MIAMI – Work is underway in Miami-Dade County for what will eventually be a brand new soccer stadium and community complex for Inter Miami.
Currently, the site is undergoing park rehabilitation -- the first moves for Miami Freedom Park.
This is all happening at the golf course formerly known as Melreese, outlined in part of a massive agreement with its landlord, the city of Miami.
As Inter Miami team owner Jorge Mas promised last year, the team will be paying to clean the pesticide, lead and arsenic contamination on the site that was once an incinerator dumping ground.
That all has to be done before actual construction can begin on the billion-dollar recreation complex and soccer stadium.
The arrival of soccer messiah Lionel Messi jumpstarted more than a winning team.
The team got a $75 million investment infusion in early August -- money for the project.
Behind the headline of the splashy official construction announcement earlier this week, the devil is in the details, which include an environmental report still due to the county next month, and height approval from the county aviation department because of nearby Miami International Airport.