Miami’s upcoming Major League Soccer team cleared a major hurdle Tuesday when voters endorsed plans to transform a city-owned golf course into a massive stadium and commercial complex.
Now retired soccer star David Beckham and his partners can negotiate a lease of city land next to Miami International Airport, currently home to Melreese golf course, for a 73-acre redevelopment that would include a 25,000-seat stadium, at least 750 hotel rooms and at least 1 million square feet of office, retail and commercial space. Owners also agreed to fund a 58-acre public park next to the complex.
The pro-stadium campaign benefited from strong support from soccer fans who have longed for an MLS team throughout Beckham’s five-year odyssey to field a squad in South Florida. After running through multiple possible sites, including land in Overtown that ownership purchased, Melreese became the top choice earlier in 2018 after businessman Jorge Mas, chairman of infrastructure giant MasTec, joined the fold in late 2017. Mas argued a stadium needed surrounding development to be profitable.
Read more at our news partner, the Miami Herald.
