David Beckham is "set to complete the funding team" for his proposed ownership of a Miami MLS franchise, according to Charles Sale of the London DAILY MAIL. The Beckham group is "confident" Eldridge Industries Chair & CEO Todd Boehly will "come on board to help give the blueprint a sound financial base." The investment banker, who was "part of an American consortium who were interested in buying" EPL club Tottenham Hotspur, "invested instead" in the Dodgers. Some MLS owners are understood to "resent Beckham being able to buy a franchise for a bargain" $25M as part of his Galaxy playing terms, when the entry point is now approaching $193M (London DAILY MAIL, 4/27). In Miami, Michelle Kaufman writes the involvement of Boehly "should give Beckham’s group more credibility with MLS owners, who must approve the deal." The Beckham-led Miami MLS deal has been "dragging on for more than three years," and league Commissioner Don Garber and team owners are "getting increasingly frustrated." One of the holdups was finding "significant, reliable financial backing for the project, which is expected" to top $300M between stadium construction and the team startup (MIAMI HERALD, 4/27). The MLS BOG met earlier this week in Colorado Springs, and ESPN FC's Jeff Carlisle cited sources as saying that the "terms of the deal adding Boehly to Beckham's group ... were discussed." One source added that MLS is "currently reviewing the proposal and has yet to sign off on the deal." Additionally, Beckham's group "may come back with recommendations" (ESPNFC.us, 4/26).
