@NewsbySmiley

David Beckham and his investors may not have to buy six private properties after all in order to build a Miami soccer stadium next to Marlins Park. If some of the property owners won't sell, the team now says they may just build around them.

"They could build around some of those properties," Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado said Friday following a meeting with Tim Leiweke, an equity partner of Miami Beckham United. "That would be Plan B."

Regalado met with Leiweke Friday morning, one day after the team's chief negotiator made the media rounds in South Florida, telling the Miami Herald Editorial Board and WPLG's Michael Putney that some of the property owners are asking for a price exponentially more expensive than what they're worth.

There are several duplexes, apartment units and a daycare that Miami Beckham United are trying to purchase to make way for their $200 million stadium. Leiweke said Thursday that if Miami Beckham United can't work out a reasonable deal with the owners, the whole project might fall apart and soccer in Miami might be dead.

The timing of the negotiations is critical, with Leiweke hoping to have all the components of a soccer deal in place by Dec. 5, when the Major League Soccer board of governors meets. Beckham's group continues to negotiate a land purchase from the city of Miami and an operating agreement with the Miami-Dade School Board, which would negotiate perks for the school system in exchange for a property tax break on the stadium.

It's possible that Regalado's comments are simply another method in which to pressure the property owners to drop their asking price. Perhaps Miami Beckham United could still build its stadium if a few properties close to Northwest 17th Avenue can't be purchased. But it's difficult to see how that would work in a tight space.

Leiweke also said nothing to The Herald about building around the properties. Still, an MBU spokesman confirmed Friday in a statement that they spoke with Regalado about an alternative should a deal with some of the property owners fall apart.

"Building the stadium around some of the properties is something Mayor Regalado suggested we look at -- and we will. Miami Beckham United is open to all suggestions within reason to get this deal done and the stadium built for the residents of Miami."