Beckham partners eye Melreese golf course for MLS stadium site

David Beckham and his partners are considering a new property for their multimillion-dollar Major League Soccer Stadium.

Miami City Manager Emilio González met with Beckham partner Jorge Mas on Monday to discuss building the stadium on the city-owned Melreese golf course near Miami International Airport, according to the Miami Herald. The Mas brothers, who joined the stadium venture last year, have reservations about the size and location of the Overtown site, which is facing significant opposition from its Spring Garden neighbors.

Beckham and his partners could lease a portion of the golf course land from the city of Miami, a move that would be subject to a referendum. Melreese has enough land to build a sprawling soccer complex with restaurants, retail and office uses, plus a youth academy the Mas brothers have envisioned.

Beckham’s Overtown assemblage includes 6 acres purchased for $19 million in 2016. The group is under contract to purchase another 3 acres of land from Miami-Dade County, and would still need to secure land-use changes, rezonings and the contentious permanent closure of Northwest Seventh Street before it could build.

Activist Bruce Matheson is also fighting the development in court. Matheson is alleging the county gave Beckham and his partners “a secret discount from the taxpayers” when it gave them a no-bid, $9 million deal for the 3 acres of county-owned land. [Miami Herald] – Katherine Kallergis

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David Beckham and rendering the proposed soccer stadium in Overtown (Credit: Miami Beckham United)