Beckham said he never believed it would take six years to finally get Inter Miami on the pitchGETTY IMAGES
MLS expansion club Inter Miami CF kicks off its inaugural season Sunday against LAFC, and club co-Owner David Beckham said "it's been such a long journey" to get to this point. Appearing on ABC's "GMA," Beckham said he "actually didn't think (it) was going to take this long." However, he said he does not "feel the pressure" after six years of work to get this team on the field because "I know as owners we couldn't have done anything more than what we've done" ("GMA," ABC, 2/27). In a special to SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, Bruce Schoenfeld notes the six-year odyssey that followed Beckham announcing his intentions of owning a Miami-based club "would have driven even the most experienced businessmen to despair." Beckham said, "I thought we would announce it and be up and playing in two years. I’ve never had so much pushback, not in my playing career or my business life. ... I was bringing a franchise to a city that had a great history of sports teams over the years, but didn’t have a soccer team. So I felt that I was giving the city something very special. But we just couldn’t get it done” (SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/24 issue).
GIVING HIGH PRAISE: Inter Miami co-Owner Jorge Mas said of Beckham, "He's a global icon and I think he brings a global reach not only to our team, but to our league. Inter Miami is globally recognized now. And, frankly, that's due to David Beckham's impact not only as a player -- but I think what he's done as a handful of athletes have been able to do post his playing career. He's still extremely relevant" (AP, 2/27). Mas said Inter Miami in terms of franchise value is at the "top of the league" because "when you look at the global nature of our team, the amount of corporate sponsor interest that we have with companies that have global footprints, obviously there's an impact of David and what he represents globally" ("Closing Bell," CNBC, 2/26).
HANDS-ON APPROACH: Beckham said he has been "involved since day one" with the club because "that's one thing within my business life, my family life, nothing goes on without me overseeing things." Beckham: "I'm involved with everything, down to picking the tiles in the showers of the training facility." NBC's Joe Fryer notes the club's colors include pink, adding, "Some people might say the pink's a little risky. You would say?" Beckham responded, "I'd say, 'The more pink the better'" ("Today," NBC, 2/27).
WORTH THE WAIT: In Miami, Greg Cote writes the process of Beckham getting his club onto the pitch has been a "persevering uphill climb" that has been "wrought with missteps and misfortune." The club's "financial footing seems solid, but so much else has gone wrong." The initial concept of a downtown waterfront stadium "failed to materialize," and the Miami Freedom Park location "is on land that must be freed of toxic waste." Meanwhile, the team so far has "hardly delivered on the big names and superstar appeal half-hinted and half-promised" by ownership. Despite all that, it will "nonetheless be a triumph of perseverance on Sunday when a six-year odyssey finds its elusive crescendo and the games finally begin" (MIAMI HERALD, 2/27).
DEMAND FOR OPENER: In Miami, Michelle Kaufman notes there is "so much hype" around Inter Miami-LAFC that tickets are "re-selling for an average price of $149, making it the most in-demand MLS season opener since SeatGeek started tracking the secondary market" in '10 (MIAMI HERALD, 2/27).
