Congressman Garcia Urges Officials to Consider South Dade for MLS Stadium

After both the Miami County Commission and the City of Miami rejected proposed ideas for a Major League Soccer stadium in downtown Miami, US Congressman Joe Garcia sent a letter to the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau suggesting David Beckham’s MLS team consider Homestead/Florida City.

Dear President Talbert,

As you consider the locations of the stadium for the Major League Soccer (MLS) team in South Florida, I write to urge your consideration of a South Dade location.

In recent weeks, I have spoken with many other community leaders and elected officials who represent the South Dade area and it is clear that the community would welcome the construction of a stadium in the area. Officials including State Senator Dwight Bullard, State Representative Kionne McGhee, Commissioner Dennis Moss, Florida City Mayor Otis Wallace and Homestead Mayor Jeff Porter have all joined me to voice our strong support for the selection of a site in the Homestead-Florida City area. This strong support from local community leaders will help ensure a smoother process for the construction of a stadium and development of a professional soccer team.

As you know, cities in the South Dade area and the suburbs of Miami are among the most diverse in the country. Large communities of people from around the world have taken root in South Florida. In additions to the residents of the City of Miami, these South Dade communities would help form a devoted fan base that would fuel attendance at games and contribute to a strong sense of solidarity with the team.

While cities in the South Dade area have experienced a boom in development over the past decade, the cost of purchasing and developing land remains lower in South Dade than in areas like downtown Miami. This makes a South Dade location a fiscally responsible and economically sensible choice for the potential location for a professional soccer team in South Florida.

On behalf of myself and other leaders from South Dade and in accordance with all applicable rules and regulations, I urge you to give full and fair consideration to a South Dade site for stadium construction.

Sincerely,

Joe Garcia, Member of Congress

This letter comes just a week after the City of Miami rejected the FEC Slip and Museum Park as an option for the stadium, and less than a week after MLS rejected the notion of a stadium adjacent to Marlins Park.

As locations in Miami fall off the list of options one-by-one, the idea of a soccer specific stadium in the greater Homestead/Florida City area for David Beckham’s Miami MLS team seems more and more like a solid solution to a hot-topic issue.