David Beckham and his prospective ownership group are hard at work as they seek to bring an MLS expansion team to Miami, but there seems to be a new challenge on the soccer stadium front.
The proposed site next to Marlins Park baseball stadium is comprised of a combination of city-owned and privately-owned land, but in an interview with the Miami Herald editorial board, newMiami Beckham United partner Tim Leiweke indicated that private land owners "probably will blow this deal up."
“They know what we’re doing, and unfortunately they’ve let that create an absolutely unrealistic conversation. They can absolutely blow this deal up, and they probably will blow this deal up,” Leiweke said. “We’re willing to overpay. We just don’t want to be the stupidest guys on the face of the earth.”
Back in July, Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado agreed to a tentative deal with Beckham's group for the construction of a soccer stadium on the site of the old Orange Bowl after two previous proposals fell through for a stadium at PortMiami and a waterfront project adjacent to American Airlines Arena.
If negotiations for the current site fail, Leiweke made it clear that Miami Beckham United has another plan.
"We do have a backup," Leiweke said. "We will not be held hostage."
