Beckham Reveals Arquitectonica-Designed Port Stadium

The released images also show the implied development of ancillary buildings – an estimated 1 million square-feet of additional commercial development, perhaps hotel and retail. While Beckham’s group has stated that they would not want to build out the surrounding projects and prefer that county land remain open to competitive bidding, they would be willing to serve as “master developers” – essentially charging the county a fee to come up with a plan. This provides an alternative to the port’s existing plan to build 7 million square-feet of new office space – something the group believes would only hurt downtown’s already high office vacancy rates.

The Beckham group’s biggest hurdle – providing parking for up to 5,000 cars – is still unresolved. Despite an expectation that 15% of fans will arrive via Metrorail or Metromover, city officials remain concerned that traffic to the port will interfere with port operations. While most games would be held at night and would not overlap with cruise ship arrivals and boarding, the team would have to work its schedule around the Miami Heat, who play at the neighboring American Airlines Arena. Even if the city approved the plan, Beckham’s team cannot afford to pay for a new garage on their own. They would potentially have to strike a deal with Royal Caribbean, which has publicly opposed the development of the stadium adjacent to its company headquarters.

Regardless of any design-based opinions, it’s hard to argue that a new stadium within walking distance of Downtown, Biscayne Boulevard, Museum Park, and the American Airlines Arena could ever hurt Downtown growth or slow down the influx of new residents to the City core. Sure, a second urban arena might cause some additional traffic every once in a while (god help us), but would it really be so bad?—Margina Demmer