One of the major hurdles in David Beckham's quest to bring a Major League Soccer team to South Florida is deciding on a place for the team to play. While reports suggest the team would start play at either FIU Stadium, Marlins Park or Sun Life Stadium, the long-term plan is to build a new soccer-specific stadium for the team. Beckham's ownership group wants the stadium somewhere in the heart of the city, but of course finding a stadium-sized plot of land is a tall order.
Well, according to the Miami Herald, Beckham and his partners have gotten creative. They're eyeing the possibility of building a stadium at the Port of Miami.
The port has thought about the possibility of brining some commercial development to its southwest corner, and Beckham's group has asked the county about using the area for a stadium.
"They kind of elevated this site," Deputy Mayor Chip Iglesias told the Herald. "We said yes, we'd take a look at it."
The area could support a 25,000-seat stadium, though traffic and parking are a concern, even if the Port of Miami tunnel would be completed by that time. Though, tens of thousands of cars trying to get through the tunnel and the Port Boulevard bridge would still cause some major traffic headaches. Though, we suppose some sort of shuttle service between the stadium and nearby downtown parking lots could provide something of a work-around.
However, the Herald adds that the group has identified at least 29 other possible sites.
It's expected that Beckham and Co. would fund stadium contraction themselves, as Mayor Carlos Gimenez has said he won't consider a deal to use public financing. Though, leasing public land to the group, like that on Port of Miami, is still obviously on the table.
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