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Report: Beckham Miami project still seeking investors; could play in temporary home

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The David Beckham-led group behind MLS Miami remain confident that the franchise will launch sooner rather than later, it’s simply a matter of lining up all the necessary pieces before making their move.

After a long period of radio silence, some light was shed on the current situation of the team, which was officially announced exactly 1,000 days ago.

According to the Telegraph, the team is in advanced talks with three or four potential investors, and will not finalize a stadium deal until securing additional funds via a new owner. The team hopes to land a deal by early 2017.  The stadium is expected to cost roughly $300 million dollars including the land and would be an entirely privately funded initiative.

The team could then reportedly play their inaugural season in a temporary stadium. Preliminary discussions have reportedly already taken place with the Miami Dolphins for use of Hard Rock Stadium.

“As Miami Beckham United moves closer to launching a world-class soccer club in Miami, our team is in advanced discussions with a number of potential partners that would bring additional resources and expertise to the franchise,” a spokesman for the team stated. “Any partner selected will share our vision of creating a team that makes Miami and MLS proud. David, Simon and Marcelo appreciate the sustained support of our fans as we work to make our club in Miami a reality.”

 

 

Comments

  1. MLS just move on.

    Selling at a huuuuge discount to someone who doesn’t have enough money, and whose time ran out years ago to a city that will be underwater eventually.

    Thank you

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  2. Don’t believe for one second that they are going to be on the field in the next three years, despite trying to set up a temp home. Call me when you’ve got a shovel in your hand Becks…

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  3. the current group doesn’t have enough $$?

    the dolphins stadium is actually a great soccer stadium, especially with the renovations. I would rather see a MLS team there then in a baseball field or turf nfl stadium.

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    • Actually, using Hard Rock makes sense, especially if they can come up with a decent reduced capacity configuration. It’s better than NYFC playing in Yankee Stadium. It’s a practical solution to the Miami stadium fiasco.

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  4. Ok, call me clueless, but I thought they had lined up investors months/years ago, and the delay was due to finding the right space for a stadium…? I live 2 hours from Miami, but I would much rather see Sacramento join MLS before this disaster-in-the-making does.

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    • Beckham’s Group was in talks with the Qatari Investment Authority which own PSG the holding company (and french soccer team) who handle the Qataris sporting investments in the US. They, however, were only interested in buying the franchise (at a discount price too). So the deal broke down when Clauer, Fuller and Beckham did not want to sell.

      The problem is with the cost of the stadium. While the land is somewhat cheap, the fact that it is a flood zone, is adjacent to the Miami River also, could mean that mitigation measures could add significant costs to an otherwise already promised stylish stadium. I predict it will be the most expensive stadium in the MLS, not because of architecture and building material, but because of the pad and infrastructure which could add almost another 75M to the cost of the stadium.
      This is why they want to bring in another equity partner for the stadium. They are close though, but cannot announce anything, until the other party does their due diligence.

      Miami is a market the MLS wants and needs, so they will wait, as no on else could do it any faster. But I think now knowing the challenges the Miami group faces, the MLS will allow them to go forward with formation of a club and team while waiting for the stadium to be built.

      With his discount franchise fee, the MLS wanted Beckham to get the stadium down before the team was formed, and they also pointed him to Miami over San Diego (and a 2nd LA team) as it was a wanted market. But they knew nothing of the intricacies of getting even a small stadium in a densely urban area like Miami. With the recent Hurricane Matthew, it has donned on a lot of people that Miami is a potentially hazardous area for flooding. And I think they are going to let him slide on getting the stadium first because of that.

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