Tag Archive for: david beckham

A South Florida county has said no to soccer legend David Beckham.

Beckhamā€™s fledgling soccer franchise Inter Miami CF is in the market for more space in addition to its plans to replace Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale for one of its teams and to build a stadium in Miami for a second team.

Broward commissioners rebuffed a last-minute attempt by the franchise to land a contract for the countyā€™s Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill. The park has a cricket stadium that can double as a soccer venue and also has practice fields.

Club officials said their most pressing need is a site forĀ its 150-member youth academy, which is supposed to start training in August and start playing games in September. The academy has six groupings, from under-12 to age 19. The franchise could also use extra room for its two professional teams until the Fort Lauderdale and Miami complexes are completed.

Beckham isĀ bringing a Major League Soccer team to South Florida starting next year, along with a United Soccer League, League One team that will act as a farm club for the MLS team. The United teamā€™s home will be at the new Lockhart Stadium, but the MLS team will also need to play there until the Miami stadium is built.

The organization offered to have 20 United games a year at the Lauderhill park in the first two years of a contract, while its MLS team is using the Lockhart site, then to hold eight United games and four MLS pre-season games at the park in future years, when the Miami stadium is done.

Except for Vice Mayor Dale Holness, Broward commissioners didnā€™t even want to consider the proposal. They chose instead to sign an agreement with the group recommended by county staff after a lengthy and open selection process: US Champions Soccer Academy (PSG Academy Florida), which is affiliated with FC Miami City, a United Soccer League, League Two team.

U.S. Champions will pay the county at least $1.085 million over the initial five-year contract, plus a portion of its concession revenues. It will also make $936,500 in improvements, including two lighted synthetic turf soccer fields, by 2025. The groupā€™s sporting director is Wagneau Eloi, the former head coach of the Haitian national team and a professional player in France.

Vice Mayor Dale Holness said he wasnā€™t trying to have Inter Miami selected over US Champions, which runs its own academy. The US Champions academy is fee-based, while the Inter Miami academy does not charge, he said. It is run in conjunction with the MLS and academy members are selected through try-outs.

ā€œI think that both entities could co-exist at the park,ā€ Holness said.

They still might. The US Champions contract says the county has the right for two years ā€œto schedule and book soccer games in the stadium and practice sessions on fields 3 and 4 that involve the USL team affiliated with the Inter Miami Major League Soccer team.ā€ Inter Miami said it doesnā€™t expect any delays in constructing the Lockhart Stadium replacement.

“With Lockhart scheduled to be completed in early 2020, we are currently having open conversations with many parks to serve as an interim facility for our academy, which begins training this August,ā€ said Paul McDonough, Inter Miamiā€™s sports director.

The new Lockhart may be able to handle both the United and MLS team schedules until a Miami stadium is built, but McDonough said it would be better to have an alternate site for the United games.

McDonough also anticipates interest from more MLS clubs to come to South Florida for pre-season training, which starts in January, so he said additional space would come in handy.

The US Champions soccer contract comes as the county tries to get more use out of its Lauderhill stadium and fields. A separate group has a contract to schedule cricket games and tournaments there.

 

Source: SunSentinel

broward county

Greater Fort Lauderdale is in the midst of a development boom.

With Virgin Trains opening up the South Florida corridor, high-profile celebrity projects underway and dozens of cranes dotting the regionā€™s skyline, Greater Fort Lauderdale has captured the national spotlight.

The latest jobs data clearly showed the strength of the Broward County region with a 2.8% unemployment rate in April 2019. The jobless rate was 0.5 percentage points lower than the regionā€™s year ago rate of 3.3%. Non-agricultural employment increased by 16,400 jobs (+1.9%) over the year, with an employment of 867,000 in the Ft. Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach MSA (Broward County).

The Ft. Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach Metro Division had the highest annual job growth compared to all the metro areas in the state in other services (+2,200 jobs) in April 2019.

The industries gaining in jobs over the year were: Professional and Business services (+5,400 jobs); Education and Health Services (+5,200 jobs); ; Financial Activities (+1,300 jobs); Construction (+1,200 jobs); Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (+800 jobs); Manufacturing (+600 jobs); and Leisure and Hospitality (+300 jobs). The industry that lost jobs over the year was Government (-600 jobs).Ā  The information industry was unchanged over the year.

