Royal Caribbean tries to block David Beckham’s Miami ambitions
Football legend David Beckham could be thwarted in his plans to build a soccer stadium in Miami by cruise giant Royal Caribbean, which has its own designs for the site earmarked by the former Manchester United player for development.
Beckham is hoping to build a Major League Soccer stadium in PortMiami, home to the busiest cruise terminal in the world.
However Royal Caribbean, whose corporate headquarters overlaps the proposed building site, has been privately lobbying against the plans.
"We have deep reservations about using this port as a location for a stadium," said Rob Zeiger, Royal Caribbean vice president and chief communications officer told the Miami Herald.
He told the paper that the company’s car park, daycare centre and employee gym would need to move to make way for the 25,000 to 40,000 seat stadium.
Separately, PortMiami is trying to drum up interest from Asian investors for alternative plans for the 36-acre site, which would include hotels, apartments and offices instead of a sports stadium.
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