The movement to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to Miami took a step forward on Friday morning, when David Beckham’s franchise ownership group tentatively agreed to finance and build a 25,000 seat soccer stadium on the Orange Bowl site, near Marlins Park.
The stadium location for the proposed franchise has been a sticking point in negotiations. City officials rejected Beckham’s initial request to build a stadium downtown, near the AmericanAirlines Arena. Likewise, talks about cooperating with the University of Miami to build a joint football-soccer stadium in Miami appear to have failed.
Friday’s agreement came as Beckham’s business partner, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, held a video conference with Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado at City Hall.
According to Regalado, Miami Beckham United has $200 million to fund the project. Beckham and his partners are not insisting on the expansion of public transportation in the area as a prerequisite for the construction of the stadium.
Speaking with reporters after the video conference, MayorRegaladoexpressed his excitement at the prospect of bringing an MLS soccer team to Miami.“This is a milestone,”Regaladosaid. “I’m very excited today because today is the real thing. We have a real commitment that we’ve never had before from Beckham United, that they do want to play in Miami, that they do want to play at the Orange Bowl.”
Soccer fans from the Southern Legion, a local group that supports the creation of an MLS team in Miami, shared the mayor’s excitement. About a dozen supporters gathered at City Hall to express their support for Major League Soccer in Miami.
Julio Caballero is the president of the Southern Legion. Caballero contrasted the proposed franchise in Miami with the now-defunct Miami Fusion, which operated from 1998-2001. The team folded amid financial difficulties in 2002 at the request of Major League Soccer. Caballero thinks the Fusion’s location in Fort Lauderdale may have contributed to the franchise’s failure.
“Miami loves soccer and I believe that Miami is ready for top professional soccer. If the stadium were in Broward the people would still support it, but it wouldn’t be the same," Caballero said. "The majority of the fans are here in Miami, I believe.”
Caballero and the Southern Legion were pleased with the results of Friday’s meeting.
“[We are] ecstatic, happy, exhausted. We’ve worked so hard for this to happen, and I think finally we’ve got it. We don’t care where they’re gonna play. Orange Bowl or whatever. That’s the location they choose, and we’ll be there to support it,” said Caballero.
Miami Beckham United also expressed its excitement in a statement:
“Today's meeting with Mayor Regalado was another positive step toward bringing a world class soccer club to Miami. We're still in the early planning stages and several viable options still exist, but our preferred stadium location is the former Orange Bowl site. David, Marcelo and Simon are thrilled by the initial outpouring of support we've received from our fans and we're excited about sharing our plans with the City, County and community soon."
Friday’s agreement does not include a definite timeline.
Mayor Regalado said he will seek approval from city commissioners before moving forward with the project.
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