County orders study of soccer stadium project impact on airport

County commissioners voted Tuesday to have Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and aviation officials update a 2021 report to analyze potential impacts on Miami International Airport of a pending City of Miami deal across the street for a 25,000-seat stadium, a hotel, office buildings, stores, a parking building and more on Melreese golf course.

“We need to be very cautious with any impact that may in any way interfere with the operations of MIA,” said Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, sponsor of the motion. “We need to take residents into consideration of noise and traffic.”

Within 60 days the county administration is to bring the report to county commissioners.

The City of Miami has scheduled a March 9 meeting to decide the future of Melreese. City commissioners would vote on whether to proceed with a 99-year lease with retired soccer star David Beckham and his local partner MasTec Chairman Jorge Mas who own Major League Soccer franchise Inter Miami to redevelop the 131.07 acres into the Miami Freedom Park complex.

Although project approval is within the sole control of the city, the project must go through a county review by airport staff to verify that it complies with airport zoning, the traffic flow – which is currently controlled by the county – and an environmental review through the county’s Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources.

The Feb. 22, 2021, 66-page report at an earlier stage of negotiations and plans for Melreese outlines concerns over the impacts to pilots and air traffic controller personnel resulting from lighting and glare from the proposed stadium; airspace conflicts with helicopters, blimps, drones, and banner tower operations; and aircraft operational impacts during construction by the use of cranes within the arrival and departure paths of MIA’s longest runway.

“I do have a feeling that the people that are putting this together are probably looking at every form of streets and availability to make it a less burden on the neighborhood,” said Chairman Jose “Pepe” Diaz at Tuesday’s meeting. “I think this report at least shows an idea for those people that are putting this together to maybe adhere to a couple of different thoughts.”

The report also raised concerns over the traffic impacts and says an updated traffic study is needed. The Miami Freedom Park and Soccer Village Traffic Study (Study) is dated June 2019, and since then, traffic volumes have changed, including the completion of the SR-836/ Dolphin Expressway, now reaching its capacity.

Commissioner Jean Monestime said he considered it a missed opportunity that the county didn’t negotiate with the City of Miami to expand the airport into the Melreese property. “It’s a huge missed opportunity for an engine that is such a great revenue generator for this entire county,” he said.

Chairman Diaz noted that the approval of the development is the sole responsibility of the City of Miami, and said the county had to be very cautious to not interfere with their decisions.

“I would tell you that these are the kinds of projects that make a difference in our community,” Mr. Diaz added. “I believe that having another stadium in our community only enhances jobs and our status as a worldwide sports hub, but how that happens is the key here, so I’m looking forward to seeing the future of this.”

The 2021 report notes as possible conflicts with aircraft operations the use of lasers and pyrotechnics during stadium activities and events, and impact to the communications or navigation facilities including radio coverage, radio transmissions, and electrical interference of navigational aids.

“These impacts would be discovered after construction is completed and would be resolved at the expense of the developer,” the report says.

Since the report was issued, the Aviation Department is not aware of any response from the developers regarding the concerns mentioned, Greg Chin, communications director of the department, told Miami Today in an email last week.

The document recognizes that the commercial impacts of Melreese development are minimal and can be mitigated through the department’s Capital Improvements Program.

“We don’t want people to go to Broward County to use the airport over there, we want people to continue using our airport over here, said Commissioner Sosa. “I just wanted to bring to your attention that I’m not doing this based on nothing, I’m doing this based on the study that was made, that is of great concern.”

Currently, the Melreese golf course is being operated by the De Lucca family, which has managed it for decades and has an agreement with the city through Sept. 30, 2024, that could be canceled by the city with a two-month notice if a lease for the redevelopment plan is approved.

Back in 2018 voters authorized the city to negotiate the no-bid lease. Since then, no agreement has been reached among city officials and the developer.

To adopt a deal, four of the five city commissioners have to OK the lease, and Commissioner Manolo Reyes has been a public opponent of the plans. The recently elected city commissioner, Christina King, still has not taken a public stance on the project.

The proposed lease between Miami Freedom Park LLC and the city says “it is the City’s intent to seek greater public use of the Parent Tract, to derive additional revenue from the existing commercial uses on the Parent Tract, to obtain tax revenues from the uses on the Parent Tract, and to stimulate economic activity in the City.”

If approved by city commissioners, the city would receive 5% of proceeds from the sale of the stadium’s naming rights over $8 million, according to a report by the Miami Herald after receiving the lease agreement through a public records request.

The minimum base rent for the lease of land to build a nearly 12-acre stadium and 61-acre retail, hotel and office park campus would be around $3.5 million. During construction, the developers would pay $500,000 annual rent, and once the stadium is occupied rent would rise to $588,000 a year for the stadium portion.

Annual rent for the commercial, retail, hotel and office park would be $2.9 million or 5% of all gross revenues, whichever is greater, it could annually increase from 2% to 4%, depending on the consumer price index. Over the past 12 months the consumer price index has risen 7.5%.