Ball's In Your Court, Mr. Beckham

It was almost a year ago when international soccer star David Beckham stood before a crowd of Miami leaders and fans to announce he chose Miami as the home to his new expansion franchise for Major League Soccer.

Beckham retired in 2013, but part of his contract with the MLS was a $25 million option to start a franchise. On the day of the announcement there was a lot of excitement. A year later, that excitement has become somewhat deflated. (Super Bowl pun intended.)

Credit MARSHA HALPER / MIAMI HERALD STAFF

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MIAMI HERALD STAFF

Last June the city shut down any possibility of a downtown waterfront stadium near the AmericanAirlines Arena. Since then numerous other possibilities have popped up, including; a site next to Marlins Stadium, playing at Florida International University and even city leaders in Fort Lauderdale were pitching their backyard.

Everything was relatively quiet until this past weekend when Beckham finally spoke up. In a recent story on MLS Soccer's official site, Beckham said announcements were coming, and he felt confident in his chances of finding a site for a 20,000-seat stadium.

The MLS is currently undergoing an expansion. This year two new teams will begin to play: New York City FC and Orlando City. But the league wants more, specifically four more, to reach 24 teams. Two more teams will go to Los Angeles and Atlanta, which kick off their franchises in 2017. The last two spots can go to a number of other cities, and many are jumping over themselves to have a franchise. The 23rd team is supposed to be Beckham's. If not, Minnesota, Sacramento, Las Vegas or San Antonio.

Will South Florida support a professional soccer team? Between 1998 and 2001 Miami did have the Fusion. It was a relatively successful team with some big international names such as Carlos Valderrama. The team made it to the playoffs three of its four years with a trip to the finals in its final season. One of the challenges, though, was the stadium. The team played in Fort Lauderdale at Lockhart Stadium and consistently had one of the league's lowest attendance averages.

Patricia Mazzeiof the Miami Heraldhas been following the story of Beckham and the stadium. She says there are still a few different possible sites, but it will all come down to Beckham's folks and whether or not they can secure a site that the MLS will like.

Listen to an interview with her above.