Uncertainty Looms Ahead of Showdown Vote on Miami's Beckham Stadium

David Beckham and his soccer stadium group scraped together just enough Miami City Commission votes to get a referendum last year, and 60% of voters agreed to a no-bid lease for the Melreese public golf course.

After a year of sporadic controversy, the future of the proposed Miami Freedom Park is anything but clear. The City Commission is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a last-ditch effort pressed by an opposing commissioner before its composition changes.

Commissioner Manolo Reyes pushed for a vote on the lease before Commissioner Willy Gort, another project opponent, is replaced. Gort, whose district includes Melreese, is term limited but remains on the dais until a Nov. 19 runoff between Alex Diaz de la Portilla and Miguel Gabela.

A separate agenda item calls for an end to negotiations with the soccer venture. Commissioner Joe Carollo voted for last year’s referendum but proposes to end talks and solicit competitive bids for Melreese redevelopment, possibly as a luxury hotel and golf resort. Reyes also is a sponsor.

“The new RFP proposal for a luxury golf resort with no public park component is contradictory to what voters already approved and want to see for the Melreese site,” the soccer group said in response.

Carollo said he isn’t changing course but wants just compensation for the city.

“When I voted to put the issue to referendum, I stated on the record that I expected the city to receive fair market value for the property. The appraisals and other forthcoming studies should give us an idea on what that amount is,” he said in an emailed statement.

The city is awaiting several studies, including a property appraisal that will be reviewed by a second appraiser and used to calculate base annual rent.

Reyes’ push to speed up a vote was opposed by city staff members, who argued there is more work to do, the Miami Herald reported.

The commission was to take up the items Oct. 24 but postponed action after Reyes was taken to a hospital after falling on a staircase during the meeting. Blanks, staff notes and questions remained on the draft lease as of Thursday afternoon.

City staff said rent will be “the amount by which the initial fair market value exceeds” $3.6 million, which was the initially proposed base rent. A paragraph down, staff wrote the value is to be determined before signing.

There are other blanks and staff notes on the lease, indicating it was unfinished. One notation reads, ”Is this broad enough?” and there were blanks for the amount of equity the city will require the soccer group to contribute.

Both the city and Miami Freedom Park representatives said they are “working diligently” to finalize the lease.

Commission-requested environmental analyses, a traffic study and appraisal still aren’t complete, according to the soccer group.

Beckham and his venture partners, including MasTec Inc. executives and brothers Jorge and Jose Mas, envision a 25,000-seat stadium and a 1 million-square-foot commercial complex on 73 acres. Another 58 acres at the 155-acre golf course east of Miami International Airport would be public parks.

Leasing the land allows the soccer group to avoid paying property taxes.

Lawsuits

Miami Freedom Park is headed to a vote after legal challenges.

Miami attorney Douglas Muir was first to sue in summer 2018, hours before the commission approved the referendum. Muir, who was both plaintiff and filing attorney, argued in part that the referendum sought to amend one part of the city charter when a different section prohibits a city property lease without public notice and a competitive process, according to the complaint.

Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Reemberto Diaz in August 2018 dismissed the suit for lack of standing, saying Muir failed to show harm beyond that of the general public. The Third District Court of Appeal last September dismissed Muir’s appeal as moot.

Miami attorney David Winker in November 2018 filed an ethics complaint claiming the soccer group didn’t register as lobbyists with the city clerk before representatives spoke for the stadium in front of city officials. Winker named Beckham, the Mas brothers and SoftBank Group CEO and stadium investor Marcelo Claure, among others.

They were cleared after the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission found no probable cause of wrongdoing, but the complaint prompted a comprehensive review of lobbyist disclosure requirement across the county.

Miami told the Ethics Commission it was adding a two-part disclosure question and would ensure compliance.

Winker dropped a lawsuit filed in January over the lobbyist disclosure requirement after municipalities vowed to fix the issues. That same month, he filed a second suit against the city, arguing a failure to specify exactly where the 131-acre soccer complex would rise on the bigger property should kill the proposal. Winker hasn’t pursued the suit.

Future

The future of the project remains murky since the City Commission could vote again after Gort’s replacement is seated, and Mayor Francis Suarez, a champion of the project, could veto commission opposition. The commission would need a four-fifths vote to override a veto.

Miami Freedom Park said it hopes commissioners will follow the will of the voters and work on hammering out a lease.

“This process will allow the commission the opportunity to evaluate a comprehensive agreement with zero public subsidy and over $3 billions of direct cash payment to the city of Miami over the term of the lease,” the group said in its statement.

The Major League soccer team Inter Miami CF is scheduled to begin play next year at a temporary home being built on the site of Fort Lauderdale’s demolished Lockhart Stadium. No start date for Miami play has been announced after years of talk about locations.