It’s been a three-year journey for David Beckham’s team in its quest to bring an MLS franchise to Miami but the chief of the league can see the light.
After Beckham met with MLS owners yesterday in Chicago, which just hosted the league’s All-Star Game, Commissioner Don Garber shared his optimism on Miami becoming team No. 24.
“I had some concerns they wouldn’t get past today,” he said in a press conference. “We’re not announcing MLS Miami today, but I am confident we’ll be able to do that, perhaps by the end of the summer.”
The three remaining hurdles:
- League approval - There was reportedly some discontent from other owners over Beckham’s heavily-discounted entrance free of $25 million due to a clause in his original MLS contract (down from the $150 million required today).
- Finalizing the land purchase - Beckham’s team has until September 10th to put a down payment of $450,000 for the final three acres needed for their Overtown site after the County Commission gave approval in June. (Wealthy local Bruce Matheson filed a lawsuit recently regarding the lack of a bidding process.)
- Winning zoning approval from the City of Miami to build the 25,000-seat stadium.
The date for a league vote hasn’t yet been decided.
MLS takes another step to approving Miami team with David Beckham as minority owner [Miami Herald]