Sports — Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fort Lauderdale, the county seat of Broward County with a population of 183,032 according to the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023, occupies a distinctive position in American sports history. Three interlocking pillars define that history: competitive aquatics, professional baseball spring training, and soccer. The city dedicated the Las Olas Casino Pool on January 29, 1928 — documented by the International Swimming Hall of Fame as the first Olympic-sized swimming pool in the state of Florida — establishing a foundation for competitive swimming that culminated in the founding of the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1964. The New York Yankees conducted spring training at Fort Lauderdale Stadium from 1962 through 1995, a 33-year tenure documented by the Florida Grapefruit League. The former Lockhart Stadium site now hosts Chase Stadium, home of Major League Soccer's Inter Miami CF, which won MLS Cup 2025 at that venue. Beyond those pillars, the Florida Panthers NHL franchise — headquartered at a practice facility in Fort Lauderdale and playing home games at Amerant Bank Arena in nearby Sunrise — adds a fourth professional-sports dimension to the broader Fort Lauderdale sports landscape.

The history of competitive swimming in Fort Lauderdale begins with a single facility. On January 29, 1928, the City of Fort Lauderdale dedicated the Las Olas Casino Pool, which the International Swimming Hall of Fame identifies as the first Olympic-sized swimming pool in Florida. That pool drew elite competitors and, within a decade, produced a swimmer who shaped the sport nationally. Katherine Rawls, a Fort Lauderdale High School alumna whose competitive career ran from 1930 through 1939, was named the Associated Press national female athlete of the year in 1936, according to the City of Fort Lauderdale Parks and Recreation Department. Her prominence helped establish the College Swim Forum in 1935 and directly contributed to the founding of the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1964, which was formally dedicated in 1968.

The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF), located at One Hall of Fame Drive in Fort Lauderdale, is recognized by World Aquatics as the official hall of record for aquatic sports globally. The Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex, operated by the City of Fort Lauderdale Parks Department, also supports competitive club swimming through Swim Fort Lauderdale, whose coaching staff has produced athletes who qualified for Olympic Trials across the 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 Olympic cycles, according to the city parks department. A major redevelopment of the aquatic complex campus — carrying a construction value of $218 million as reported by World Aquatics — is currently underway, with planned components including a new museum, aquarium, event spaces, restaurants, and a theatre. NBC Miami previously reported the City of Fort Lauderdale committed to contributing $11 million annually toward the project's financing.

Fort Lauderdale is home to two professional sports venues with active or recently active major-league tenants. Chase Stadium, constructed on the site of the former Lockhart Stadium, holds 21,550 spectators and serves as the home ground of Inter Miami CF in Major League Soccer, according to MLS Soccer. The facility hosted MLS Cup 2025 in November 2025. The Florida Panthers, winners of the Stanley Cup in both 2023 and 2024, operate their practice headquarters at the refurbished War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale; WLRN reported that the renovation of that facility exceeded its $65 million budget and includes retail and dining components. The Panthers play home games at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, approximately 12 miles west of downtown Fort Lauderdale.

The Panthers' civic connection to Fort Lauderdale extends beyond the practice facility. Following the franchise's 2024 Stanley Cup championship, Florida Hockey Now documented that the victory parade was held on Fort Lauderdale Beach along A1A, reflecting the franchise's geographic and civic identification with the city. WLRN reported that the Panthers surpassed one million in total attendance, including playoff games, following their back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024.

Baseball established a significant presence in Fort Lauderdale across the second half of the twentieth century. The New York Yankees conducted spring training in Fort Lauderdale from 1962 through 1995 — a 33-year run documented by the Florida Grapefruit League. The Yankees used Fort Lauderdale Stadium, built in 1959 as part of a broader Broward County sports complex that also included Lockhart Stadium. The franchise relocated to George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa following the conclusion of that arrangement in 1995. The three-decade spring training relationship positioned Fort Lauderdale alongside a handful of Florida cities that became synonymous with major-league baseball's preseason geography during the Grapefruit League's expansion era.

Fort Lauderdale's soccer history is tied to a single geographic site. In 1977, the Miami Toros of the original North American Soccer League (NASL) relocated to Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, renaming themselves the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Lockhart Stadium later served as the home of the Miami Fusion in Major League Soccer from 1998 through 2001, when that club folded. The site hosted lower-division and international competition in the years that followed before Lockhart Stadium was demolished in 2019 and 2020.

Chase Stadium, constructed as a replacement on the same site, opened in 2020 as the home of Inter Miami CF, a MLS expansion franchise co-owned by David Beckham. In November 2025, Chase Stadium hosted MLS Cup 2025. According to MLS Soccer, Inter Miami defeated Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3-1 to claim the club's first MLS Cup title in its sixth season. Lionel Messi recorded two assists and was named the championship's most valuable player; David Beckham became the first person to win an MLS Cup as both a player and an owner. Chase Stadium was constructed as an interim venue pending the planned opening of Nu Stadium, also known as Miami Freedom Park, in 2026, per MLS reporting.

Three significant developments have shaped Fort Lauderdale's sports landscape since 2024. In September 2024, WLRN reported that the Florida Panthers extended their operating agreement with Broward County for five additional years, ensuring the franchise remains at Amerant Bank Arena through at least 2033. The agreement followed back-to-back Stanley Cup championships and an attendance record exceeding one million fans including playoff games.

In May 2025, the City of Fort Lauderdale Parks and Recreation Department reported that Phase 1 construction on the $218 million International Swimming Hall of Fame redevelopment at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex had resumed. The project, whose overall construction value was documented by World Aquatics, is planned to include a new ISHOF museum, aquarium, event spaces, restaurants, and a theatre. NBC Miami had previously reported the City committed to an $11 million annual contribution to support the project's financing.

In November 2025, Inter Miami CF won MLS Cup 2025 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, defeating Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3-1. The championship concluded the club's sixth MLS season and marked Fort Lauderdale's most recent major professional sports title, according to MLS Soccer.

Fort Lauderdale's sports institutions function within a broader Broward County and South Florida regional sports ecosystem. Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise — home of the Florida Panthers — sits approximately 12 miles west of downtown Fort Lauderdale near the western edge of Broward County. The arena hosted the 2023 NHL All-Star Game and games from both the 2023 and 2024 Stanley Cup Finals, establishing Broward County as a recurring venue for national-level ice hockey. The Florida Panthers' decision to base their practice operations and War Memorial retail complex in Fort Lauderdale rather than in Sunrise reinforces the city's role as the franchise's civic anchor.

The aquatic sports infrastructure similarly has regional and international reach. The International Swimming Hall of Fame is recognized by World Aquatics as the official global institution for aquatic sports history, and its planned redevelopment is being funded through a combination of city contributions and broader financing. The Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance documents that the marine industry — described by the Marine Industries Association of South Florida as making Fort Lauderdale the 'Yachting Capital of the World' — contributes approximately $9 billion in economic impact to Broward County and supports more than 111,000 county jobs. That marine culture, while distinct from organized competitive sport, provides the broader recreational and aquatic identity within which the city's competitive swimming institutions exist. Chase Stadium's planned transition to a secondary role following the expected opening of Nu Stadium in Miami in 2026 is a near-term structural change that will affect Inter Miami CF's presence in Fort Lauderdale going forward.