Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke fears David Beckham’s MLS franchise in Miami "wont come to fruition," according to Kurtis Larson of the TORONTO SUN. This comes after MLS Commissioner Don Garber in August said that the league "could officially unveil Miami as an expansion team 'perhaps by the end of the summer.'" Leiweke, an investor in Miami Beckham United, said, “I’m helping any way I can with David. I hope it gets done, but it’s not done. I have my fears as to whether it’s going to get done because things like this that drag on this long that’s always tough on a process. But for David I hope he lands somewhere.” Leiweke joined Beckham’s investment group in '15 in an "effort to push the deal through." Leiweke: “It would be unfortunate for the league to not honour the job he did and the decision he made. His best work would still be ahead of us if we could figure out a way to get him involved with a franchise" (TORONTO SUN, 11/28). In Miami, Douglas Hanks writes Leiweke’s comments "were a bolt of pessimism near the end of the most productive year yet for Beckham’s four-year quest for a Miami stadium." Miami-Dade County in June "agreed to sell his stadium group a three-acre storage depot in Overtown" for $9M, "completing a nine-acre assemblage the Beckham partnership wants for the open-air venue." MLS owners in August "gave tentative approval to granting Beckham and partners a Miami franchise at a discounted price" of $25M. But "neither of the deals is final -- the Beckham group has more than a year to pay the county, and MLS owners assigned final franchise negotiations to a committee" (MIAMI HERALD, 11/29).
