Walking around Marlins Park Wednesday, retired soccer superstar David Beckham looked at his options. He is working on bringing a Major League Soccer franchise to Miami.
"Miami excites me because I think it's a city that is very excitable," Beckham has said previously. "It's a city people love."
Beckham didn't say anything to the crowds of media as he left the stadium after 4 p.m., but he did talk about soccer over dinner with Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez Tuesday night. The two were guests of billionaire businessman Marcelo Claure, who is Beckham's potential partner for the expansion franchise.
"I'm becoming more of a soccer fan," Gimenez said. "I'm a traditionalist. I'm a football, basketball fan, but soccer ... I know it is increasing in popularity, not only here but also we have so many people from Europe and Latin America where soccer is king."
You don't have to look too far to find soccer fans in South Florida. In August, more than 67,000 fans filled Sun Life Stadium for the final of the Guinness International Champions Cup, which featured Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Now the question is, if the MLS happens here, where will the team play?
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"They're looking for an urban site, but that's going to take some time to find the right site to build the stadium, so they're willing to play a couple years in some existing facilities that we have, but in the end they will build their own facility for that," Gimenez said.
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