New stadium hurdle
Rival bidder sues to stop demolition of Lockhart, Beckham’s soccer plans
Soccer superstar David Beckham may not have scored his next goal just yet.
Beckham’s plans to tear down Fort Lauderdale’s Lockhart Stadium area and replace it with a new Major League Soccer destination appeared to be a done deal earlier this month, but now a rival bidder is taking him and the city to court to stop the demolition.
Fort Lauderdale officials said the lawsuit, filed by FXE Futbol, doesn’t stand a chance. The city acted within its legal rights earlier this month when commissioners voted to approve Beckham’s plans, Mayor Dean Trantalis said Tuesday.
Beckham’s Inter Miami CF proposal calls for a new, canopied, 18,000-seat replacement for Lockhart and the adjacent Fort Lauderdale Stadium. And Inter Miami will play its first two seasons at the new location.
In addition, the property will serve as Inter Miami’s training hub for the next 50 years, under the tentative agreement with the city.
FXE Futbol’s counterproposal would have renovated Lockhart Stadium, using it to host a minor league soccer team.
Their lawsuit accuses Beckham’s group, sometimes called Miami Beckham United, of lying about the condition of the stadium and exaggerating the cost of renovation — an allegation Beckham’s group denied.
David Winker, the attorney representing
FXE, said he will be asking a judge for a hearing as soon as next week to stop the demolition of Lockhart Stadium, at least temporarily.
The city’s acceptance of Inter Miami’s proposal came after a “frantic and, ultimately, statutorily inadequate” process that did not fairly consider alternative ideas, according to the lawsuit.
Among the allegations made by FXE Futbol and its managing director, John Paul Reynal, were that Beckham’s group overstated asbestos levels at Lockhart, and that the city did not comply with state law governing how it enters into public-private partnerships.
“There is in fact almost no asbestos present at the stadium,” according to the lawsuit, which cites a city report indicating it would cost $1,200 to fix any asbestos problems at Lockhart.
“The process to award Miami Beckham United a 50-year lease for Lockhart Stadium has been rushed from its inception,” Reybal said in an emailed statement. “We can no longer stand on the sidelines while our due process is being violated. Not only do we believe the ranking was carried out without the proper statutory review, but the subsequent signing of the Interim Agreement to demolish Lockhart would render our proposal impossible to deliver.”
Trantalis disagreed with FXE’s summary of the approval process.
“The position of the commission to award the contract to Inter Miami really had nothing to do with asbestos,” he said. “Inter Miami has an agreement with Major League Soccer to host a team here in South Florida.” By contrast, he said, FXE has no such agreement for any minor league team, which by itself put Beckham’s group in the stronger bargaining position.
Fort Lauderdale City Attorney Alain Boileau said the FXE lawsuit is without merit and will be defended “vigorously.”
Inter Miami lobbyist and attorney Stephanie Toothaker cited a different city report affirming the presence of asbestos and estimating abatement cost at $84,980. In addition, lead paint abatement would have cost $900,000, she said, citing the same report.
But the larger issue, she said, echoing Trantalis, was that the City Commission was never likely to accept FXE’s bid.
“The lawsuit seems to imply that had there not been asbestos in the stadiums, the city would have chosen FXE,” Toothaker said. “They chose Miami Beckham United because it was a better proposal.