Soccer At PortMiami Facing Royal Objection
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Major League Soccer owner David Beckham may want to put a soccer stadium at PortMiami, but at least one global company is ready to tackle the star's plan before it's even launched.
According to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald, Royal Caribbean Cruises said this week that it opposes a PortMiami soccer stadium due to traffic concerns and a confidential plan to develop the site where the stadium might be built.
Royal Caribbean's opposition comes just after port director Bill Johnson was pitching a world trade center for the same piece of land the stadium might be built upon.
While Royal is opposed to the plan, Beckham's group is continuing to negotiate with Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez to put together a deal to build a stadium and add entertainment options around said stadium.
According to the Herald, "Royal has not articulated to me specific reasons why they may not be in support. I can't respond to something when I don't know what the problem is."
Gimenez said Beckham's group is vetting multiple sites for a possible stadium besides the port location. Mayor Gimenez told the Herald that any stadium project has to include public space, roads, and other unnamed amenities.
The non-profit group World Trade Center Miami and PortMiami have pitched a 7-million-square-foot office complex for the same plot of land, according to the Herald. That idea was pitched to Asian investors a few months ago.
The question is, if Beckham's group determines the PortMiami site is the best location, would his celebrity be enough to outweigh the interests of PortMiami and Royal Caribbean?