December 4 – David Beckham has been urged by Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber to start making firm progress over establishing his Miami-based franchise.
The former England captain had two proposed sites for a 25,000-seat stadium in central Miami rejected last summer and in recent months there has been growing speculation that the global footballing icon may ditch his plans, instead opting to join a consortium led by, as of yet unnamed, Asian investors who are interested in bidding for Chivas USA.
“This can’t go on forever,” Garber said of the delays with Beckham’s franchise. “The Beckham group continues to work to try and find a stadium solution that they believe will put them in a position to succeed.
“Miami is a very cool, emerging market in this country as an influencer city. . . . We all know there have been some pro sports struggles there, so people question whether Miami can support an MLS team. I believe it can, but only if it has the right stadium.”
The league will grow to 20 teams in 2015 with the addition of New York City FC and Orlando City FC followed by Atlanta and a second LA-based team in 2017.
No sooner had Garber’s remarks been widely picked up than Beckham’s ownership group said it was confident of making the new club a reality.
“The reality is that everything is progressing very well,” a spokesperson for Miami Beckham United was quoted by Reuters as saying. “Miami is still David’s number one choice and it will happen. The fans and the people of Miami are behind us and we hope to announce some positive and exciting news soon.”
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