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Beckham hopeful of announcing stadium site in 6 weeks, targets 2018 start date for Miami club

David Beckham 3

Photo by Robert Mayer/USA Today Sports

By SBI SOCCER

After nearly two years of stopping and starting, David Beckham is getting closer and closer to making his Miami MLS project a reality.

Beckham told the Daily Star that he is aiming for a 2018 debut for the planned expansion team, while the former midfielder also expects a stadium announcement within the coming weeks.

In early September, Beckham had stated that his group was “getting closer” to locking down a stadium deal. In July, city of Miami commissioners voted in favor of allowing discussions between local officials and Beckham’s ownership group with regards to a stadium a site near Marlins Park.

“Our aim is 2018, but trying to build a team is something I’ve dreamed of since being a kid,” Beckham told the Star. “As a 12-year-old, sat around with your mates, you can only dream of owning a club and thinking of who you want to play for your team, the colors you are going to play in and what you are going to call it.

“There have been a few speed bumps along the way but I believe we are closer now than we’ve ever been. So hopefully in the next six weeks we’ll be able to announce the site of the stadium, the stadium plans and then we’ll move on – it’s really exciting.”In addition to stadium news, Beckham says that more characteristics of his team are beginning to come together.

Chief among them is the team’s name, which has yet to be chosen although discussions have begun regarding possible options.

“We haven’t decided on a name yet,” Beckham said. “We’ve got a couple of names we like, but we are probably going to get the public involved in Miami, because we want it to be their team. The Miami sports fans are very passionate, especially when they’ve got a successful team, so I think we’ll involve them in some way.

“I actually heard Miami Vice the other day — it’s not going to be that. Miami Reds? I also heard Miami United the other day but we’ll see.”

What do you think of the latest Beckham news? What news do you expect from the Miami group in the coming months?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. “I actually heard Miami Vice the other day — it’s not going to be that. Miami Reds? I also heard Miami United the other day but we’ll see.”

    Why Miami Reds?…I don’t understand the significance. What is a Red and how does it relate to Miami?

    Good Lord, it cannot be Miami United or Miami FC.

    Inter Miami actually sounds very cool and is a good fit with the city. I know it is derivative from Italy and Brazil but it is unique to MLS and sounds great.

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  2. square peg round hole.. not really a fit. what good is a team that draws 10-12K? and nobody cares.

    should focus on markets that will embrace MLS.

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  3. Theoretically, if they do actually get a team in Miami, how many people in Miami will actually care? I fear the age old problem with Miami and pro sports attendance.

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  4. Great more non-news about Miami FC… just stop already. No one will care if this ever does get announced because you have covered the indecision and failings too many times.

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  5. There are so many terrible name possibilities out there (Cruise Miami…could also be a nod to David’s son, Miami Fuse…the terrifying supporters group could be called the Bomb Squad, at the same time a bizarre tribute to the Ft. Lauderdale Fusion, AND it could be sponsored by the drink company!) but at the end of the day it should really just get narrowed down to the three worst: Inter Miami, Miami United (nobody’s even thought of that one yet!) or Carnival Miami (to be sponsored by the cruise line of course, not the Brazil tourism board).

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  6. If the stadium is going to be built at Marlins Park what changed since last year?

    Major League Soccer says it doesn’t want David Beckham’s Miami expansion team to play at the site some politicians have started to promote for a new stadium: next to Marlins Park in Little Havana.

    “No — we’re not considering that location,” MLS President Mark Abbott told the Miami Herald. “Our strong belief is that, to be successful, it needs to be downtown.”

    Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article1966753.html#storylink=cpy

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    • “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.”

      quote from the article linked in this article. a year after your link. seems to me MLS realized downtown wasn’t going to happen.

      “It’s been a long process and I didn’t think it would be as difficult as it has been – but dealing with the political side of things in Miami has been a lot more difficult.”

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  7. Why are we getting this announcement now – just out of the blue.

    Why couldn’t we have gotten some sort of pre-announcement to this announcement.

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  8. Oxymoronic old-news. Yet another announcement about a pending announcement, about a pending stadium deal coming at some time… uhhhh…. soon.

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