The stadium was to be built on land that was mostly publicly owned. However, a few parcels were in private hands. A few small apartment buildings and a daycare center stood there. The owners were willing to sell, but apparently their asking price was too high for Beckham. NBC Miami reports that the owner of the daycare alone wanted at least $18 million.
Rumors that the Little Havana site was a no-go had been bubbling for more than a week, and some reports suggested the Beckham group could look at land in the impoverished Overtown neighborhood.
However, sources tell NBC Miami that the group has given up on building anywhere within the City of Miami and may now look elsewhere in South Florida.
Interestingly, the Beckham group has a December 5 deadline to prove to Major League Soccer it has control of a site to build a stadium. What happens if they blow that deadline isn't immediately clear. The City of Miami Commission and county school board also had a December 22 deadline to approve ballot language for a proposed public referendum on the plan that would have been on the March presidential primary election ballot.
MLS President Don Garber has repeatedly said he believes that for a soccer team to be successful in Miami, it will need a stadium within the urban core — preferably one in a walkable neighborhood well serviced by public transit. There really aren't that many sites in Miami-Dade outside of the city of Miami proper that tick those boxes.
