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| Former soccer star David Beckham holds a ball at a news conference where he announced he's exercising an option to buy a Major League Soccer expansion team in Miami. (photo: Lynne Sladky/AP) |
News has it that Beckham's time with the L.A Galaxy helped him purchase an expansion team at a below-
market $25 million -- reports The Miami Herald.
In announcing his plan to bring pro soccer back to a city, Beckham said (according to CNN) that:
"I know this city is ready for soccer, football, and this is going to be successful.
"I know there was a team 10 years ago which folded. I wanted to create a team that can be very personal.
"I want to make it my own team. We are very excited, Miami is a vibrant city with a lot of passion. I am looking forward to spending a lot more time and my family being here."
The Beckham's group, Miami Beckham United, is set to build a privately funded stadium on publicly owned land, at the southwest corner of the new Pérez Art Museum Miami. The group has hired a Tallahassee lobbyist to seek a state sales-tax rebate that has been awarded to other sports teams in the past, The Miami Hearld said and added that: The team could begin play in the next two to three years.