FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - David Beckham’s Major League Soccer group unveiled a proposal that would turn a deserted Fort Lauderdale stadium into a new stadium complex and training facility.
Beckham and co-owner Jorge Mas detailed their plans for a $60 million renovation of Lockhart Stadium, the former home of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, at 1350 NW 55th St., Thursday.
“I think it’s a perfect location. It’s a location we’ve been dreaming about,” Beckham said.
MLS could be a possibility at the stadium after Inter Miami CF, which is set to begin play next season, want to demolish the deserted soccer stadium and replace it with a new one.
The team said they would pay for the stadium, and the city would help maintain the parks that come along with the proposal.
“We will play our first two seasons of MLS here at the new stadium located here at Lockhart in the city of Fort Lauderdale,” Mas said.
It has been years since a soccer game has been played at the stadium.
The field has since been overgrown with trees and tall weeds, dominating what was once a soccer pitch.
The team released a video rendering of their vision for the new stadium.
The group also proposed a training facility for the team.
The proposal also includes a large green space, a public park and several soccer fields.
Despite building a new 18,000-seat stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Beckham said the plan is to build a second new soccer stadium in Miami.
“We will be in Miami,” Beckham said. “Our commitment is also to South Florida because we also feel that, you know, we’re not coming here for just two years, and we’re gonna desert this.”
FXE Futbol also released their own proposal for the 64-acre property. Their proposal also included professional soccer.
The company’s managing partner, JP Reynal, said in a statement about Beckham’s proposal, “At the 11th hour, they threw together a hastily prepared bid to build a modular stadium in Ft. Lauderdale and sell it to the public.”
Commissioners will vote whether to approve the proposal next week.
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