A representative from the David Beckham group seeking to bring pro soccer back to Miami is expected to meet with officials about a potential Broward County MLS stadium soon.
Beckham and his investors, which include American Idol creator Simon Fuller, have been rebuffed twice in attempts to gain approval for a waterfront stadium site, first on Port of Miami land and them at a disused slip next to American Airlines Arena. Miami officials, meanwhile, have pitched the Beckham group on a site next to Marlins Park — but with the group being totally uninterested in investing $250 million in the area, it would appear Miami and the Beckham group are at an impasse.
Hence the interest in Broward County, located north of Miami and Miami-Dade County. At first glance, Broward County would not seem to fit the criteria set down by Beckham and MLS: placing a new stadium in a downtown core and aim for a younger, hipper audience. Broward County is the land of freeways without an urban core. From NBC-Miami:
One area of land that might fit would be county-owned land near the BB&T Center, where the Florida Panthers play.
“It would come down to whether or not the site meets Beckham’s specifications,” Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief said in an email to NBC 6 last week. “If he wants waterfront property, we have plenty of that in Broward County as well. We’re very willing to talk to him.”
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