David Beckham

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

By TIM REYNOLDS

AP Sports Writer

MIAMI – David Beckham is a step closer to finally being able to bring a Major League Soccer team to Miami.

Commissioners in Miami-Dade County have approved a deal to sell Beckham’s group nearly three acres of county land, which would become the last piece in a nine-acre site for a planned 25,000-seat stadium.

“Beckham’s group will pay just over $9 million for the land in the city’s Overtown neighborhood. Beckham’s group says the planned stadium would be privately funded, and the stadium would also be subject to county property tax.”

Beckham’s group will pay just over $9 million for the land in the city’s Overtown neighborhood. Beckham’s group says the planned stadium would be privately funded, and the stadium would also be subject to county property tax.

Beckham has aimed to bring MLS back to Miami since 2013. South Florida had an MLS team from 1998 through 2001. The Miami Fusion actually played about a half-hour’s drive north in Fort Lauderdale, and folded because of poor attendance.