Beckham United feud with Fort Lauderdale to impact fans. No more parking in south lot
Heads up, soccer fans.
You’ll no longer be able to use the south lot to park when you go to Inter Miami’s home games at DRV PNK stadium.
Fort Lauderdale notified Miami Beckham United officials on Thursday that their temporary parking agreement had expired.
Inter Miami’s next game is Saturday night at DRV PNK and the season is far from over.
Weeks ago, Fort Lauderdale officials warned the team’s owners — including soccer legend David Beckham — they would lose access to the lot if they failed to pay $1.4 million in overdue building permit fees by May 31.
Neither Beckham United lobbyist Stephanie Toothaker nor general counsel Pablo Alvarez could be reached for comment.
Both sides had agreed to enter into mediation in an attempt to resolve several outstanding issues, including the dispute over the unpaid permit fees.
But those talks are at an impasse, according to Interim City Attorney D’Wayne Spence, who notified the commission by email on Wednesday. The mediation was held on Tuesday and lasted nine hours, with former Mayor Jack Seiler acting as mediator. But by the end of the day, the two parties had failed to reach an agreement, Spence said.
“An impasse is an impasse,” Commissioner Steve Glassman said. “I guess we’ll wait to see what the next steps are. I have no idea how that’s going to affect parking. That was a major concern of mine from the very beginning. How are we going to accommodate 17,000 people? What’s Plan B? You can’t just say no parking and not have a Plan B.”
Miami Beckham United officials say the city owes them $6 million in demolition costs based on a verbal agreement they had with the former city manager. They also say the same city official had talked about waiving $1.4 million in building permit fees.
Those details never made it into the comprehensive agreement approved in 2019.
Glassman said he and his colleagues will likely discuss their next steps at Tuesday’s commission meeting. With City Hall closed as a result of the April 12 flood, the meeting will be held at The Parker, several blocks north of City Hall.
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or on Twitter @Susannah _Bryan
