No Major League Soccer team for Miami

Miami -- Major League Soccer says Miami will not become the home to the newest league team due in part to the current tenuous economic climate.

League officials, along with investor Marcelo Claure and the FC Barcelona soccer team, decided the ongoing economic crisis in the United States and abroad created significant concerns regarding the formation of a new team, the Miami Herald said Wednesday.

The Spanish soccer team and Claure, owner of Brightstar Communication, had previously been prepared to pay the $40 million franchise fee necessary to form a new MLS team in Miami by 2010.

But after a week of intense negotiations, the three players in the franchise bid decided the Miami expansion plan was not feasible, the Herald said.

League officials had concerns about placing a new MLS team in Miami since its last MLS franchise, the Miami Fusion, failed to generate much support.

''We are convinced Miami is a soccer market, but we are not convinced it is an MLS market at this point, and for the stability of the league we had to make sure we make a smart decision so it doesn't come back to haunt us later,'' league Commissioner Don Garber said.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.