David Beckham's MLS ownership group on Friday made its first payment to Miami-Dade County for the land on which it will build a new stadium.
Both Beckham's group and Miami-Dade confirmed to the Miami Herald that the $450,000 payment had been made, just two days before a deadline and with Hurricane Irma bearing down on South Florida.
Miami-Dade agreed in June to sell three acres of county land in Overtown to Beckham's group for $9 million, with most of the money to follow in the next year.
The first payment had been delayed while the group worked to get MLS approval for an expansion team.
Last month, the MLS Board of Governors voted to authorize commissioner Don Garber, and a committee of owners and league executives, to "finalize the details" and later "officially close" on granting Miami Beckham United an MLS expansion franchise.
The group hopes its team can begin play in 2020.