This small stadium on the fringes of Fort Lauderdale didn’t garner much more than a passing glance for decades, home to some failed pro soccer teams and the University of Miami spring game. That is until it became the home pitch for the greatest footballer on the planet when Lionel Messi signed with Inter Miami CF last summer. Now, it’s the mecca for soccer in South Florida, where fans from all over the world pack the place to catch an up-close glimpse of a living legend.
Reports of Jai Alai’s demise are greatly overrated, as the fastest game on earth is still going strong at the Dania Beach fronton. For the unfamiliar, the game involves two or four players hurling a pelota at a wall using a woven basket called cesta. The winner of each point stays on and the loser goes to the back of the line. The game was all the rage in the 1980s—you may recognize it from the opening credits of Miami Vice—mostly because you can wager large sums of money on the games and occasionally walk away with cash. The crowds may be smaller today, but the venue has added a casino and showroom where you can see musical performances from bands who were also all the rage in the 1980s.
Until about last May, there were no more than a few people in South Florida who had no idea the area had an NHL hockey team. That all changed with the Florida Panthers magical run to the Stanley Cup Finals, and Miami caught hockey fever for, like, four solid weeks. While the Panthers are still in the running for a Cup this year, tickets remain delightfully affordable by NHL standards. Unless the Cats are playing Toronto, Montreal, or another popular northeast team, typically you can get in the door for under $30, and get seats between the blue lines for under $100.
Those who enjoy shooting sports can make an afternoon out of a trip to the Markham Park Trap and Skeet range. There, you’ll find 100-yard pistol and rifle ranges to practice target shooting, with skeet, trap, and sporting clay ranges not far away. Mountain bikers can make a mini biathlon out of the experience, and take their two-wheeled steeds out on the park’s trails after their shoot. The ranges are open to the public, though hours can be spotty during the week so best to check before heading out.
Few would ever accuse South Florida as being a Cowboy Town, that is unless you’ve spent time in the Central Broward western enclave of Davie. In Davie, the Round Up country bar is the city’s social hub, and the Bergeron Rodeo Grounds welcome Weekley Brothers Pro Rodeo inside the Davie Arena. The rodeo offers all the buck- and bull-riding excitement you’d find in Wyoming or Las Vegas. Whether you’re a western sports devotee or just want to try something a little different, a trip to the rodeo is an experience unlike anything else you’ll find in South Florida.
Watching sports is fun, but it’s about 100 times more exciting when you’ve got an over/under to root for. That’s the fun inside the cavernous sports book at Seminole Hard Rock, where you can watch dozens of games simultaneously and add a little extra excitement to all of them. Beyond betting, the Hard Rock also regularly hosts live combat sports, from local pro MMA matches to the bloody spectacle of bare knuckle boxing.
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