On Wednesday, many months of speculation were put to rest, as it was announced that soccer legend David Beckham had bought the rights to an MLS expansion team to play out of Miami.
The announcement was made in Miami by Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, standing alongside both Beckham and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez. Beckham’s ownership team, which currently includes himself, his manager Simon Fuller, and Bolivian billionaire Marcelo Claure, will now focus their attention on securing a location to build a new soccer-specific stadium in downtown Miami. Once a stadium deal is in place, the league will officially grant the city their expansion franchise.
Though the announcement represented a big step forward for Beckham’s new franchise, it told us virtually nothing we did not already know. It was widely known that when Beckham signed his first contract with MLS back in 2007 he was granted an option to buy an expansion franchise for a discounted fee after he retired.
Other cities like Atlanta, San Antonio, Minneapolis, and St. Louis have been rumoured to be in the market for expansion franchises, but Beckham was never able to resist the glamour that Miami has to offer. Beckham has spent parts of the last year in Miami investigating potential stadium sites, and his group was recently in talks with Gimenez to discuss as many as 30 potential venue options.
Early expectations are that the actual team will begin play for the 2016 or, most likely, the 2017 season. They will be the second Florida-based team, following 2015 expansion side Orlando City SC. If they begin play in 2016, MLS will maintain their gargantuan average of one expansion franchise per season since 2005. But regardless of when the new Miami club steps out onto the pitch, their debut will mark the beginning of a dangerous venture for both the league and Beckham.
Major League Soccer has not had a team in the Southeast region of the United States for over a decade (for reference, I am defining the Southeast as anything both South of Washington, D.C. and East of Houston, Texas). Both the Tampa Bay Mutiny and the Miami Fusion were contracted by the league in 2001 to reduce the heavy financial losses that MLS was experiencing at the time. By 2017, MLS will have doubled-down in the Southeast market once again, and could have a third team in the region if Atlanta’s expansion progress continues to build up steam.
Miami is currently the largest market in the United States without an MLS franchise with its name, and that alone may be reason enough for the league to make its return there. But Miami’s sports fans are also among the most infamous. Attendances for the city’s other professional sports franchises are poor, and fans have developed a bad reputation for arriving late and leaving early. Huge investments of money have been hit (Miami Heat) and miss (Miami Marlins).
Commissioner Garber knows that if anybody is going to succeed in Miami it will be David Beckham. The English legend spent six seasons in MLS with the LA Galaxy and was the reason that the Designated Player rule was implemented. Beckham played well in the United States but played very little. Injuries and two loan spells at A.C. Milan limited him to 98 MLS regular-season games played in six years. Considering that works out to about 16 games a year out of a 30 (2007-2010) to 34 (2011-2012) game regular season, Beckham’s on-field legacy in America could have been so much more.
Enter Beckham’s new franchise. No, Beckham has no plans to step out of retirement. That being said, this is his second chance at being more than just a bestselling jersey. Just as was the case back in 2007, David Beckham is sailing into uncharted waters. But in 2007 he was the leader of a pack (Henry, Keane, Cahill etc.). This time around, he will be going in alone.
The power and influence that Beckham will have on his franchise will be unprecedented. He will run this organization as a kid would run one in FIFA’s Manager Mode, but in real life. In other words, he will do anything he wants to.
Proof you say? Early rumours suggested that the new Miami franchise could be named ‘Miami Beckham United’.
“You’re kidding, right,” you say? That company name has been registered in the state of Florida by none other than Beckham Brands Limited. So yes, I do mean anything.
Most important among his limitless powers will be his ability to attract high-profile talent. Beckham instantly affirms Miami’s status as a big-ticket city for players looking to come from overseas. If he is able to bring in some other big-name partners (the likes of NBA superstar Lebron James, Hollywood actor and best friend Tom Cruise, and the musical power couple of Beyonce and Jay-Z have all been rumoured to want in), his job will get even easier.
He will aim high when it comes to personnel. Messi high. Beckham knows that he needs to grab a hold of the Miami market before it slips through his fingers. Competing with the big boys from day one is a must for him.
The “Beckham Experiment” version 1.0 is long gone, but version 2.0 is just around the corner. David Beckham appears to have all the tools he needs to make Major League Soccer thrive in Miami and to build an on-field legacy in North America.
And if it turns out he doesn’t, the MLS rulebooks will be more than accommodating.
Again.
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