COLUMBUS, Ohio -- David Beckham brought his protracted search for a stadium site in Miami to a close by announcing the acquisition of a private parcel in Overtown on Friday.
Beckham purchased multiple private properties in his quest to form a nine-acre parcel for his stadium site, according to the Miami Herald. He is expected to purchase the remaining land from Miami-Dade County at fair market value, pending the approval of his chosen location by the MLS Board of Governors on Saturday.
"Miami Beckham United has secured a stadium development site at 650 Northwest 8th Street in the City of Miami's historic Overtown neighborhood," Miami Beckham United said in a statement. "We intend to create an assemblage of private and County-controlled land totaling approximately 9 acres in Miami's urban core, within walking distance of multiple public transit options and the up-and-coming Miami River District. The private properties, which comprise the majority of the land, are under contract and we intend to purchase the County land at fair market value pending approval of our site by the MLS Board of Governors."
The decision to build in Overtown arrives just days after Beckham and his partners abandoned plans to build in Little Havana. Beckham's group ran into numerous political and practical hurdles, including encumbrances created by the stadium deal struck to build Marlins Park several years ago. It marked the third failed attempt to identify and secure a stadium site after two potential locations in downtown Miami fell through.
Despite the lengthy process, MLS remained firmly committed to the stadium chase even as the process moved toward the two-year mark. MLS commissioner Don Garber voiced his continued support for Beckham and the city of Miami in the wake of those developments earlier this week.
"It is a very real-time process that we're going through right now," Garber told FOX Soccer by phone on Tuesday. "There's a new site they're looking at. We've been working with Tim Leiweke and the Beckham group on ensuring that it could be a site that makes sense for the club. Hang tight because it's hopefully going to come to some conclusion soon, though I'm not sure what the exact timetable is."
If Beckham receives the necessary approvals and secures its site in totality, then Miami is expected to land the 24th team by the end of the decade. Beckham and MLS declared their desire to return to south Florida in Feb. 2014.
