David Beckham's plan to "tear down" Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale and replace it with a venue for MLS expansion club Inter Miami CF had "appeared to be a done deal earlier this month, but now a rival bidder is taking him and the city to court to stop the demolition," according to a front-page piece by Rafael Olmeda of the South Florida SUN SENTINEL. City officials said that the lawsuit filed by proposed USL club FXE Futbol "doesn't stand a chance." Ft. Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said that the city "acted within its legal rights" earlier this month when it "voted to approve Beckham's plans." Beckham's proposal "calls for a new, canopied, 18,000-seat replacement for Lockhart," where Inter Miami would "play its first two seasons." Meanwhile, FXE's counterproposal would have renovated Lockhart, using it to "host a minor league soccer team." FXE's lawsuit accuses Beckham's group of "lying about the condition of the stadium and exaggerating the cost of renovation -- an allegation Beckham's group denied." FXE and Managing Dir John Paul Reynal also alleged that Beckham's group "overstated asbestos levels at Lockhart, and that the city did not comply with state law governing how it enters into public-private partnerships" (South Florida SUN SENTINEL, 4/17). In Miami, Joey Flechas noted FXE's suit alleged that Ft. Lauderdale "violated state laws in the process of evaluating and ranking the two bids." The suit accuses the city's government of "skipping required steps in reviewing the Beckham proposal," which would see Lockhart eventually becoming a "training facility for Inter Miami" (MIAMI HERALD, 4/16).
