre mixed-use development, which is also set to bring 360K SF of restaurant space, 240K SF of retail, 750 hotel rooms and 400K SF of offices to city-owned land near Miami International Airport.
The project, among the largest under construction in South Florida, has already landed 120K SF of leases from tenants like global live entertainment company Fever and Tiger Woods-backed golf entertainment venue PopStroke.
Subcontractors told The Real Deal, which first reported the claims for unpaid bills, that the development team has stopped responding to them over the last few months since the stadium hosted its first game on April 4.
Structural steel fabrication company Qualico Steel Co. Inc. was the first to file a lien in May, claiming that Miami Freedom Park LLC still had an $870K unpaid balance, according to Qualico's filing.
Several vendors and subcontractors followed suit, claiming up to $13M in unpaid work for the development by September, The Real Deal reported last month.
Another $7M in claims have piled up since then. Minnesota-based Enclos Tensil Structures filed a construction lien claiming it is owed $4M for roofwork. Seat manufacturer Dreamseats LLC has filed two liens claiming the developers still owe $2.3M for the stadium's 25,000 seats and a retractable platform system.
Bay to Bay Stone Restoration Inc. claims a remaining balance of $245K for resinous flooring, and Alasur Interior Corp. reported a $141K bill for the furnishing, fabrication and installation of cover brackets during the stadium's construction.
Miami Freedom Park and its owners did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A total of 38 liens have been filed against Miami Freedom Park LLC, and a total of 16 liens were filed against Inter Miami Stadium LLC, with some companies filing more than one.
In addition to the liens, three lawsuits were filed in September against both stadium entities.
Glenn Rieder LLC, which entered a trade contract for cabinetry, countertops, millwork and finished carpentry, filed suit on Sept. 15 against both Miami Freedom Park LLC and Inter Miami Stadium LLC for a construction lien foreclosure and breach of contract.
The company, which claims that the developers have failed to pay more than $4M, filed an amended complaint last week that contains identical claims.
World Electric Supply LLC also filed suit on Sept. 15, seeking to enforce its $2.7M lien and alleging that Inter Miami breached its contract by failing to pay.
Texas-based TSI Commercial Floor of Texas sued Inter Miami Stadium LLC, seeking to foreclose on Inter Miami Stadium's leasehold interest with the city of Miami, alleging nearly $2M in unpaid costs. TSI alleges that Inter Miami, through LeMartec Corp., a MasTec company, agreed to pay for the work.
The company alleges that it received a $360K partial payment in May, but the remaining balance was still unpaid.
The soccer team is in second place in the MLS, led by Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi, who is by far the top goal scorer in the league so far this year.
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