By RYAN TOLMICH
Since announcing plans to add an expansion team last February, all has been quiet on the stadium front from David Beckham and those involved with MLS Miami, but the former LA Galaxy midfielder remains upbeat.
Beckham, who admitted that it has been difficult to secure a stadium deal, says that he remains positive about nailing down details regarding the Miami franchise. The Englishman also says that he expects there to be significant updates in the near future, according to NBC Miami.
“We’re pretty close to announcing certain things,” Beckham said, “and then the stadium will come after that.
“You can’t build a stadium overnight, so finding the right site, finding the right place in Miami is important for us. But it will all start coming together pretty quickly and everything will start happening pretty soon.”
Beckham and his team have seen two potential stadium sites fall apart, as proposals for Dodge Island and adjacent to Marlins Park have been shut down, although the latter could reportedly resurface as a possible location.
Beckham’s group originally hoped a Miami franchise could begin play in 2017, but Commissioner Don Garber insists MLS will not approve the team without plans for a soccer stadium.
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What do you think of Beckham’s statements? What do you expect from MLS Miami? When do you think the team will be ready to enter the league?
Share your thoughts below.
I think the Quakes may be pissed about the Miami Spice Boys stealing their color scheme (different blue, I know, but close enough)
The MLS has held the Beckham group to a higher standard than other newly awarded franchise.The LAFC did not have the requirement, nor did NYFC, to have a new MLS stadium agreement in place, before the awarded a franchise. The Beckham Group does not hold an awarded franchise yet, but have one reserved for them. The reduced franchise fee price of 25m, is still a bargain though, but the MLS believes that only a downtown Miami site will lead to a successful franchise in that market, so they are giving the Beckham group ample time to fill that requirement. I do believe that the Beckham group will have an agreement for a new stadium in place (but not the entitlements) BEFORE the LAFC and NYFC announce theirs.
Keep in mind that behind closed doors, the current MLS owners probably don’t want this to happen.
Due to his contract, Beckham can buy the team at a massive discount…$25 million, instead of the $100 Million market rate.
What I worry about is getting too many teams in with the current Sal cap . We might get optomisticly 3-4 stars but not enough players will want to play for 50000 a year … and the ones that do aren’t good enough for MLS … so the overall products will be crap… bad for fans and bad for development.
I welcome Beckham to the league. He has propelled us to a higher place before and his finger print can only enhance MLS profile around the globe. His organization and partners are loaded connected and top tier. And his record work ethic and competiveness are world class. He made a deal with Garber to own a team. MLS owes much of its success to the attention his arrival and play brought.
David, is that you?
You got a point. Without Donovan and Beckam MLS would not be anywhere near where it is right now.
Argentina has a 30-team league now. Let’s see how that goes.
Yeah, you can’t compare their financial situation, even more so because most still are sports clubs instead of franchises, but should be nevetheless helpful how a league of the size behaves.
Yep they play everybody once and a 1 team twice
Through all of this, it will be a real shame if Sacramento doesn’t get a club.
it would be downright crazy not to give Sacto a team. They have too much support to ignore them. With the right stadium, the atmosphere at a Sacto Republic game could dwarf KC. If people don’t see that already brewing on the ground in Sacramento then they’re just either ignoring that market irrespective of anything else or simply not a good reader of the soccer market in the US
So that’d make, what? San Jose, LA Galxay, LA2, Sacremento. Count ’em, 4 teams. Plus, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver with in shouting distance. Just rename the western conference the Pacific conference.
I repeat MLS should have and can handle 30 to 32 teams easily.
If garber wants more teams then why not make an mls2 while also expanding mls1.
now if miami and LA2 need more time, then let vegas and sacramento in and move skc back to the east for now.
Then minneapolis can come in with a soccer stadium and not nfl stadium. So 26 teams should be the target number for mls to have by 2022.
MLS can handle 40 teams easily. Actually I think between the US and Canada we can easily handle 200+ teams at the various levels of the pyramid. Wherever market saturation is, we aren’t even close to it yet.
Keep in mind, college will not – and cannot – take up the slack in soccer. Everybody starts counting NFL or NBA teams and forgets there is absolutely nothing “amateur” about college football in Alabama or Clemson, or college basketball at Duke or Syracuse. Those college programs occupy the same niche is US sports that the Championship, League One, League Two, etc, etc, occupy in England for soccer.
