There’s a move to put David Beckham’s soccer stadium on a golf course just east of Miami International Airport—near the flight path for the main runway that parallels the Dolphin Expressway.
That creates limitations on just how tall you can go with the stadium and other buildings on the site currently occupied by the International Links Melreese Country Club. In the area under or close to the flight path near LeJeune Road, buildings can be only 70 feet above ground level. That rises to 120 feet near Douglas Road. (The diagram provided by the airport accompanying this article shows the allowable height above sea level, but the ground level is 10 feet on the site.)
Heights just north of a trapezoidal that extends beyond the end of the runway are 90 feet and then 150 feet in an east-west strip at the northern end of the property.
A resolution to be considered by the Miami City Commission on July 12 says the project would comply with Federal Aviation Administration obstruction standards. However, the airport’s diagram says it has airspace requirements that are more restrictive than the FAA’s airspace requirements.
The FAA issued a statement saying it has not received any applications to evaluate a proposed soccer stadium at the country club. . The FAA requires that an obstruction evaluation be completed on any proposed structure above 200 feet. It is the responsibility of the entity planning the construction to submit the request to the FAA.
An obvious question is how big of a factor safety should be in putting a soccer stadium near a runway. In 1997, a Fine Air DC-8 banked sharply after takeoff, crashed on an empty lot and scattered debris across Northwest 72nd Avenue, near the west side of MIA.
However, a stadium near an airport isn’t without precedent in South Florida. Lockhart Stadium, which can hold 17,417, is on city property near the cross runway at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. It was once home to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.
The concept in Miami is that the city would lease more than half of the golf course to Beckham and his partners to build a privately-owned soccer complex with a 28,000-seat stadium, one million square feet of tech-related office space and 500 to 800 hotel rooms, the Miami Herald reported. There would also be a 58-acre park.
The plan is on the July 12 city commission agenda and voters would be asked for approval on Nov. 6
The entire site faces challenges with noise because aircraft noise can reach 65 decibels. That’s about five decibels less than the sound of a vacuum cleaner, although undoubtedly a lot more quiet than a noisy soccer stadium.
Another likely issue, that I haven’t seen raised, is the impact of the stadium and development on traffic. I can say from personal experience that the Dolphin Expressway and LeJeune Road often move at a crawl. There’s a single-family home neighborhood just east of Northwest 37th Avenue, and I would be surprised if they don’t raise concerns about traffic, which happened when Beckham wanted to put a stadium in Overtown.
One big plus is that the airport’s intermodal center is just north of the site, which provides great connections to Metrorail and Tri-Rail.
The quest for the stadium site is starting to turn into an odyssey. One early concept called for it to be just north of AmericanAirlines Arena in Museum Park. That made little sense because the park had just been renovated. Another concept would have put it at PortMiami. That fell flat on its face. A subsequent concept would have put it in Overtown west of downtown Miami near the Miami River, but Beckham’s partner Jorge Mas wants to create a more comprehensive development. From an economic development standpoint that’s laudable, but let’s see if this site takes off better than the earlier concepts.
Text of resolutions
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION DIRECTING THE
CITY ATTORNEY TO PREPARE AN AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER
OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED (“CHARTER”), FOR
CONSIDERATION AT THE REFERENDUM SPECIAL ELECTION
SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 6, 2018, PROPOSING, UPON
APPROVAL OF THE ELECTORATE, TO AMEND SECTION 29-B OF
THE CHARTER ENTITLED “CITY-OWNED PROPERTY SALE OR
LEASE – GENERALLY,” TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY COMMISSION BY A
FOUR-FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE, TO WAIVE
COMPETITIVE BIDDING AND TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE A
GROUND LEASE AND MASTER DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT
(“LEASE”) BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI (“CITY”) AND MIAMI
FREEDOM PARK, LLC (“MFP”), FOR APPROXIMATELY SEVENTYTHREE
(73) ACRES OF CITY-OWNED PROPERTY LOCATED
GENERALLY AT 1400 NORTHWEST 37TH AVENUE, MIAMI FLORIDA,
33125, AND IDENTIFIED AS FOLIOS 01-3132-000-0080 AND 01-3132-
000-0090 (“DEMISED PROPERTY”), WITH AN INITIAL TERM OF
THIRTY-NINE (39) YEARS, WITH TWO (2) ADDITIONAL THIRTY (30)
YEAR OPTIONS TO RENEW, FOR A TOTAL TERM OF NINETY-NINE
(99) YEARS, WITH AN ANNUAL BASE RENT EQUAL TO THE
GREATER OF THREE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED SEVENTY-SEVEN
THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED SIXTY-FIVE DOLLARS ($3,577,365.00)
OR FAIR MARKET VALUE AS DETERMINED BY TWO (2) STATE
CERTIFIED APPRAISERS, IN ADDITION TO ANY RENT INCREASES
AND/OR ADDITIONAL RENTS NEGOTIATED BY THE PARTIES,
PROVIDING THE DEMISED PROPERTY BE USED FOR A SOCCER
STADIUM, TECHNOLOGY HUB, ENTERTAINMENT CENTER
INCLUDING FOOD AND BEVERAGE VENUES, OFFICES, RETAIL,
HOTEL AND CONFERENCE CENTER, AND OTHER ANCILLARY
COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT WITH A MAXIMUM HEIGHT NOT TO
EXCEED FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION AEROSPACE
OBSTRUCTION STANDARDS; AND AUTHORIZING THE CREATION
OF A PARK INFRASTRUCTURE FUND BY THE CITY THAT WILL
RECEIVE A TWENTY MILLION DOLLAR ($20,000,000.00)
CONTRIBUTION FROM MFP, PAYABLE IN EQUAL YEARLY
INSTALLMENTS OF SIX HUNDRED SIXTY-SIX THOUSAND SIX
HUNDRED SIXTY SEVEN DOLLARS ($666,667.00) FOR A PERIOD OF
THIRTY (30) YEARS, TO DEFRAY THE SITE DEVELOPMENT AND
OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE-RELATED COSTS FOR A PUBLIC PARK
OF APPROXIMATELY FIFTY-EIGHT (58) ACRES TO BE DEVELOPED
ON PROPERTY ADJACENT TO THE DEMISED PROPERTY, WITH
RESTRICTIONS, REVERSIONS, AND RETENTION BY THE CITY OF
ALL OTHER RIGHTS.
