Melreese soccer stadium impact on airport still unresolved

A new Miami-Dade Aviation Department draft report to the mayor, to which Miami Today got access, points to unresolved potential impacts on Miami International Airport from a proposed soccer stadium, food and beverage stores, offices, a hotel, conference center, and other commercial uses to replace the Melreese golf course next door.

The developers, retired soccer star David Beckham and local partner MasTec Chairman Jorge Mas, who own Major League Soccer franchise Inter Miami, addressed some of the concerns in a 2021 county report, but many remain unaddressed and the county still doesn’t have enough information to determine impacts on the airport and nearby areas.

The new county report calls for a more thorough road traffic study by developers and expresses concern over four places where the stadium would be too high and could interfere with airplane clearance.

The City of Miami is to meet this week to discuss an agreement to turn the city-owned golf course over to the developers. The county has no role in that transaction.

In an April 2020 letter, the developers recognized the stadium’s height interference and said they redesigned the project so the planned stadium would comply with the Airport Zoning Code.

The site falls into three distinct zones: The Outer Safety Zone, the 65-74 DNL Noise Compatibility Zone, and the Critical Approach Zone. The developers said in their letter they would address the first two, but a response regarding the Critical Approach Zone for airplanes is still pending.

The Aviation Department had concerns over visual impact to pilots and air traffic controllers of stadium lighting and glare. The developers’ letter says a proposal is to be prepared with the department’s input to mitigate the potential glare.

The developers don’t address potential airspace conflict with helicopters, blimps, drones, banner tower operations, lasers and pyrotechnics, and the impact on Federal Aviation Administration’s communications or navigation facilities.

The developers wrote that a construction crane plan is to be submitted for aviation department review before any crane rises. Also, any structure planned close to Runway 9-27 – MIA’s busiest – must get its own building permit.

“Finally, as stated in the February 2021 report, [the aviation department] is not able to quantify the costs that it would incur to mitigate the various impacts described herein,” the county report says.

The Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources said the site has solid waste, and soil and groundwater contamination. The development will need prior approval to ensure proper handling and disposal of contaminated material, and a final site rehabilitation plan is to be approved, the county report says.

Traffic concerns linger. In response to a Miami Freedom Park and Soccer Village Traffic Study dated June 2019, the department of transportation noted that data were collected while the Dolphin Expressway was under construction nearby, and traffic volumes from the Florida Department of Transportation Traffic Online website say that area of the Dolphin is approaching capacity, as are 10 of 28 intersections in the study area.

“Based on these concerns and others outlined in [the county] report…, it was concluded that insufficient information has been provided in the study to address the concerns…,” says the county document.

The department recommended the developer prepare a new detailed study of a larger area “since much of the study depends on the scope and intensity of the development they are proposing.” No new traffic study has been submitted for review.