Miami gets one step closer to landing soccer-specific stadium for MLS expansion

David Beckham's quest to bring an MLS expansion team to Miami took a step in the right direction Tuesday. (Yang Bo/AP)

The city of Miami and a group led by David Beckham received good news in their quest to bring MLS to Southern Florida, with the Miami Dade County commission unanimously approving a resolution Tuesday to have Mayor Carlos Gimenez identify locations and enter into negotiations with developers for a soccer-specific stadium to be used by an MLS expansion franchise.

Miami has been singled out by MLS commissioner Don Garber as one of the three other cities that will receive an expansion team by 2020 (the league plans to be at 24 by then, and 2015 entrants New York City FC and Orlando City SC are teams No. 20 and 21), with Beckham leading the charge of an ownership group.

Tuesday's development was not unexpected -- Beckham himself has been intimating that there will be something grand to announce soon -- but it was a necessary step in the process.

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STRAUS: December expiration looms for Beckham's owner option