Miami MLS expansion: Tim Leiweke ‘nervous about MLS in Miami’

In an interview with the Miami Herald Editorial Board, Miami Beckham United’s Tim Leiweke said the partnership continues to make progress with the city of Miami to purchase city land across the street from Marlins Park and then transfer it to the Miami-Dade School Board, which would shield the new stadium from property taxes.

It was announced back in June that David Beckham‘s camp reached an agreement to build a soccer-specific stadium next to Marlins Park for his expansion franchise.

There is empty land owned by the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County, which Beckham will pay millions to use, but the privately owned parcels are still in the way.

If the negotiations fail, Leiweke said Beckham’s group has a fallback plan at another undisclosed site.

At least one property owner within the stadium footprint, Violeta Jimenez, said no one from Miami Beckham United has approached her to officially start negotiations. He faulted Miami Beckham United mostly for the team’s problems, saying “this has not been the smartest negotiation I’ve been a part of”.

“I’m going to tell you something”, she said.

“If we don’t have a deal by that MLS board meeting it’s up to the commissioner and the board to decide what happens to this option”, said Leiweke.

The Candy House Day Care next door to her home is already in negotiations with the group, but Beckham’s team said it can only go so far before it moves on and changes course.

A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed that MBU is aiming to finalize the deal by December 5, when MBU is slated to present the details to the MLS Board of Governors. “It’s been a long time since this has been discussed and we’ve been unable to come to them with a viable plan that works”, he said. He blames the private owners for demanding too much for the land. This is Tim Leiweke ramping up the rhetoric to get a stadium deal done. Instead, the stadium would accommodate visiting students to learn about sports.

Leiweke claims that a group of local landowners are making such unreasonable demands that it will “probably blow up” the deal.