English football icon David Beckham and his investment group have reached a deal to build a new football stadium next to the Miami Marlins baseball park, according to media reports Friday.
The Miami Herald and South Florida’s Sen-Sentinel newspapers both outlined the deal for Beckham’s group to fund the 25,000-seat stadium announced by Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado.
“This is a milestone,” Regalado said of the Beckham’s group decision to build near the Major League Baseball stadium.
Beckham’s stay in Major League Soccer with the Los Angeles Galaxy brought him an option to purchase an MLS expansion team at a reduced price and he selected Miami as his market.
But Beckham’s group could not agree with civic leaders on a stadium site, who rejected a waterfront location near Biscayne Bay.
Beckham’s team was conditionally accepted into MLS but needed to finalize a stadium deal to make the team a reality.
Now Beckham partner Marcelo Claure says his group is hopeful to take the field in 2018.
“The time is now,” Claure said. “This is the moment of truth.”
Claure also said the University of Miami is not a partner in the deal but Beckham’s group would be open to their involvement in the project, as a home for the school’s American college football program, at a later time.
The plan would give the chance to turn the stadiums area into an entertainment district with shops, restaurants and hotels.
Claure said his architects have studied the area and decided there is no need to alter roadways near the planned stadium site.
Regalado said he would seek approval from city commissioners to open talks with Beckham’s group to complete the deal but since the site is the one the city pitched and Beckham’s side needed to study, that backing is seen as little more than a formality.
Beckham’s group has agreed to finance a $250 million (Dh918m) stadium with seating for 20,000 and to pay rent for the stadium, which it has sought to build on public land.
Beckham’s initial preferred site for the stadium, an undeveloped plot of land near the Port of Miami, faced criticism from Royal Caribbean Cruises and others who argued the stadium would interfere with port operations.
In the statement, Beckham said the second site, sandwiched between two museums and the Heat arena, was suggested to his team by the mayors of Miami and Miami-Dade County.
“Our package was the most equitable soccer stadium proposal that Miami, or any other city in America, has ever seen – 100 per cent privately funded without any local taxpayers money,” the statement said.
Beckham and his team originally set their sights on the Port of Miami, 520 acres known as the “Cruise Ship Capital of the World” and the “Cargo Gateway to the Americas”. Nearly every portion of the port has been developed, with one notable exception: The southwest corner with a spectacular Miami skyline view.
The plan’s chief opponent in this case was the Miami Seaport Alliance, a coalition of business and political leaders including Royal Caribbean Cruises, one of the world’s largest cruise operators. Its offices are next to the proposed site.
The alliance contends the stadium would threaten cruise and cargo operations, creating increased traffic and security risks – concerns Beckham’s partners insist are unfounded. The coalition also argues a stadium would ultimately endanger the 207,000 jobs the port supports, while creating less-lucrative positions like concession stand employees.
“A soccer stadium at PortMiami is downright nutty”. declares an ad the coalition printed in several newspapers.
There is much at stake for the port: The county is spending more than US$2 billion (Dh7.34bn) on capital improvements to make Miami a global logistics hub. The port is being deepened to accommodate the larger ships that will traverse the expanded Panama Canal, set to open in 2015. The port is about $1bn in debt, making it one of the nation’s most indebted. Moody’s recently cut its credit rating.
“We’re talking about huge economic input or huge economic loss,” said John Fox, the alliance’s president and a former Royal Caribbean executive.
One option mentioned to improve the port’s finances: Commercial development of the port’s southwest corner. The port’s master plan notes commercial real estate income generates revenue for other ports, but opponents say Beckham’s plan will not provide that.
“The port and tourism are the two engine drivers of Miami,” said Norman Braman, a billionaire car dealer and former Philadelphia Eagles owner supporting the Miami Seaport Alliance. He unsuccessfully opposed the Miami Marlins baseball stadium, but then led the successful 2011 recall of the county mayor who pushed it through without holding an election. “And a stadium and commercial development that’s been proposed just doesn’t belong there.”
Beckham’s consultant, John Alschuler, a real estate adviser who has led waterfront development projects in New York City, Hong Kong and other metropolises, said development of a stadium and other commercial property would likely generate $6 million to $10m in annual revenue.
He said fewer than 100 jobs would be created directly by the franchise, but thousands more would result indirectly at restaurants and nearby businesses. Alschuler also denied traffic congestion would worsen, noting fans would not arrive until around 6.30pm, hours after the cruise ships have sailed.
“It’s sheer, deliberate, willful misinformation,” Alschuler said of the alliance’s claims.
South Florida’s last football team – the Miami Fusion – played 30 miles north of the port and lasted only three years until 2001 because of low attendance.
That history, perhaps, led Beckham and associates to two conclusions: The stadium must be downtown, and the team must win.
The decision ultimately rests with the mayor and county commission. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez has asked Beckham to consider an alternative site near the Heat’s arena. But he said he could potentially support a Port of Miami stadium.
Beckham, for his part, came back to Miami on Tuesday, holding private meetings with commissioners and weighing Gimenez’s suggested site.
“We want to be a positive for people,” Beckham said. “This part of America has not had a soccer team for quite a few years, and they deserve one.”
Follow us on twitter at @NatSportUAE
