Over three years since David Beckham announced his intent to bring an MLS franchise to Miami, and it would appear Miami Beckham United is making progress toward finalizing an investment to help fund their 25,000-seat stadium in Overtown expected to cost $150 million.
By all means, do not hold your breath, as this project has faced more hurdles than an olympic track meet. They’re still targeting the 2019 season, per the Miami Herald, and Miami is still expected to be the league’s 24th team, according to MLS Commissioner Don Garber in an interview with CNN during Atlanta United’s inaugural game over the weekend.
“Miami is slated to be our 24th team,” Garber said when pressed about whether Miami was still in the fold (towards the end of the video down below). “We’re going to continue to work with David Beckham and see if we can make some progress there.”
However the prenatal franchise continues to whiff on expected timetables despite already securing six acres of land for the stadium, which the MLS approved in the fourth quarter of 2015.
First, they were expected to make the “major announcement” regarding funding by the end of 2016. That didn’t happen. Then it was supposed to occur yesterday, per the Herald, and—huge surprise—there was no announcement.
Another MLS season has launched and while Beckham’s group remains “100 percent committed to Miami,” according to the group’s publicist, Schwartz Media, it still continues to be a case of a lot of talk and very little action.