David Beckham and his partners have less than two weeks to pay $901,500 and keep three acres of county-owned land in Miami under contract for a soccer stadium.
The Beckham group owns six acres in the Overtown area of Miami and contracted to buy another three acres from Miami-Dade County to build a 25,000-seat stadium for its Major League Soccer team.
Miami Beckham United, LLC, has a contract to buy the county land for $9 million and has paid $450,000 so far.
Another installment payment of $901,500 was due in June 2018 before Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez agreed top extend the deadline until a resolution of litigation over the no-bid land deal.
Activist Bruce Matheson sued to undo the deal but failed to win at trial and on appeal. The Florida Supreme Court declined on Thursday to hear an appeal by Matheson.
The Beckham group has seven days after the end of the legal challenge to notify the county whether it wants to surrender the three acres or pay $901,500 to keep the county land under contract, according to a letter to the group from Deputy Mayor Jack Osterholt dated June 6, 2018.
If Miami Beckham United wants to keep the land under contract, it would be required to pay $901,500 no later than five days after notifying the county of its intent to do so.
In a March interview, the lead local partner of Miami Beckham United, Jorge Mas, said the land in Overtown was a back-up stadium site if the Beckham group fails to negotiate a deal to build a stadium at the city-owned Melreese golf course in Miami.
Miami Beckham United has signed an agreement with the Fort Lauderdale government to replace city-owned Lockhart Stadium with a training facility and an 18,000-seat stadium where its Major League Soccer team would play in its first two seasons in 2020 and 2021. [Miami Herald] – Mike Seemuth