David Beckham ever since his retirement has trolled Miami for his MLS franchise. Sticking point, no stadium, in a notoriously finicky city when it comes to sports.
Finally after two years of go, no go, it’s happening. Beckham’s group which includes Sprint (good luck with those dropped calls!) CEO Marcelo Claure have reached a tentative agreement with the City of Miami to build a privately funded stadium next to Marlins Park. The City had originally proposed the site but Beckham’s group had rejected it preferring a downtown waterfront location which unsurprisingly ran into fierce opposition. C’mon, drunken soccer lads ogling and worse, at South Beach supermodels after a match! What could go wrong? In addition, the University of Miami (UM) which were in talks as recently as May for a stadium which could host both soccer and football games, is no longer part of the arrangement. The final deal will be subject to a referendum.
Marlins Park was considered “spiritually tainted” by Simon Fuller, the genius behind American Idol and part of Beckham’s group because of the backlash against its public financing. The baseball franchise also suffers from one of the worst attendances in the MLB. There is a real lack of a feel good factor on a ground which originally housed Miami’s famed Orange Bowl, once home to the Miami Dolphins and UM Hurricanes. Another problem is Beckham’s group will have to pay millions in property tax as a privately funded venture. The UM deal would have been preferable because its non-profit status would have allowed Miami-Dade County to lease the stadium to Beckham’s group without a tax bill.
The Beckham group seems pretty wishy washy about the whole deal and in a statement, a publicist for the group said “the Orange Bowl site” was the preferred choice but there were other options they were exploring too. Part of the problem is Miami’s sports franchises suffers from tepid fan support. It’s a city run by Cubanos who don’t particularly care about soccer.
David Beckham is one of the most stylish and dashing spots person I have ever seen in my life. He got style, physique and look to fit in any situation. Whatever he try become trend and youngsters love to follow him.