David Beckham’s plan to use private money to build an MLS stadium in Miami on land that he and his partners want to buy from Miami-Dade County is broadly supported by county voters, according to a new Miami Herald poll.
Fifty-seven percent of the 600 registered Miami-Dade voters surveyed said that they support Beckham’s plan to build a stadium in the Overtown neighborhood. Thirty-five percent opposed the plan, while eight percent had no opinion. Bendixen & Amandi International conducted the poll from May 1-4 in Spanish and English for the Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald, WLRN and Univision 23.
“This polling is consistent with the fact that Miami is home to some of the most passionate fans in soccer, and that the community’s support for an MLS team runs deep,” Beckham’s group, Miami Beckham United (MBU), said in a statement to the Herald. “Our Miami Beckham United partners are working hard to give the people of Miami what they want: a world-class, privately-financed stadium in Overtown and a soccer club that makes Miami proud.”
MBU announced in March that they had acquired approximately six acres of land for a projected nine-acre stadium site. The remaining three acres currently house a truck depot owned by Miami-Dade County.
According to the Herald, MBU has offered to pay market rate for the depot, and Miami-Dade would then “waive competitive bidding for the land in exchange for a package of hiring pledges and community benefits.” The Herald reported last week that negotiations between MBU and Miami-Dade had hit a snag, with the two parties unable to agree on the benefits package county officials had proposed.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber expressed confidence to a group of Associated Press sports editors in April that Beckham’s efforts to bring an MLS team to Miami are on track, perhaps in time for the 2018 season.
