David Beckham returns to City Hall ahead of big vote on future of Inter Miami stadium

Retired soccer star David Beckham stopped by Miami City Hall on Thursday even after a key vote for Miami Freedom Park was postponed.

It appears Beckham, part owner of Inter Miami, would’ve been present to address commissioners if they would’ve discussed the proposed $1 billion redevelopment of city-owned Melreese golf course. Beckham and his local partners, MasTec executives Jorge and Jose Mas, seek to lease Melreese for 99 years and replace the course with a commercial center, offices, a hotel, a 25,000-seat soccer stadium and a 58-acre park. Miami Freedom Park would host home games for Miami’s Major League Soccer franchise.

Beckham and Mas arrived in the afternoon during the regularly scheduled commission meeting, turning heads among the usual group of lobbyists, lawyers and bureaucrats who were present for zoning hearings. Mayor Francis Suarez, a proponent of the project since day one, whisked Beckham upstairs for a meeting with Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla, whose district includes Melreese.

Beckham may have taken the opportunity to lobby Díaz de la Portilla and other commissioners. Comments from some commissioners on Wednesday suggested the votes would not have been solidly in the soccer team’s favor had the Miami Freedom Park hearing proceeded.

After the meeting, Díaz de la Portilla told the Miami Herald the soccer group is “amenable to a new appraisal,” to help determine the fair market value of the land. The commissioner had previously suggested the city needs a more recent study of the land’s value, since the appraisals used to negotiated the lease were done in 2019. Díaz de la Portilla also said other financial terms in the deal could change before the vote.

“We have been in conversations with the Beckham group for months,” he said. “We will always put Miami first and our residents will benefit if we continue to focus on how our city will prosper, on how we will create jobs, on how we will expand our tax base and stimulate our economy. These are my priorities.”

Díaz de la Portilla also confirmed the special meeting to consider Miami Freedom Park lease has been rescheduled again. He said the hearing has been set for 10 a.m. April 1, six days earlier than the date in the memo Suarez sent Wednesday.

This story was originally published March 11, 2022 at 8:59 AM.