MIAMI, March 15, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – David Beckham’s six-year wait to watch
his Major League Soccer club make its home debut, which was to have ended
Saturday, has been extended by the league’s coronavirus shutdown.
But that didn’t stop him and his family from visiting Inter Miami’s empty
stadium on Saturday.
Beckham’s club was to have hosted the Los Angeles Galaxy, the MLS club
where the former England and Manchester United star played from 2007 through
2012, in its first match at its temporary home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Instead, the entire league has joined all major North American sports
leagues and shut down its season for 30 days due to the ongoing coronavirus
pandemic.
That left Inter Miami owner and president Beckham and his wife, Victoria,
to take their four children to the empty venue and post a video on Instagram.
“Special day showing the family what we’ve built,” Beckham posted as the
camera made a 360-degree tour of empty Inter Miami Stadium while music of
Spice Girls — his wife’s former group — blared through the loudspeakers.
Beckham also posted messages Friday on Instagram with photos taken from the
field in the empty 20,000-seat stadium.
“It’s times like these when we are reminded of the things that are truly
important in life,” Beckham posted on Instagram. “Our health. Our loved ones
and looking after those that need support in our communities.
“In these moments, sports take a back seat. We must all listen to expert
advice and do the right thing. Stay safe and look out for yourselves and your
families.”
Inter Miami still seeks a first-ever MLS triumph, having lost 1-0 at Los
Angeles FC on March 1 and 2-1 at DC United six days later.
Those matches culminated a wild six-year effort filled with setbacks and
frustrations.
Beckham, 44, came to the United States in 2007, the global icon leaving
Real Madrid for a deal with the Galaxy that included the option to buy an MLS
expansion club at a discounted price.
Over six seasons with the Galaxy, Beckham helped raise the sport’s US
profile and was a major contributor to the club’s 2011 and 2012 MLS Cup
titles.
After retiring in 2013, Beckham decided to exercise his option for an MLS
expansion team in 2014 and sought to build a soccer-specific stadium in
Miami.
Struggles with city leaders and civic groups followed, location after
location foiled by one problem after another, and MLS hesitated to award a
franchise to a group without a stadium plan set in place.
Beckham joined with Miami-based construction magnates Jorge and Jose Mas in
2017 and that represented a turning point in his quest.
In 2018, city officials approved construction of the Miami Freedom Park
complex near Miami International Airport, its centrepiece being a new 25,000-
seat stadium that is expected to be ready for Inter Miami to move into in
2022.
“Everything we’ve tried to do to get this franchise up and running was a
challenge,” Beckham said last month.
“There wasn’t one (easy) thing — from finding the land, thinking what kind
of stadium we want, what kind of players we want, what kind of manager we
want, even down to what tiles we had in the showers — everything was a
challenge. “But I wasn’t going to give up.”