After having picked Miami as the site of his proposed Major League Soccer team, David Beckham is seeking approval from the league, the Associated Press reported, citing unnamed sources.
He is working out deals with investors and raising roughly $200 million to fund the stadium. The city beat out Orlando, Montreal and San Diego for its soccer fan base and global appeal and cultural proximity to Latin America. His player contract allows him to create a team for $25 million.
At the end of May Beckham met Marcelo Claure, a Bolivian billionaire who has tried to lure professional soccer to town in the past, and toured FIU’s football stadium as well as a few other sites around town, as previously reported.
South Florida’s previous attempt at MLS was the Fort Lauderdale-based Miami Fusion, which ran out of money and the idea collapsed. [AP] — Mark Maurer