David Beckham's investment group and MLS Commissioner Don Garber on Friday met with outgoing Univ. of Miami President Donna Shalala for three hours to "explore the possibility of a joint stadium" for an MLS team and UM football, according to Hanks & Kaufman of the MIAMI HERALD. The group "then met with Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez for nearly an hour." Beckham: "There’s really nothing to say at this point. Donna was amazing, but we really can’t talk about anything now." Gimenez said Beckham “didn't really say very much” during their meeting, noting most of the talking was done by Garber and Sprint President & CEO Marcelo Claure, who is part of Beckham's group. Gimenez and Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado "embraced a new push by Beckham for a Miami stadium, saying a central role by UM would be helpful as the school seeks a new home for its football games." Beckham’s group, which includes Claure and XIX Entertainment Founder Simon Fuller, "also has scouted at least one, as-yet-unidentified site" in the Overtown neighborhood northwest of downtown Miami "that is privately owned, and reportedly is considering a third site from the private sector." Gimenez on Friday reiterated that he "would not use public funds for stadium construction," but also "raised the possibility of the county shouldering some infrastructure costs around a stadium, and reaffirmed the idea that Miami-Dade could own the facility and spare Beckham from paying property taxes" (MIAMI HERALD, 5/23).
