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Miami commissioners green-light stadium discussions between Beckham’s group, city officials

David Beckham Miami

 

By FRANCO PANIZO

Things are starting to move along in Miami.

A week after David Beckham’s ownership group deemed a site near Marlins Park suitable for the construction of a soccer-specific stadium, city of Miami commissioners unanimously voted in favor of allowing discussions to begin between local officials and Beckham and his partners.

This development gives Beckham’s ownership group, Miami Beckham United, a needed public vote of confidence ahead of its meeting next week with MLS’s board of governors at the annual all-star game. Beckham’s discounted option to buy an expansion franchise in the league was reportedly set to expire in three months, but MLS has stated for some time now that the group just needs a stadium plan in place to officially award Miami Beckham United a team.

“They had an ultimatum from MLS that they have to exercise their option to buy the team,” said Miami mayor Tomas Regalado,” and to do it they just need some kind of recognition that they’re talking to (the city) that does want to talk to them about the possibility of building the stadium.”

Last week, Miami Beckham United finally expressed interest in the site near Marlins Park just two miles west of the downtown area. The group had been relatively quiet for months regarding a location – even as city officials urged them to consider the land in Little Havana – but sent a letter on this week that said it was willing to build a privately-financed stadium in that part of the city.

“While there is still work to be done, including completing the land assembly, we firmly believe that we can build a world-class stadium at the site,” Miami Beckham United’s letter read.

Beckham initially announced his plans to launch an expansion franchise in Miami in February 2014. MLS currently has one slot left before it fills the 24-team quota it wanted to hit by the end of the decade, though it is still unclear what will happen with Minnesota United’s expansion efforts.

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What do you make of this development? Starting to think a Miami stadium will get done? Are you excited about that for the league, or would you prefer to see another city like Sacramento be given an expansion club?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I suppose giving MBU land valued at $50 million was unlikely, so this is next best option. Nothing Beckham does is a failure, so quit criticizing all of this. You’ll see some of world’s biggest players on this team.

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  2. Didn’t we here Garber say over and over again that Miami will not be a mls club unless it has a downtown stadium? What exactly happened?

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  3. With some of the land needed to mak this happen consisting of private homes and apartment complexes, dilapidatd though they may be, it will still be difficult to get this deal done. Those people do not want to leave and I am sure the city will not want to be seen as displacing them for a billionaire’s playground.

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  4. Miami will be more successful than rapids, crew, Montreal, red bull,Chicago,Dallas and dc united in terms of popularity and fans.
    This new era of MLS is growing so fast and leaving behind MLS 1.0 and 2.0 that Miami will have plans from left to right to make Miami successful.
    Probably Miami won’t have 50,000 fans in their stadium or flashy trophies but having around 20,000 fans or more will make Miami a good market plus those fancy DPs and stadium.
    So if Miami makes a fancy stadium, has 3 very know good dps by 2018 and a master plan, then teAms like rapids,crew, red bull, DC, Chicago,Montreal, will be in big trouble.
    Don’t forget about Minneapolis,Atlanta,LA2 coming as well,those teams looked serious about wasting money and having a serious team.
    Just name the team right Beckham and give them Miami colors.
    Inter Miami city sounds perfect, don’t add fc or sc.

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  5. This is going to be a complete failure, unless like I said the team is composed of players mostly from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. No one gives a hoot about soccer in Miami, but those fans I mentioned in order to get drunk and hurl urine bags.

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    • Those countries are not Miami countries. People love soccer down here, its just that we know a good product from crap. It has to be well done with good Brazilian, Colombian, Venezuelan, and sprinkled with Euro stars and you have a hit product.

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    • He may be wrong about the ethnic makeup of Miami but Miami is a terrible sports town (along with Atlanta, the worst in the US) and MLS has already tried and failed once there. No reason to think this time is going to be any different. Same lame fans who left early in game 6 of the NBA finals in 2013 and missed Ray Allen’s shot.

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