Raag Singhal. Photo: Melanie Bell

David Beckham and his soccer stadium venture partners might have to hit the brakes on their Fort Lauderdale soccer stadium and training facility plan.

Another soccer group, FXE Futbol LLC, that lost the competition for the Lockhart Stadium property to Miami Beckham United LLC has asked a judge to temporarily stop Beckham's planned demolition of the old stadium.

Broward Circuit Judge Raag Singhal on Wednesday evening held a two-hour hearing on FXE Futbol's emergency motion for a temporary injunction but didn't immediately make a decision.

Singhal said he will issue an order on Friday after he considers the arguments each side presented.

Both FXE Futbol and Miami Beckham United want to redevelop the city-owned Lockhart property but the City Commission picked Miami Beckham's plan over FXE's.

FXE Futbol on April 15 sued the city and Miami Beckham United, arguing demolition would have to be arranged in a comprehensive agreement rather than their interim agreement.

FXE Futbol and Miami Beckham United's redevelopment plans for the property at 1350 NW 55th St. near the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport differ mainly in that FXE Futbol would renovate the existing stadium while Miami Beckham United would build demolish it and build a new one.

The City Commission on March 19 picked Miami Beckham United over FXE Futbol and unanimously approved the interim agreement April 2.

FXE Futbol on April 23 asked the court to temporarily ban stadium demolition until its lawsuit is resolved.

“Once historic Lockhart Stadium is demolished, plaintiff's competing bid is moot, and there will be no remedy,” FXE Futbol's Miami-based attorney, David Winker, wrote in the motion.

Winker has argued that demolition at the stadium already has begun, a claim the city has denied. The only work done has been the removal of stadium lights, the city said in a Tuesday filing.

Much of the arguments in the FXE Futbol motion are based on the question of whether there's asbestos at the existing Lockhart Stadium.

FXE Futbol said Beckham's representatives falsely told city officials that there's a “tremendous amount of asbestos,” which FXE Futbol says resulted in its losing the competition for the site.

The statements were given “to demonstrate to the city that plaintiff's proposal was not viable. And, not surprisingly, these false statements had their intended effect and plaintiff's proposal was not taken seriously,” Winker wrote.

But the city maintained in response to Winker's motion that there indeed is asbestos at the stadium. It also said the asbestos issue was not mentioned at the March 19 meeting when the city ranked Miami Beckham United's proposal ahead of FXE Futbol's, showing the asbestos claims couldn't have played a role in the city's ranking, argued the city's attorney, Nabors, Giblin & Nickerson shareholder Edward Dion in Fort Lauderdale.

“Plaintiff's proposal is already moot and was unanimously rejected by the city,” Dion wrote.

Miami Beckham United countered the injunction request Tuesday by saying FXE Futbol lacked standing and doesn't satisfy the four criteria for an injunction.

Beckham's proposal for Lockhart calls for construction of a multi-purpose venue and a youth soccer academy. It also calls for a public park, dog park and up to a 32,000-square-foot building for classrooms, lockers, medical offices and dining facilities.

FXE planned a $35 million stadium restoration of Lockhart Stadium as well as a sports and entertainment complex on the 65-acre site. FXE had been working with the city for more than a year on its plan. Beckham's unsolicited offer to Fort Lauderdale triggered a request for a formal proposal.

The plan is for Beckham's Major League Soccer team, Inter Miami, to play at the Lockhart site for two years until its permanent 25,000-seat home in Miami is complete at the city-owned Melreese golf course east of Miami International Airport.

At Wednesday's hearing, Miami Beckham United's attorney raised the issue of the soccer team being under deadline to complete the stadium in time for the season.

“We are under some very, very serious deadlines,” Shubin & Bass founding partner John Shubin said. “We have a soccer season to prepare for.”

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Miami Considers Suing Nonprofit, Others While in Talks for Beckham Soccer Stadium