Miami rejects David Beckham’s soccer stadium site

Miami has rejected David Beckham’s plan to build a soccer stadium on a city waterfront.

The city determined the proposed location next to a major basketball arena was “inappropriate”.

Former football player David Beckham has travelled to Miami frequently in recent months to launch a Major League Soccer (MLS) club.

David Beckham’s business group, Beckham Miami United, has said it will continue to pursue alternative locations.

The group is required to finalize a stadium deal before it can win approval from MLS, the US professional soccer league, to open a club.

An earlier proposal for a waterfront stadium site also experienced local resistance from cruise lines.

Scrutiny of the deal rose sharply after the city provided $500 million in public funding to build a new stadium for the Miami Marlins baseball team.

Public anger over that deal is said to have contributed to a 2011 vote ousting the former Miami-Dade County mayor from office.

Beckham Miami United has agreed to finance a $250 million stadium – expected to seat an estimated 20,000 spectators – and pay rent on the publicly owned land.

David Beckham’s partners in the endeavor include British entrepreneur Simon Fuller and mobile phone services billionaire Marcelo Claure.