MIAMI (AP) – The long-overdue David Beckham football stadium agreement is closer to reality.

Miami voters gave permission to city officials on Tuesday to negotiate a no – tender lease with the Beckham group, which wants to build a Major League Soccer complex on a public golf course. The Beckham Group also plans to have technology offices, a hotel and a retail area in the field, in exchange for the guarantee of an annual rent of 3.6 million of dollars.

The retired football star and his partners must now negotiate the terms of the contract with city officials for the 25,000-seat stadium and turn the rest of the current Melreese Country Club into a 58-hectare public ( 23 hectares). Park.

Tuesday's win was the first victory for Beckham's club, formally named Club Internacional de Futbol Miami – or Inter Miami. Beckham has considered and researched several other sites over the years, before turning more and more towards Melreese in recent months.

"I started this dream five and a half years ago … to bring a team to Miami, to bring a team to this big city," Beckham said at the time. a rally Tuesday night. "To bring you a team, people, we had some slowdowns along the way, we had some problems along the way."

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The Beckham Group is also committed to spending about $ 35 million to clean up toxic waste on the site and pay a living wage to employees.

The land deal has been criticized on several fronts. Some, like Miami-born and long-time golfer Erik Compton, asked voters to stay the course, while others sued, saying the city must not only make competitive bids, but also or renting a property.

Beckham is a global icon in football, entertainment and fashion. He began his career with Manchester United and also played for Real Madrid, the Los Angeles Galaxy, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain. He has been part of international matches for England for years and has won four championships in four different leagues around the world.

"We have proven to the world that perseverance, patience, make things happen," said Beckham. "We are going to bring in a winning team from the championship, we will bring in great players, we will create local talent."

In January, MLS and Beckham finally announced the Miami expansion team. In September, the name of the team and its emblem were unveiled. The seeds of Inter Miami's existence were planted more than ten years ago in 2007, when Beckham signed with the Galaxy. His contract gave him the opportunity to own an MLS team once his playing career ended. In 2014, Beckham exercised this option and turned to Miami to welcome his new team.