HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Manu Ginobili once lost an NBA Finals in Miami. He then was part of the team that defeated the Miami Heat for the NBA championship the next season. And, as an Argentinian, he fully understands the multicultural flavor of the region and what sport means in the region.
So now, the basketball superstar is investing in Miami’s potential.
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Former San Antonio Spurs star Ginobili is part of a team working to build what is called the Sports Performance Center, which his team calls a “next-generation sports, education and community development project.” These include the construction of a planned 10,000-seat stadium for Miami FC, a member of the United Soccer League, as well as athletic training facilities, basketball facilities, boarding schools, hotels, academic buildings and more, all on one campus.
It is scheduled to break ground in March and is scheduled to open in 2028.
“You don’t have to be blind to the growth that Miami has experienced over the last 20 years,” Ginobili said. After losing to Miami last season, his Spurs defeated the Heat in the 2014 Finals. “I remember I started going to Miami in ’02, and when I got to the NBA, it was growing unbelievably. It became not only the center of Latin America, but the center of the world.”
There are many partners working with Ginobili on the $280 million privately funded project. Among them: Miami FC co-owner Ricardo Silva, Argentinian great Juan Sebastian Veron and Argentina’s former top professional soccer player Dario Sala. In recent weeks, the group announced the appointment of longtime sports executive Nick Sakiewicz as its chief executive.
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“If you look at every background of the management team, professional athletes, shareholders, co-founders, everyone is giving back to kids, giving back to the community, in community clinics, camps, charity events, so many areas,” Sara said. “That’s the essence of SPH.”
The idea is simple: connect the best athletic training with the best academics and let everything intertwine in some way. Proximity to Miami, a melting pot city and global gateway, will also bring obvious benefits – as SPH plans to recruit students from all over the world.
Silva has a long-standing connection to Miami, with his Miami FC team calling Florida International University’s stadium home since 2016. Real estate growth has continued in South Florida, and Silva said he sees the benefit of traveling 35 miles south of downtown Miami to Homestead, where he said there is more room for development.
Homestead is located on the southern edge of Miami-Dade County and is home to events such as the Homestead-Miami Speedway (which hosts NASCAR annually) and the Homestead Championship Rodeo.
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Local officials praised the idea, with Mayor Steve Losner saying late last year that the facility could “be an incredible asset while providing long-term benefits to our local economy.”
Documents filed with city officials also show that the first phase of construction is planned to include tennis courts, pickleball courts, walking trails, playgrounds, with training facilities, athlete development programs, a performance technology center and more to be added later.
“I think the academy is going to be a big advantage for Miami and Miami is going to be a big advantage for the academy, so it’s mutual,” Silva said. “As Manu said, it is the center not only of all America, but of the whole world. There is a waiting list for the best schools in the world. I have experienced this with my children. All families are looking for good schools, and now this academy is needed not only here, but all over the world.”
Such a project is something Ginobili probably couldn’t have imagined during his time in the NBA against the Heat. While he remains loyal to the San Antonio Spurs, he echoed his partners in saying he believes Miami is the right place for his latest venture.
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“We’re going to be able to have the latest technology and all the developments,” Ginobili said. “We have pretty high standards. We made this our project and something we wanted to have when we were growing up. It’s a very difficult task, but a very rewarding learning process for all of us.”
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