by JAKE NUTTING

Miami FC has found a place to place call home.

The NASL expansion franchise is set to announce this Wednesday that the club will play home matches at Florida International University Stadium for its inaugural season. The venue is located on the campus of FIU and is less than a half hour car ride away from downtown Miami.

Team manager Alessandro Nesta, co-owner Riccardo Silva and FIU President Mark Rosenberg will make the announcement from the FIU grounds.

FIU Stadium opened in 1995 and after several rounds of expansion can now seat a crowd of over 20,000. That capacity puts them third in NASL behind Ottawa’s TD Place (24k) and the Strikers’ Lockhart Stadium (20,450). The next closest venues would be the New York Cosmos home Shuart Stadium (12k) and Indy Eleven’s Maichael Carroll Stadium (10.5k).

The stadium is no stranger to soccer. Before the current incarnation of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers re-branded, they were also known as Miami FC and hosted some of their games at FIU from 2007 to 2009. FIU was also one of the host stadiums for the 2009 and 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cups.

The surface at FIU Stadium is FieldTurf, making Miami FC the sixth club in the NASL to play on artificial surface.

Miami FC will begin play in the Spring Season of the 2016 NASL Season. Italian national team legends Pablo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta will be leading the upstart club as co-owner and head coach respectively. Sport Media entrepreneur Riccardo Silva holds the role of club president.