Fort Lauderdale has sparse financial details for its decision Tuesday on the future of professional soccer in Broward County, and the fate of Lockhart Stadium, new memos from the city auditor and city attorney confirm.
But the decision comes down to choosing a concept: Does Fort Lauderdale want to temporarily host soccer legend David Beckham’s Major League Soccer team and become its permanent training and talent-development hub? Or will it become home field for soccer businessman JP Reynal’s planned lower-league professional soccer team, sharing the acreage with commercial-retail development and a proposed golfing entertainment venue?
The 64-acre sports park in northern Fort Lauderdale sits unused, overgrown with weeds and brush. Its possible resurrection as a community gathering place for sports has many people interested. Jilted soccer fans who still mourn the demise of professional soccer teams who played in Lockhart are watching Fort Lauderdale closely.
In community meetings Monday night, residents wanted to know how much the city would have to spend, and how much the city would reap financially. They asked how many nights the local football teams could use the fields. Community activist Mary Fertig said the stadium was built with city money, the result of a community-driven process in 1947. She asked if the new stadium would be available to Fort Lauderdale high schools and middle schools and for city events.
“There is nothing in this proposal that is not available to the community for community use,” Beckham lawyer-lobbyist Stephanie Toothaker said, adding that use of the fields would be free.
“We’ll always have the community in mind,” FXE’s CEO JP Reynal said to the crowd.
For many of the questions, though, there is no answer just yet.
City Attorney Alain Boileau said commissioners Tuesday will each rank the proposals, and the top-ranked team will negotiate a detailed agreement with city staff. That agreement will come back to the City Commission later this year for a public hearing and final vote.
The city has not done a side-by-side comparison. But here are some of the differences in the written submissions to revive the defunct Lockhart Stadium site that’s north of Commercial Boulevard and west of Interstate 95:
— TEAMS: Miami Beckham United’s new Major League Soccer team, Inter Miami CF, would play its 2020 and 2021 seasons at the Lockhart campus. (The team ultimately will play at a new stadium in Miami, if all goes according to Beckham’s plan.) Beckham would also permanently field a Division 2, second-tier team — a farm team for the majors — at the Lockhart site, as well as a youth soccer academy. FXE Futbol would field a Division 2 first-tier team starting in 2021, that would call Lockhart its permanent home.
— FREE FIELDS: Both groups propose four sports fields for free use by the community, to be maintained and controlled by the city. Beckham’s group says its fields are larger, “pitch” fields that can be subdivided into more than four fields.
— FIELDS FOR PAY: FXE Futbol is asking for the right to charge user fees for use of seven professional-size fields. Beckham’s group says its professional fields and stadium can be used by the community for free, when they’re available.
— DEVELOPMENT: FXE Futbol proposes a retail complex with restaurants and shops. For every 100,000 square feet of commercial development the city allows, FXE would contribute $500,000 toward a city park on the campus, on top of a base $500,000 it is offering for a park. Revenue sharing with the city would be negotiated. Beckham United plans no commercial development, but is offering to add a restaurant to the plans if the city wants it.
— STADIUM: Both groups would tear down Fort Lauderdale Stadium, the baseball stadium. Miami Beckham United would tear down Lockhart Stadium and replace it with an 18,000 seat, shaded stadium oriented north-south. FXE would keep and renovate the existing Lockhart soccer stadium.
— GREEN SPACE: The Beckham proposal shows 30 acres of green space, plus about 15 acres of green sports fields for a total of 45 acres. FXE says it would offer 40 acres of “community access green space and playing fields, including a signature public park.” But if the city allows more commercial development, FXE commits to leaving 30 acres undeveloped, including the sports fields. Its city park is 15 acres; it also proposes a jogging loop around the property.
— FINANCES: FXE said it has a $50 million financing commitment from Longpoint Realty Partners. Compendium Partners would finance $35 million toward a Topgolf entertainment facility. Reynal acknowledged Topgolf also is considering opening in Pompano Beach but said he’d secure something similar — like Drive Shack — if that happened. Beckham’s group said it is not dependent on outside financing but has a commitment from Goldman Sachs.
— TIMELINE: Beckham’s group said it would obtain permits, break ground on the new stadium in July, and have it complete in February, in time for the soccer season. It has already applied for a ULS League One team to play there. FXE said it would take up to six months to negotiate a city lease, then up to a year for detailed plans and permitting, then up to a year and a half for construction, which would be phased. The new USL Championship team would start playing in 2021.
In a Sunday memo, City Auditor John Herbst said he was hampered by a lack of information and couldn’t analyze the financial impact to the city. He also couldn’t give an opinion on the business plans for either proposal, to determine whether they appear viable.
“Neither proposal contained a business plan,” he wrote, “therefore we were unable to obtain sufficient audit evidence to provide a basis for an opinion as to the reasonableness of the plans.”
Boileau spelled out in his March 13 memo the information the city will need, including proposed “user fees, lease payments or other service payments.” Neither side has offered details of any financial return to the city for use of public land. His memo also says the city must “ensure a professional review” of the design and construction proposed, a step that hasn’t been taken. But the law governing unsolicited proposals provides the leeway for a ranking to be made Tuesday, anyway, he said Monday night.