David Beckham's new Miami MLS soccer team has a few kinks to work out. I'm a huge futbol fan, and kind of a Beckham groupie (LOL him and her both) so they already have me pre-sold, even if it was a hellacious process to get season tickets.
A brief rundown on the history: a) Doc C and I dressed up as the Beckhams this past Halloween (he dressed as a bearded Victoria hehe), b) David Beckham has been trying to bring MLS to the Miami area for a good long while, c) various proposals to build a permanent stadium in Miami keep getting denied or delayed, d) the temporary home for Inter Miami is now a renovated Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, e) season tickets are on sale for a good while, but f) the March 15 opening game has been delayed because of CV-19.
It's been a long and tortured process for getting the pro stadium built. First it was going to be near the American Airlines Arena on Biscayne Blvd by the Bayfront, but that got denied. Then it was going to be near Marlins Park in Little Havana, that got denied. Now the plan is to put the permanent stadium at the underused golf course just to the east of Miami Airport. Renderings look like a giant retractable pink beetle (see pics).
The fall-back choice for a stadium has been to renovate the old home of the defunct Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Lockhart Stadium. At $60 million paid out by the team's investors, it's not just a new paint job. The new-ish stadium improves dramatically on the old tumble-down one, with better sun-shading and a veneer of modern styling. The seats are even pink to match the black/pink I.M. logo (see pics). Fort Lauderdale is kicking in a surrounding park and community center.
After some fairly odd website malfunctions, I gave up and went in person to buy season passes. I was also planning to check on a corporate box of some sort to pitch to my company. After a spotty service experience in person to simply buy 2 season passes, I decided to put that pricey corporate box idea on ice until the process gets a little smoother. The office is a bit hard to find, and no one seemed to regret that I spent a couple of hours in frustration on a malfunctioning website, then drove roughly 45 minutes each way to buy them in person. We didn't wear the Halloween Beckham costumes to buy the tickets, so there was no reason to be corporate correct. Customer service 101: apologize if you screw up.
As an aside, I've long been an admirer of both Beckhams and of pro soccer...Victoria Beckham would have to personally slap me to keep me away from Inter Miami games once they get cranked up. David Beckham is a kid from the wrong side of the tracks with amazing soccer skills, and is now a businessman, MLS owner, model and fashion kingpin. Victoria Beckham is a kid from the right side of the tracks, who found early fame as a bubble gum pop star with the Spice Girls, married a hot soccer dude, and is now a fashion kingpin (all through that, she has never smiled, not once LOL). Their story is almost as interesting as the saga of getting a pro soccer team in Miami.
In short, Inter Miami promises to be a good show all around. If they win their first game, we'll dress up as the Beckhams for the second one! read more