Deadline looms on David Beckham’s stadium deal

Commissioner Don Garber and David Beckham at a Miami press conference in 2014 (Credit: Getty Images)
Commissioner Don Garber and David Beckham at a Miami press conference in 2014 (Credit: Getty Images)

The clock is ticking for Miami Beckham United’s plans for a Major League Soccer stadium in Overtown.

“There is a deadline on the Miami deal,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber told reporters on Friday, declining to provide a date.

David Beckham plans to build a $150 million, 25,000-seat stadium in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood, a project that has already spurred new real estate deals and developments. But to move forward, Beckham’s group needs to close on an additional 3 acres owned by Miami-Dade County. Miami Beckham United paid $19 million earlier this year for 6 privately owned acres.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

Garber didn’t mention Miami at the league’s annual conference in Toronto last week, instead responding to a reporter that, “We continue to work with the ownership group because we want a team in Miami,” according to the Miami Herald.

Beckham’s group has been looking for private investors to fund the cost of developing the stadium, including failed talks with a Qatari investor, and earlier this year conversations with Wesley Edens, co-chairman of the Fortress Investment Group. Last month, Beckham’s Miami lobbyists arranged a meeting with Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who has said the county is ready to sell its land, and unnamed investors.

Miami would be the 24th franchise in the 20-team league. Atlanta, Minnesota and California are building the others. Garber said MLS owners will announce new expansion plans next week, but it’s unclear if that includes Miami. “We need to resolve the Miami situation so we can move forward,” the commissioner said. [Miami Herald] – Katherine Kallergis