Fansided

David Beckham MLS group making one last attempt at securing Miami stadium site

By Derek Helling

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 11: David Beckham of Manchester United celebrates in the dressing room with the FA Carling Premiership trophy after the match between West Ham United v Manchester United at Upton Park on May 11, 1997 in London. Manchester United 2 West Ham United 0. (Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 11: David Beckham of Manchester United celebrates in the dressing room with the FA Carling Premiership trophy after the match between West Ham United v Manchester United at Upton Park on May 11, 1997 in London. Manchester United 2 West Ham United 0. (Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images) /
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The dream of a new facility for a potential MLS expansion franchise in Miami is on life support, as one final pitch has been made by the investment team headed by David Beckham.

The David Beckham MLS group is exhausting all possibilities in their campaign to bring MLS to Miami, because another opportunity to provide the sports world with pictures of stadiums that are mostly empty is exactly what South Florida needs.

According to Douglas Hanks and Martin Vassolo of the Miami Herald, the group presented plans for a 25,000-seat open-air stadium in the Overtown district last Wednesday at a town hall meeting.

There is tremendous desperation and urgency to the situation for the Beckham group, which includes Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly. That urgency was best demonstrated in a comment from Miami-Dade county mayor Carlos Gimenez.

“This is, frankly, I believe our last opportunity here for Miami to have Major League Soccer,” Gimenez said.

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At issue is whether the county will give approval for the Beckham group to buy the nine acres of land necessary for the site. There would be some zoning issues to resolve, along with the closure of one street while construction is on-going. Additionally, the expansion franchise would need a place to play its home matches while the stadium is being built, as the current plans don’t call for the stadium to be ready for soccer until 2021.

Residents of Overtown voiced concerns about increased traffic and parking issues. The stadium plans contain no parking space, rather touting that the new MLS franchise will encourage fans to utilize public transportation and will arrange shuttle services on both land and water.

While the stadium construction plans include 100 percent private funding, the group still needs the government to allow it to take advantage of a Florida economic development law that would give the Beckham group the exclusive right to buy the land. The group is offering $9 million for the lot, and there are questions about whether or not the parcel would sell for more if the land became available for public bidding.

In exchange for that convenience, the group is promising to create 50 permanent jobs, at least half of which are guaranteed to pay at least $15 an hour. That’s been another point of criticism, arguing that 50 permanent jobs aren’t worth the disruption that the construction and influx of fans will create.

Whether or not the group will get the legal approval they need to fulfill their plans remains to be seen. Should get the stadium project move forward, Overtown residents don’t have much to worry about in terms of heavy traffic if South Florida sports attendance traditions hold.

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