Miami-Dade County make deal with David Beckham on MLS stadium land


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MIAMI // David Beckham is a big step closer to bringing Major League Soccer (MLS) back to Miami.

More than four years after he started scouting potential homes for a team, Beckham will soon have the piece of land he needs.

Miami-Dade County Commissioners approved a deal Tuesday to sell three acres of county land to Beckham’s group, the last part of what is a nine-acre plot on which a 25,000-seat stadium is planned.

Beckham’s group will pay just over US$9 million (Dh33m) for the last piece of land.

It has already paid $19 million for the other six acres needed. Beckham’s group says the planned stadium would be privately funded, and the stadium would also be subject to county property tax.

It is a major development in what has been at times an arduously slow – and often frustrating – process for the English soccer icon and his plans for Miami.

MLS has not officially awarded Miami an expansion franchise, because of the lack of a land and stadium deal.

A contract he signed in 2007 with the Los Angeles Galaxy gave Beckham the right to start an expansion franchise for $25 million, and in 2013 he picked Miami as where he would want to put a team.

The plan has changed many times along the way, most notably because he was unable to get waterfront land that his group first coveted for a stadium site.

"I will tell you this is probably the best site we have found, for many respects," Beckham group attorney Neisen Kasdin said, before listing reasons that include the site’s proximity to several modes of public transportation and the Miami River.

The vote in Miami on Beckham’s land deal was preceded by several members of the community urging commissioners to vote no, mostly citing noise and traffic concerns.

A few supporters spoke as well, and after three hours of discussion commissioners approved the deal 9-4.

"This land has been an eyesore for years," said Commissioner Audrey Edmonson, who represents the neighborhood where the stadium is planned. "Something needs to be done with it, now."

The deal that allowed the Miami Marlins to get a new taxpayer-built ballpark on the former Orange Bowl site is still the source of major contention for the city and the county.

There is also scepticism about the Beckham group’s plan to build a stadium with no on-site parking, with plans instead to rely on shuttles, walking and public transportation.

"As far as sports deals go with the county, this one isn’t so bad," Commissioner Joe Martinez said.

Beckham is not the only huge global soccer name pursuing MLS expansion these days. Landon Donovan has joined the ownership group that is hoping to bring a team to San Diego.

It has not been easy going for either.

The victory for Beckham came just one day after San Diego’s City Council decided not to finance a special election that would have brought plans of building a new soccer complex there to a vote.

In a pair of tweets, Donovan wrote that "we have to respect the process" and that "just because we’re down at halftime doesn’t mean we stop trying."

* Associated Press

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Wednesday:
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Hydrogen: Market potential

Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.

"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.

Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.

The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.

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Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

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The story in numbers

18

This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens

450,000

More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps

1.5 million

There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m

73

The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association

18,000

The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme

77,400

The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study

4,926

This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee

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New UK refugee system

 

  • A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
  • Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
  • A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
  • To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
  • Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
  • Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
if you go

The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow. 
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes). 

While you're here
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Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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FA Cup fifth round draw

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