Beckham to Bring MLS Team to Miami

Soccer star David Beckham has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion team and plans to locate the team in Miami. A name for the team and details on when the team will begin play have not yet been announced. But MLS Commissioner Don Garber appeared with Beckham and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez during a press conference at Perez Art Museum Miami on February 5 to announce that the deal was in the works.

Beckham’s ownership group will now work with MLS and local officials to finalize a deal for what it expected to be a privately funded new soccer stadium, although no timeline was revealed as part of the announcement.

Beckham had a clause in his contract when he joined the L.A. Galaxy that he could purchase a team for $25 million if he exercised the option by December 31, 2013, a deadline the soccer star met.

“We appreciate all that David has done as a player, an ambassador and as a global icon to help grow Major League Soccer,” Garber said. “We are thrilled that he will be an owner, and we look forward to him helping us achieve our goal of being one of the top soccer leagues in the world.”

When it starts, the team will be the league’s 22^nd franchise.