David Beckham paid a visit to Miami this week, and though there were no official updates on his group's MLS expansion bid, the Miami Herald's Michelle Kaufmann reported that Beckham hopes to have "significant" news to share "before summer."
According to the Herald, the news could include the final makeup of the ownership group, a name for the club, and that the group has narrowed down their stadium plans to four or five sites the former LA Galaxy man "quite likes."
But according to the Herald's source, Beckham & Co. are not solely focused on the stadium, but also thinking through the makeup and operation of the club.
"The group has very big ambitions and big-picture decisions to make’,’ the source reportedly said. “So the reason this is taking so long is that they decided to take a step back from the stadium site issue and focus on what kind of football club we can be, how deep are our pockets, how much money can we spend?"
Beckham and his partners have recently been discussing stadium options with local politicians in an effort to make progress on the stadium front. One notable stop on Beckham's visit to South Florida was a party for fashion magnate Tommy Hilfiger, at which he sat next to Miami Beach Mayor Tom Levine. The two reportedly discussed stadium possibilities.
Marcelo Claure, the Bolivian telecommunications magnate and one of Beckham's partners in the MLS endeavor, also reportedly met with local officials in part to discuss stadium sites. Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado said that he spoke with Claure recently about a new wireless initiative for the city as well as two potential stadium sites.
While finalizing a stadium plan in Miami is an ongoing project, MLS Commissioner Don Garber reiterated the commitment of the Miami ownership group and the progress they have made.
"We still haven’t finalized the stadium project, but they’ve made more progress today than they had yesterday," Garber told reporters t Wednesday's Minnesota expansion announcement. "David Beckham believes in the league more now than ever before. Marcelo Claure is as engaged as he ever was. We’ve got work to do, but we hope to be able to finalize something soon."
