In 2002, after four years of lackluster ticket sales and revenues, MLS contracted the Fusion along with its other Florida-based team, the Tampa Bay Mutiny.

[1]: 47  Miami businessman Ken Horowitz served as owner, the first new investor to join Major League Soccer since its founding in 1995.

[1]: 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 MLS All-Star Game.

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.

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.

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.

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.

[8] The team considered several measures to improve attendance and popularity, including changing their name to the South Florida Fusion to advertise to a wider geographical area.

[17][18] Subsequently, the Fusion reached an agreement with the Broward County School Board and the city of Fort Lauderdale to use Lockhart Stadium.

[20] Fusion owner Ken Horowitz spearheaded a $5 million renovation that converted Lockhart into a 20,000-seat soccer-specific stadium.