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MLS approves David Beckham’s Miami expansion franchise; reportedly set to play in 2020

MIAMI — For almost two decades, Miami has dreamed and fantasized about once again having an MLS team.

On Monday, those dreams and fantasies finally became a reality.

MLS announced on Monday morning that it has officially approved David Beckham’s expansion franchise. The announcement came four years after Beckham initially shared his plans for a team in the city, and marked the league’s return to the market, which has been without an MLS club since the league contracted the Miami Fusion in 2002.

“Our mission to bring an MLS club to Miami is now complete, and we are deeply satisfied, grateful and excited,” said Beckham. “Our pledge to our fans in Miami and around the world is simple: your team will always strive to make you proud on the pitch, our stadium will be a place that you cherish visiting, and our impact in the community and on South Florida’s youth will run deep.”

Plans for the franchise include building a privately financed soccer-specific stadium. The 25,000-seat stadium will be designed by Populous, a company which has designed a number of MLS venues.

According to a report by the Miami Herald, the club will start play in 2020, most likely at a temporary site before a soccer stadium is ready in 2021.

Additional information surrounding the club, including the team name and logo, will be announced at a later date.

The Miami ownership group consists of several people, including Beckham, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, local business moguls Jorge and Jose R. Mas, SoftBank founder ad CEO Masayoshi Son, and entertainment entrepreneur and long-time Beckham associate Simon Fuller.

“It is with tremendous pride that we welcome Miami to Major League Soccer,” said MLS commissioner Don Garber. “With David Beckham, Marcelo Claure, Jorge and Jose Mas, Masayoshi Son and Simon Fuller leading the way, we know the right people are in place and the time is right for Miami to become a great Major League Soccer city.

“This ownership is committed to bringing Miami the elite-level soccer team, stadium and fan experience it richly deserves. We look forward to working with the entire organization on a strategic and successful launch for Miami’s MLS club.”

With Miami’s long-anticipated arrival, MLS now officially has 25 clubs. Another expansion team from one of Cincinnati, Detroit, and Sacramento is expected to be chosen in the near future, and then two more from a larger pool of hopeful markets will be selected at a later date to give the league 28 franchises.

Comments

  1. I happened across an interview with Beckham a few hours ago on Fox Sports. In the past he has been accused of not being the sharpest tool in the shed, but he acquitted himself quite well, I think. He has spent enough time in the limelight to field difficult questions and give good answers that provide an actual answer while being careful to not offend anyone and still promote what he wants. For example, when asked if talented young Americans should go to Europe, he gave a very good answer to that thorny question. Basically he said that they may need to now in order to play the best soccer, but MLS has been improving so much that he sees the day when they could provide an environment just as good and he said that they want young talent to stay here so MLS can get to that point. He could have a career in politics, I think, if he decides to go in that direction.

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  2. “Our mission to bring an MLS club to Miami is now complete, and we are deeply satisfied, grateful and excited,” said Beckham.

    Complete?! C’mon David, this is just the first step. You’re still 3 years away (best case scenario) from having your team play in a new stadium. I live 2 hours from Miami, and I will certainly go check it out once the new stadium is built, but the mission is nowhere near complete.

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    • If that is a real quote, that is very depressing. His mission IS probably complete. Make $125 million dollars. $125 million of our dollars.

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  3. Wow. It is happening I guess. No word on where the stadium is yet though?
    Hopefully not at sea level. LOL.

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      • @downintexas I’ve been in Austin for decades, so just a quick heads up. Austin is only 11th is you’re counting some larger metro area and not the actual city itself. Also, Austin people barely support UT athletics outside of Football (and it’s more of a Pac 12 level of support than BIG/SEC support), and they for sure do not care about sports (I’m a former Aztex season ticket holder).

        BTW, not of this is an insult to Austin. I’d much rather live in Austin than a place filled with Bamers or Eagles fans for instance. Ultimately that’s why Austin doesn’t support sports. It’s a city with intelligent people who enjoy things like hiking, music, etc; not a rust belt city where sports is all people have in the winter, or Tuscolusa where Bama football is the only thing more important than willful ignorance.

    • They may need to be considerably above sea level. Of course, in Miami the highest spot is maybe 5 feet above. They might have a couple of decades before being washed out, maybe three at most is my guess.

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