Tamiami Park is a public
urban park
An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...
in
metropolitan Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, just south of the
Modesto Maidique campus of
Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...
.
Background
The park was built in the late 1960s on the site of the former ''Tamiami Airport'', which was rebuilt as a larger airport south in
Kendall. Growth of the surrounding area and the nearby flight path for
Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most c ...
forced the relocation of the municipal airport.
The
Fair Expo Center
The Fair Expo Center is a convention center located in Miami, Florida, adjacent to the campus of Florida International University. It has been built in stages since 1952. The center's main entrance features four meeting rooms totaling of space. ...
, site of the Miami-Dade County Fair & Exposition, is located on the eastern side of the park. A swimming pool was built in the mid-1970s equipped with state-of-the-art solar panels to heat the water.
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
held an open-air
mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
for 150,000 people in September 1987. Tamiami Stadium ''(sometimes called Tamiami Field)'' was located in the park until 1995, when
FIU Stadium
Riccardo Silva Stadium is a college football and soccer stadium on the campus of Florida International University (FIU) in Westchester, Florida. It is home stadium of the FIU Panthers football team and the Miami FC soccer team from the USL Cha ...
was built on the south end of the campus. The
Miami Toros
The Miami Toros was a professional soccer team in the North American Soccer League from 1972 to 1976. The club was founded in 1967 as the Washington Darts, and moved to Miami, where they played the 1972 season in the NASL's Southern Division ...
of the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
played there during the 1976 season. The Toros also used the field for one playoff game in 1974.
[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2206&dat=19740814&id=UDw0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=yesFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4148,1615343&hl=en ]
Auto racing
A
CART series race was held at the facility from 1985-1988. (See
Grand Prix of Miami).
References
External links
Tamiami Park
{{Greater Miami
Tourist attractions in Miami
Geography of Miami
Florida International University
Fort Lauderdale Strikers stadiums
Champ Car circuits
Motorsport venues in Florida
Defunct motorsport venues in the United States
Parks in Miami-Dade County, Florida
Defunct soccer venues in the United States
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) stadiums
1960s establishments in Florida