South Florida’s Sports Performance Hub, a mixed-use development planned to become the future home of professional soccer club Miami FC, has secured a new backer with an investment from Bahrain’s ME&F Holdings, closing the project’s first investment round.
The investment provides the initial capital needed to advance planning and development of the sports, education and entertainment complex. Developer SPH is planning a 90-acre campus in Homestead featuring a 10,000-seat stadium, along with a 150-room hotel, training facilities, a sports medical center, entertainment venues, and residential and commercial space.
ME&F Holdings is the family investment office for Al Kooheji Electrical Contractors and Construction Group, according to the firm's website. The group is led by Faris Al Kooheji, who also serves as secretary general of the Bahrain Olympic Committee.
The investment round was advised and closed by 54, a sports and entertainment group that provides strategic advisory services for investors, franchises and governments. A representative for the development team declined to provide the size of the investment provided by ME&F Holdings when reached by CoStar News via email.
“South Florida has established itself as one of the world’s most compelling growth markets at the intersection of sports, entertainment, real estate and lifestyle investment,” Kooheji said in a statement from the developers. He added that SPH is an “opportunity to help shape a transformative platform that will drive community impact, economic growth and long-term value.”
The Sports Performance Hub is backed by over $280 million in private investment, according to the project’s website, and broke ground earlier in March. When completed in 2028, the development will serve as the new home of Miami FC, which currently plays at Florida International University's Pitbull Stadium and is one of Miami’s two professional soccer teams.
“South Florida has rapidly emerged as one of the most dynamic global hubs for sports, entertainment and investment, and we believe Homestead is uniquely positioned to play a meaningful role in that evolution,” Nick Sakiewicz, CEO of SPH, said in the statement.
Homestead, located 27 miles south of Miami, sits in the largely suburban and agricultural southern portion of Miami-Dade County. The city is home to approximately 86,242 residents, according to the latest census estimates, and has seen increased development in recent years as residents move farther from Miami's urban core in search of more affordable housing options.
