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Beckham Secures Land To Build MLS Stadium Following Miami-Dade County Approval

David Beckham yesterday "secured land to build a soccer stadium in Miami, after county commissioners approved selling him three acres" for $9M, according to a front-page piece by Douglas Hanks of the MIAMI HERALD. The 9-4 vote by Miami-Dade commissioners gives Beckham the "right to buy the remaining third of his planned nine-acre stadium site in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood." The site would house a 25,000-seat soccer venue with an "open roof and no parking garages." Now Beckham "must win approval from the city of Miami to actually build the privately financed venue." The Miami-Dade County Commission was the first government body to "give formal and final approval for Beckham’s stadium plan." Under the terms of the "no-bid deal to purchase a county truck depot in Overtown," Beckham’s group agreed to spend at least $175M "building a soccer stadium that will employ at least 50 people full time." The agreement also gives Beckham "full control of a stadium site for the first time since he launched his public quest for a Miami venue" in the summer of '13. Beckham also agreed to "build what would be Miami-Dade’s only professional sports venue without a claim on public subsidies." Now facing a zoning fight in the city, Miami Beckham United "may be ready to unveil an expanded ownership group with some local names" (MIAMI HERALD, 6/7).

EYES ON THE PRIZE: In Ft. Lauderdale, Matthew DeFranks notes MBU would have 69 days from yesterday to receive MLS "approval of its expansion bid." It must also work with the city of Miami on "necessary zoning changes to build the 25,000-seat venue." Oak View Group CEO and MBU investor Tim Leiweke said that he "hopes to receive MLS approval in the next few weeks." He said that the group’s ownership structure is "currently under league review and that MBU will publicly unveil its full ownership group after receiving MLS approval for a team." Leiweke previously said that the stadium would be ready in '21, but yesterday "moved up the timeline a year." He also said that MLS officials are "expected to look at the site" today (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 6/7).

WAITING GAME
: In Miami, Michelle Kaufman notes MBU "can’t reach their ultimate goal until the league gives them the green light to proceed" on their $300M privately funded Overtown project. While Leiweke has been "navigating city and county politics to get the land purchase done, Beckham has been working behind the scenes with a marketing team on the club’s name, colors, logo, and also thinking about a training facility and youth academy." MBU has to "formally present its final stadium package and ownership group to the league owners for review." Their next meeting is Aug. 2 in Chicago during All-Star Weekend. Leiweke: "First and foremost is league approval, which if I had to guess, would take weeks, not months. The next step is introducing our ownership group to Miami and getting going with the city on zoning, which I believe we’ll get through." Kaufman notes now that it appears Beckham has met the criteria, it is up to the MLS BOG to "rubber stamp the deal." A league operations group is "traveling to Miami to conduct a site visit in the next few days, which Leiweke viewed as a positive sign" (MIAMI HERALD, 6/7). YAHOO SPORTS' Leander Schaerlaeckens wrote if some MLS fans have "grown cynical about Beckham’s long-stalled project in Miami, it’s probably still a win for the league and the sport as a whole." Beckham’s brand "remains strong, and if anyone can make that market work ... it would be a significant asset" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/6).

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