Beckham, Miami may be in business

Event set to announce awarding of franchise

MIAMI — David Beckham may finally be bringing Major League Soccer to Miami.

An event is tentatively scheduled for Monday to officially award an MLS franchise in Miami to Beckham and his ownership group that also includes local businessmen Jorge and Jose Mas, according to multiple reports. The announcement would be the latest step in a prolonged quest to bring a team to Miami that began in 2014.

Beckham officials declined to comment, but Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Gimenez has been asked to free time on Monday for an event, county spokesman Mike Hernandez said. Neither a time nor place has been confirmed.

The group previously announced plans to begin play in the 2020 season at their $225-million, 25,000-seat stadium in Overtown, a neighborhood in Miami.

The group, known as Miami Beckham United, has purchased land in Overtown to build a soccer-specific stadium after failed efforts at the Port of Miami, next to the American Airline Arena and adjacent to Marlins Park. The group received permission to buy the land after a Miami-Dade County commission vote in June. They put a down payment on the three-acre parcel of land in September. The group previously bought six acres of pri-

vately-owned land.

Since putting the down payment on the land, the group has gone through a transition period. Todd Boehly, who was supposed to be the majority owner of the team, dropped from the group. In his place, MBU added the Mas brothers and Masayoshi Son, the founder and CEO of SoftBank.

In addition to Beckham, the Mas brothers and Son, the group also includes entertainment icon Simon Fuller and Sprint CEO Marcleo Claure. The MLS Board of Governors approved the ownership group on Dec. 14.

Beckham, the English superstar, initially announced his intentions to bring soccer to Miami on Feb. 5, 2014. As part of his contract to play for the LA Galaxy, he received an option to purchase an MLS franchise for $25 million. He chose Miami.

But cruise companies opposed the proposed stadium at the Port of Miami. An idea to fill in a boat slip in downtown Miami failed. When the group couldn’t secure private land from local landowners in Little Havana, a proposal next to Marlins Park died.

So the Overtown site became the group’s target. The plot of land lies west of downtown Miami and just north of the Miami River.

The team would mark the second time MLS tried the South Florida market. The Miami Fusion played from 1998 to 2001 before contracting. The Fusion played in Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

The new Miami team is slated to be the league’s 24th team as MLS expands to 28 franchises.