Just when it looked like David Beckham’s Miami expansion team was on the fast track to a soccer stadium, things take a turn.
Beckham’s group owns nine acres of land in the Overtown neighborhood of Miami, but is still examining several potential sites for a 25,000 seat soccer specific stadium in the city.
“We’re actively looking at five or so sites,” said Jorge Mas, one of Beckham’s most prominent investors, according to the Miami Herald. “There are a handful of sites that are interesting.”
Mas doesn’t think the Overtown site is large enough for the stadium complex he wishes to build, and therefore is trying to keep his options open as the expansion team looks for a place to play.
Sites under consideration include a little used horse racing track on the grounds of Hialeah Park and Casino, the city owned Melreese Golf Course, 20 acres of city land near Jackson Memorial Hospital, a 20 acre site in Doral, the existing Overtown site, and potentially others.
Mas is also preparing to pitch the new stadium as an economic boost for the area, saying “Whatever site is chosen has to be a job creator and has to have life — to be a technology hub.”
Melreese golf course – site of my best round of golf ever. Just sayin…
Why? Beckham has pictures on The Don. It is the only way this is possible.
He is buying this for how much? I bet the discount price is more than what everyone except for a handful of teams joined for.
I have no reason to hate on them, but WHY?
Pee tape.
Of all the sites, the 20th and 12th NW site holds the most potential for a good project that can get done. Too many issues with the other sites. Good luck getting Melreese. No way that ever gets done.
I’m fine with Garber/MLS continuing to extend Beckham’s time to get their crap together, but they shouldn’t been awarded a franchise when you have several cities, Cincinnati and Sacramento in particular, who are ready to go.
As soon as Cincinnati and Sacramento are, in fact, ready to go, they will go. Miami has nothing to do with that.
Cincy has not chosen a stadium site and have not acquired one. Sacramento is missing a billionaire owner and both are not “ready to go”. I think as soon as Cincy acquires the property for a stadium, they will get approved for a franchise. Sacramento will most likely be approved when they add some significant capital to their ownership group. They could both be ready tomorrow, but most likely its several weeks or months down the line.
Even Phoenix will have their futuristic home completed before Miami. They might even be done before they break ground.
Here we go again. I feel sorry for the Beckham group and Miami soccer fans. Putting these proposals together with all the architectural renderings and feasibility studies etc aren’t cheap each time they work on a site. I wonder how much they’ve spent so far just to have other sites blow up. Must be frustrating.
Actually the renderings, et al, are the cheapest part of the development, they are the fluff. The serious p[art comes when you commission the rendering into real building plans, and the first serious money (outside land acquisition) is when your entitlements (or planning approvals) are done and that’s when you pull your building permits which are usually a percentage of the projects worth. Its then you start getting your construction loans to pay for the serious construction.
I think though, the MLS was expecting this, as bringing in new “rich” owners, would cast a new critical eye on the project. I heard that if the Miami group head elsewhere they will keep the Overtown site as a possible training ground.