A row has erupted over David Beckham’s vision for a major football stadium located on the last publicly accessible waterfront in Miami, Florida.
The proposed stadium, designed by Arquitectonica and 360 Architecture, is based on an open-air design with an undulating roof and a maximum capacity of 35,000. Despite John Alschuler – Beckham’s real estate advisor – commenting that the stadium would “create jobs and opportunities for local businesses”, the plans have attracted severe criticism.
In a statement released on Wednesday several prominent Miami architects and planners, including the site's master planner Alexander Cooper, have publicly condemned the development.
Harking back to a proposed baseball stadium development for the site that was rejected in 2000, the statement, published on the
Miami Herald Naked Politics blog, explains why the initial proposal was rejected by the citizens of Miami, and why Beckham’s stadium should meet the same fate.
“Allowing a private venture to take over the last remaining waterfront site in Downtown Miami for use as a stadium reduces quality open space, obstructs public views of the waterfront and disrupts waterfront recreational uses," the statement said. "It also radically changes the vision of a 21st century premier public park that the citizens of Miami deserve.”
Alschuler responded to this by saying the he was “disappointed” and found it “ironic” that former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, has turned against the proposal, despite spending US$350m (€257, £210m) on his Marlins Ballpark development.
If completed, Beckham's stadium would be set to open in 2018. Plans for the site also include a central plaza with restaurants, clubs and cafés spread across five hectares (12.4 acres).