GlobeSt.com recently turned toĀ Bob Swindell, president of theĀ Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance,Ā to discuss the factors that have been driving job growth in the region and Broward Countyā€™s rapid transformation from beach town to boomtown.

GlobeSt.com: What does the launch of Brightline (now Virgin Trains) mean for Greater Fort Lauderdale and how has it impacted real estate development?

Swindell: Thereā€™s no question that Virgin Trains is a game-changer for our region. The high-speed real has unlocked Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach by connecting a combined population of more than 6 million, giving the 200+ Broward-based corporate headquarters access to a deeper talent pool than ever before.

Late last year, the Alliance conducted an analysis of the activity that has occurred along Brightlineā€™s route since the train was announced and found that millions in corporate investment have already been made within a one-mile radius of the Fort Lauderdale station. Much more is on the way now that the Fort Lauderdale City Commission and the Broward County Commission recently voted to move forward with the development of a joint governmental campus, co-locating city and county Halls in one facility. The new government building will be located across the tracks from the train terminal on a site currently occupied by the Main Bus Terminal on Broward Boulevard.

The marquee project in the area is Traina and BH3ā€™s FAT City (Flagler Arts and Technology) which is estimated to encompass 1.4 million square feet of mixed-use space that will foster Browardā€™s growing urban community of artists, technology businesses and young professionals.

This new level of mobility and the development it has spawned has been a major selling point in retaining and attracting the skilled, high-paying jobs that are propelling our economy forward.

GlobeSt.com: What other new projects are rising in the area?

Swindell: The bulk of new development in the region is taking shape in downtown Fort Lauderdale where the population has grown by 30% as new apartments and condos rise.Ā  Thereā€™s PMG Groupā€™s redevelopment of Las Olas Riverfront, a mixed-use project that will consist of ā€œsocial livingā€ rental communities that combine residences with coworking space as well as a public plaza featuring restaurants and nightlife. Also set for completion by end of 2019 is Skanskaā€™s $49.3-million renovation and revitalization of Las Olas Boulevard. Once complete, Fort Lauderdaleā€™s most popular thoroughfare will have a brand new 670-space parking lot, a beachfront park, a new canopy, public spaces and interactive water features that will enhance the pedestrian experience. Stiles Corporationā€™s The Main Las Olas, a 25-story office building and 27-story residential tower, will span an entire city block bordering East Las Olas Boulevard and Southeast Third Avenue.

More growth is on the way, with approximately 6.2 million square feet of multifamily, office, retail and hotel construction either under development or in the pipeline within Browardā€™s urban core.

GlobeSt.com: What does the exposure from globally recognized names like Richard Branson and David Beckham mean for the Broward brand?

Swindell: Richard Branson turned heads when he launched the first-ever adults-only cruise line from a Plantation-based headquarters in early 2018 and then doubled down on the region by investing heavily in Brightline, which is being rebranded to Virgin Trains. Soccer legend David Beckham put Broward back on the soccer map when he joined forces with the City of Fort Lauderdale to transform Lockhart Stadium into an 18,000 seat, state-of-art arena for his MLS team.

And letā€™s not forget about the wave of positive publicity generated from South Florida being shortlisted for Amazonā€™s HQ2. These are all indicators of Greater Fort Lauderdaleā€™s status as a thriving business and lifestyle destination finally being recognized on the international stage.

GlobeSt.com: How are advancements in infrastructure driving new talent to Greater Fort Lauderdale and supporting job growth?

Swindell: As an economic development organization, we look at the big picture. Recent innovations and investment in infrastructure have been a major step forward in creating the type of walkable, mixed-use environments that put our region on a path for long-term growth and success.

This urbanization of Broward County is helping us attract the type of young, skilled talent that draws the attention of global brands and moves the needle where it matters most: jobs. The Greater Fort Lauderdale area added more than 14,000 jobs year-over year in 2018 and continues to be a leader in the state in terms of job creation. With Broward County projected to gain 900,00 new residents by 2030, the region isnā€™t slowing down anytime soon.

 

Source: GlobeSt.