Editing Miami Fusion (section)

===Early history===
[[Major League Soccer]] announced a [[South Florida]] team in 1998 as one of its first two expansions, along with the [[Chicago Fire Soccer Club|Chicago Fire]].<ref name="LongRangeGoals">{{cite book |last= Dure |first= Beau |year= 2010 |title= Long-Range Goals: The Success Story of Major League Soccer |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=d8xlO-mfHroC |publisher= Potomac Books |isbn= 978-1597975094 |access-date= March 17, 2014 |archive-date= September 4, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230904012215/https://books.google.com/books?id=d8xlO-mfHroC |url-status= live }}</ref>{{rp|47}} Miami businessman Ken Horowitz served as owner, the first new investor to join Major League Soccer since its founding in 1995.<ref name="LongRangeGoals"/>{{rp|64}} The team's name, the Miami Fusion, was announced on July 8, 1997, at the [[Waldorf Astoria Hotel]] in New York City ahead of the [[1997 MLS All-Star Game|MLS All-Star Game]].<ref>{{cite news |date=July 9, 1997 |title=What a kick: a Miami-style name for team |page=1A |work=[[The Miami Herald]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108264885/what-a-kick-a-miami-style-name-for-team/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=August 24, 2022 |archive-date=August 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825104648/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108264885/what-a-kick-a-miami-style-name-for-team/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Kaufman |first=Michelle |date=July 9, 1997 |title=MLS team lights fuse |page=1C |work=The Miami Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108265010/mls-team-lights-fuse/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=August 24, 2022 |archive-date=August 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825104603/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108265010/mls-team-lights-fuse/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Fusion debuted in the [[1998 MLS season]], playing in the renovated [[Lockhart Stadium]], considered a forerunner to the league's later [[soccer-specific stadium]]s.<ref name="LongRangeGoals"/>{{rp|xv}}<ref name=Rusnak>Rusnak, Jeff (October 8, 2012). [http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2008-10-12/sports/0810110129_1_mls-miami-fusion-rio-tinto-stadium "Fusion's Lockhart Stadium stint paved way for new MLS venues"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140622013332/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2008-10-12/sports/0810110129_1_mls-miami-fusion-rio-tinto-stadium |date=June 22, 2014 }}. ''[[Sun-Sentinel]]''. Retrieved March 13, 2014.</ref>

The Fusion started their inaugural season strong. Led by star [[midfielder]] [[Carter Stephens]], the Fusion drew 20,450 to their first game at Lockhart Stadium against [[D.C. United]], showing off the possibilities of a more intimate venue designed especially for soccer.<ref name="LongRangeGoals"/>{{rp|60}} Another 3,000 were turned away by police.<ref>{{cite news |last=Goff |first=Steven |date=March 16, 1998 |title=United Sees Opening, Spoils Day for Fusion |page=D1 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1998/03/16/united-sees-opening-spoils-day-for-fusion/3d5f0851-78b0-49d4-a398-d4a1abcb6b82/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 2, 2020 |archive-date=November 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103095200/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1998/03/16/united-sees-opening-spoils-day-for-fusion/3d5f0851-78b0-49d4-a398-d4a1abcb6b82/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, interest waned through the year along with the team's middling performance on the field. The Fusion replaced head coach Carlos "Cacho" Cordoba with [[Ivo Wortmann]] after game 19, and the team managed a playoff spot, losing to D.C. By the end of the year their average attendance had dropped to 10,284.<ref name="LongRangeGoals"/>{{rp|64}}

The Fusion continued to struggle both on and off the field for the next two years. After years of disagreement, the commissioner "reassigned" Carlos Valderrama back to Tampa Bay in 1999, and the team replaced head coach Ivo Wortmann with [[Ray Hudson]] mid-season in 2000.<ref name="LongRangeGoals"/>{{rp|71–72, 88}} The team made a dramatic improvement in the [[2001 MLS season|2001 season]], winning the [[Supporters' Shield]] with the best regular season performance, taking the [[Eastern Conference (MLS)|Eastern Conference]], and advancing to the league semifinals.<ref name="LongRangeGoals"/>{{rp|120–121, 126}} Attendance improved as well, but remained fourth worst in the league with an average of 11,177. In the front office, owner Ken Horowitz struggled with finances. He, along with [[Robert Kraft]] of the [[New England Revolution]] and [[Stuart Subotnick]] of the [[New York/New Jersey MetroStars]], formed a faction among MLS owners who wanted to keep spending down, as opposed to [[Lamar Hunt]] and [[Philip Anschutz]] who wished to invest in long-term development. Despite the team's improvements, by the end of the 2001 season they had the league's lowest season ticket sales and the lowest revenues from sponsors.<ref name="LongRangeGoals"/>{{rp|129–130}}