People are going to want Promotion/Relegation, and they might eventually get it – when expansion slows and MLS and NASL feel a pressing need to reach some sort of mea culpa. That’s probably 25+ years in the future.
What’s going to happen is that both leagues are going to grab expansion franchises and markets hand over fist, and eventually they’re going to reach the same agreement that the NFL and AFL did and merge. Which probably will indeed involve some form of relegation/promotion. In the meantime, there’s markets to be grabbed, and they’re both going to grab all the market share they can.
I think NASL is going to become appealing for huge-money mogul types who just want to spend a billion dollars for their own personal mega-franchise, and spend what they want to spend without being overly restricted by MLS rules. Show me the Cosmos and I’ll show you an aberration; show me, say, a similar LA franchise, founded by, say, some free-spending oil Sheikh, and I’ll show you the start of a trend…and the cornerstones of a far more free-spending, unregulated rival league to MLS. I do think it’s coming, and sooner rather than later. MLS’s strength is its single-entity system, its financial prudence, and its parity. MLS’s weakness is also its single-entity system, its financial prudence, and its parity.
Once the Cosmos get themselves a legit rival, there is absolutely nothing to prevent them from setting themselves up as the Celtic/Rangers or Barcelona/Real Madrid of the NASL, spending $50+ million a year on players, and laying waste to the US Open and CONCACAF Champions League. When you’ve got a huge bankbook and no financial controls, you can do that. And all that poses some interesting questions about what the future of American professional soccer is going to look like.
I do know it isn’t going to be any 30 or 32 teams. It’s going to be a lot, LOT bigger than that…and far less…orderly, I suspect, than simple, orderly MLS expansion.
You make me laugh, really only on the Cosmos part. The same thing was said last year and look how they did. In the spring sprint, they did good. In the fall, they fell. The question is, are they going to continue their fall trend or spring. Stacking the team doesn’t guarantee success.
Pretty small sample size to be considering trends. I definitely wouldn’t call them a “stacked” team at the moment, which makes their victory over the Red Bulls last year speak even louder about the progress of the team, and they’ve made some good moves already this offseason. Even taking away the Raul signing they’ve done very well, and don’t seem to be finished. Like he said, once the Cosmos and the NASL attract other owners who are willing to spend and play with their money more, the talent level is going to go up exponentially. MLS has a nice headstart on NASL, but it wont be long before they’re caught. Especially once MLS quits poaching successful NASL franchises for expansion.
So every time Sac, MN or LV announce some real progress, Beckham is going to come out and say.. coming soon? And MLS is saying.. ok Davy..?
Yep.
this is going to happen as long as Beckham wants it to. Everyone should just accept it. Just another reason to hate on Miami…
David Beckham has hinted today that if all goes well he hopes to soon be in a position to pre-announce his intention to disclose exciting information about the possible narrowing down of a list of potential preliminary candidates of areas that might one day be possible nominees for a future stadium site
…cont.
maybe.
So tired of this topic.
I never get sick of that picture!
I think those shirts should end with a question mark…
MLS
MIAMI?
Beckham and his talented group WILL get this thing done and it will be a top shelf venture, I don’t think he does anything half-ass. Give it some time people. His team will have the world’s biggest players when up and runnning…..Rooney, Zlatan, Ronaldo are certainly on his short list.
By the time his team is playing the league, Rooney will have lost all his hair again, replaced it, lost it, and replaced it again. Don’t hold your breath.
Ha, this made me laugh!
+1…or however many hairs Rooney lost.
With all the news about possible other MLS expansion sides getting in ahead of Miami, a deal for the stadium can’t come quick enough.
Forget about Miami until there is real news. Sacramento has been doing all the right things and really deserve a team. As someone who lives two hours away from San Jose and two hours away from Sacramento, I like having options. SJ seems to be doing nothing but building a stadium right now. Don’t get me wrong I look forward to attending a match there, but SJ’s team is nothing to get excited about, plus there seems to be very little on the player movement front. I don’t get that impression from Sacramento if they were to get in the league. I think they’d make news and signings like Orlando seems to do every week.
Now that Sac Republic has serious financial backing from the 49ers, the league might actually start taking them seriously. All Garber responds to is money.
As “he” (Garber doesn’t make these decisions) should. If MLS is not a good investment we all lose.
5 years from now……Beckham – “We are almost there on a stadium.”
Still faster then DC
DC will have played in 2 stadiums before Miami announces their first. Bet.
ha, ha…ouch. Soon though!
Need the Beckham cam to get real information.