David Beckham remains confident that he can establish an MLS franchise in Miami despite the numerous setbacks he and his investors have faced in finding a waterfront spot for theteam’s proposed stadium. The former LA Galaxy midfielder is working with Sprint Corp CEO Marcelo Claure and “American Idol” producer Simon Fuller to bring a team toFlorida.
“Miami will happen,” Beckham told Bloomberg Television’s Mark Crumpton. “I said I want to bring a team here and I will take a team to Miami. There arespeed bumps along the way and we’ve come up against those.”
Beckham and Co., has seen two successive proposals to build a waterfront stadium in Miami rejected by local oppositionfrom the likes of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and billionaire Norman Braman. Meanwhile, Miami-Dade County officials have said they are willing to keep working to find a suitable site for thestadium.
The retired soccer star knows his project is ambitious. “I’ve been very cheeky in a way because I’ve gone into Miami and I said ‘OK, I wanna build Old Traffordor Wembley stadium next to Buckingham Palace. My dream was to have our stadium on a waterfront. It’s not worked out like that and we have alternative sites. It will happen.”