One of David Beckham's partners in a bid to form a Major League Soccer franchise in Miami has expressed serious doubts over the future of the project.
Tim Leiweke, the lead negotiator for investment group Miami Beckham United, said in an interview with the Toronto Sun on Tuesday that he was "not sure if [the deal] gets done," but hoped it did for Beckham's sake.
Leiweke said: "I have my fears as to whether it's going to get done, because things like this drag on this long that's always tough on a process. But for David I hope he lands somewhere."
In June, the Miami-Dade County Commission voted 9-4 to approve the sale of a three-acre parcel of land to Miami Beckham United and in August MLS commissioner Don Garber said: "We believe the time is right -- finally -- for Miami to become a great MLS city."
However, there are several hurdles that MBU still needs to overcome, including pushback from residents living in the adjoining Spring Garden neighborhood who are concerned about noise and a lack of parking for the venue.
There is also a lawsuit from local landowner Bruce Matheson to contend with -- one that seeks to block Miami-Dade County from selling off a three-acre parcel to MBU that was approved by the county commission back in early June.
And Leiweke said it would be the league's miss if the former LA Galaxy player did not ultimately end up being awarded a franchise after it was stipulated in his contract when he joined the league as a player back in 2007 that he could buy one for $25 million.
"It would be unfortunate for the league to not honor the job he did and the decision he made," Leiweke said of Beckham. "His best work would still be ahead of us if we could figure out a way to get him involved with a franchise.
"But our company has a lot of different projects. I haven't spent a lot of time on Miami lately so I'm not sure if that gets done. I hope it does for David's sake."