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPROVING, SETTING
FORTH, AND SUBMITTING TO THE ELECTORATE A PROPOSED CHARTER
AMENDMENT, AMENDING SECTION 29-B OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED (“CHARTER”); ENTITLED “CITY-OWNED
PROPERTY SALE OR LEASE-GENERALLY,” TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY
COMMISSION (“COMMISSION”) TO WAIVE COMPETITIVE BIDDING BY A
FOUR-FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE
A GROUND LEASE AND MASTER DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT (THE
“LEASE”) BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI (“CITY”) AND MIAMI FREEDOM
PARK, LLC (“MFP”), FOR APPROXIMATELY SEVENTY-THREE (73) ACRES OF
CITY-OWNED PROPERTY LOCATED GENERALLY AT 1400 NORTHWEST
37TH AVENUE, MIAMI FLORIDA, 33125, AND IDENTIFIED AS FOLIOS 01-
3132-000-0080 AND 01-3132-000-0090 (“DEMISED PROPERTY”), WITH AN
INITIAL TERM OF THIRTY-NINE (39) YEARS, WITH TWO (2) ADDITIONAL
THIRTY (30) YEAR OPTIONS TO RENEW, FOR A TOTAL TERM OF NINETYNINE
(99) YEARS, WITH AN ANNUAL BASE RENT EQUAL TO THE GREATER
OF THREE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED SEVENTY-SEVEN THOUSAND THREE
HUNDRED SIXTY-FIVE DOLLARS ($3,577,365.00), OR FAIR MARKET VALUE
AS DETERMINED BY TWO (2) STATE CERTIFIED APPRAISERS, IN ADDITION
TO ANY RENT INCREASES AND/OR ADDITIONAL RENTS NEGOTIATED BY
THE PARTIES; AUTHORIZING THE USE OF THE DEMISED PROPERTY FOR
A SOCCER STADIUM, ENTERTAINMENT CENTER, INCLUDING FOOD AND
BEVERAGE VENUES, OFFICES, RETAIL, HOTEL AND CONFERENCE
CENTER, AND OTHER ANCILLARY COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT WITH A
MAXIMUM HEIGHT NOT TO EXCEED FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
AEROSPACE OBSTRUCTION STANDARDS, WITH RESTRICTIONS,
REVERSIONS, AND RETENTION BY THE CITY OF ALL OTHER RIGHTS;
FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CREATION OF A PARK INFRASTRUCTURE
FUND BY THE CITY THAT WILL RECEIVE A TWENTY MILLION DOLLAR
($20,000,000.00) CONTRIBUTION FROM MFP, PAYABLE IN EQUAL YEARLY
INSTALLMENTS OF SIX HUNDRED SIXTY-SIX THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED
SEVEN DOLLARS ($666,667.00) FOR A PERIOD OF THIRTY (30) YEARS, TO
DEFRAY THE SITE DEVELOPMENT AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURERELATED
COSTS FOR A PUBLIC PARK OF APPROXIMATELY FIFTY-EIGHT
(58) ACRES TO BE DEVELOPED ON PROPERTY ADJACENT TO THE
DEMISED PROPERTY, CURRENTLY USED FOR THE MELREESE COUNTRY
CLUB; AND PURSUANT TO CHARTER SECTION 29-B ENTITLED “CITY
OWNED PROPERTY SALE OR LEASE GENERALLY,” CALLING FOR A
REFERENDUM SPECIAL ELECTION AND PROVIDING THAT THE CHARTER
AMENDMENT SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE ELECTORATE AT THE
REFERENDUM SPECIAL ELECTION TO BE HELD CONCURRENTLY WITH
THE GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION ON NOVEMBER 6, 2018;
DESIGNATING AND APPOINTING THE CITY CLERK (“CLERK”) AS THE
OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMMISSION WITH RESPECT TO THE
USE OF VOTER REGISTRATION BOOKS AND RECORDS; FURTHER
DIRECTING THE CLERK TO CAUSE A CERTIFIED COPY OF THE HEREIN
RESOLUTION TO BE DELIVERED TO THE SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS OF
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, NOT LESS THAN FORTY-FIVE (45) DAYS
PRIOR TO THE DATE OF SUCH REFERENDUM SPECIAL ELECTION;
PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE FOR THIS RESOLUTION.
