David Beckham's Miami Soccer Stadium Complex Gets Green Light

(Bloomberg) -- Miami city commissioners voted to authorize lease agreements that will allow the English soccer superstar David Beckham and his partners to develop a stadium complex for their Inter Miami CF team.

The project, dubbed Miami Freedom Park, will re-develop the Melreese golf course near the Miami International Airport into a complex that will include a 25,000-seat stadium, 750 hotel rooms, commercial space and community fields. With over 58 acres (234,720 square meters) of accessible land, it will become the largest park in the city. 

“This will put us once again on the world stage,” Miami city Mayor Francis Suarez said after the vote on Thursday night.

Suarez noted that the president of FIFA, the governing body for international soccer, was in the city on Monday. The mayor said Miami deserved to be a host for the World Cup in 2026, which will be played in Canada, Mexico and the U.S.

 “We not only deserve that, we should be the headquarters for FIFA and the World Cup in 2026,” he said.

While voters authorized the city to negotiate a deal for the $1 billion plan in a 2018 ballot question, some critics have worried about the loss of the city-owned golf course in the no-bid deal with Miami businessman Jorge Mas. Major League Soccer team Inter Miami highlighted the economic impact of the project and says it will bring in billions of dollars in rent and tax revenue over the lease term.

“The city is going to give zero dollars,” Suarez said ahead of the commission vote. “We’re going to get $2.6 billion over 99 years in revenue for the city.”

The club said in a statement that it would maintain existing facilities in nearby Fort Lauderdale, where it will continue to play home matches while Miami Freedom Park is under construction. 

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