Things to do nearMiami Marine Stadium

Miami Marine Stadium opened in 1963 as the first facility in the United States built specifically for motorboat racing, and it quickly became a centerpiece of Miami's waterfront life. Architect Hilario Candela designed its bold cantilevered roof to seat roughly 6,500 spectators above the water, allowing boats to race directly in front of the grandstand on the protected basin of Biscayne Bay.

Beyond racing, the stadium hosted concerts by artists including Sammy Davis Jr. and later became a venue for the annual Columbus Day Regatta. Hurricane Andrew forced its closure in 1992, and it has remained vacant since, gradually accumulating an extraordinary collection of street art across every concrete surface inside.

Visitors today come to admire the stadium from the surrounding waterfront path and to appreciate the graffiti murals that cover the interior bleachers. The structure sits on Virginia Key, a natural island with its own beaches and parkland, making it easy to combine a visit here with a broader afternoon outdoors. Those who enjoy the water can explore the bay on a kayaking excursion launched from nearby shores.

Few places in Miami blend architectural ambition, civic history, and raw urban creativity the way this site does, and that layered character makes it genuinely worth seeking out.