Uncontrollable Crowd Forces Beckham To Bail From Planned Soccer Park Event
MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Hours after his big announcement to bring Major League Soccer to Miami, David Beckham was forced to leave a South Florida park after the crowd became uncontrollable.
Beckham was set to spend some time with young soccer players at Kendall Soccer Park located at 8011 S.W. 127th Avenue.
The event was set to be from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. but due to an increasingly, uncontrollable growing crowd which swarmed Beckham, the star ended up having to leave the park about 45 minutes after his arrival, without meeting with each of the teams individually.
"It was exciting at first at first, but then kind of disappointing because he never got to my section," youth soccer player Matias Sanchez said.
While some people left with autographs and pictures, Gabriella Martinez barely even caught a glimpse of her athletic idol.
"I was surprised that the adults were acting up more than the kids were," she explained.
Click here to view a slideshow of the chaos that ensued at Kendall Soccer Park.
Beckham took the mayhem in stride, walking slowly in a suit across the field as dozens of people followed, smiling and greeting fans as he went.
County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and District 10 Commissioner Javier Souto were at be at the meet and greet.
"I'm thrilled that Mr. Beckham has chosen to visit Kendall Soccer Park, which happens to be in my district, to check out the wonderful soccer facilities and artificial turf the park offers," Commissioner Souto said in a statement before the event.
After Beckham left, Mayor Gimenez admitted even he was surprised at the reaction of the crowd.
"It's a situation I've never seen before in Miami. The level of enthusiasm, everyone wanted to be around him, touching him," Gimenez said. "It got to be a little bit chaotic."
Beckham is in negotiations with the County to lease County-owned land for an MLS soccer stadium.
He promised Wednesday the stadium would be privately funded.
READ: CBS4's Jim Berry Goes One-On-One With David Beckham
"It's an exciting time for myself, exciting time for my family and friends and partners," he said at a press conference.
South Florida soccer fans celebrated into the night, toasting to the new franchise over beers at a pub in Brickell.
"I am beyond excited for MLS to come to Miami. Truth be told, it should have happened long ago," MLS in Miami supporter Brian Corey said. "We've been pushing for this for a long time."
For more info on MLS in Miami, click here.
