Inter Milan 'to take legal action' against David Beckham's new MLS franchise Inter Miami

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6879825/Inter-Milan-legal-action-against-David-Beckhams-new-MLS-franchise-Inter-Miami.html

Inter Milan 'to take legal action' against David Beckham's new MLS franchise Inter Miami

David Beckham's Inter Miami are set to make their debut in the MLS from 2020

But they face another hurdle as Inter Milan are 'to take legal action' against them

They argue Miami's use of 'Inter' infringes on a trademark application in the US

The MLS refutes this by saying the term is descriptive and used worldwide 

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http://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/3815074/mls-inter-miami-dispute-inter-milans-us-trademark-application

MLS, Inter Miami dispute Inter Milan's U.S. trademark application

Major League Soccer contends that it will be damaged by a 2014 U.S. trademark application filed by Serie A club Inter Milan over usage of the term "Inter," according to a legal document filed by the league and obtained by ProSoccerUSA.

In a notice of opposition filed on March 25 to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, MLS says: "No one soccer team can claim exclusive rights to the term INTER, therefore Milan has no exclusive rights to the term INTER."

MLS will introduce expansion Inter Miami CF as its 25th club for the 2020 season. The club, which counts David Beckham as one of its principal owners, will be formally known as Club Internacional de Futbol Miami.

Inter Milan, winners of 18 Italian top-flight titles and three Champions League trophies, filed a trademark application in 2014 for the usage of the term, according to the document.

MLS argues that numerous clubs around the world use the term in their names and that it should not be associated with a particular side. Others teams cited are Inter Nashville FC, Inter Atlanta FC, FC Inter Turku (Finland), NK Inter Zapresic (Croatia), Inter Leipzig (Germany), and Inter de Grand-Goave (Haiti).

When Beckham unveiled the name of the club in September 2018, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star said the name "celebrates the incredible energy of one of the most exciting cities in the world -- one that is diverse, passionate and ambitious -- a city that has welcomed me and so many others, so warmly."

Inter Milan, officially known as FC Internazionale Milano S.p.A, made light following that announcement on social media. Beckham played at rivals AC Milan for two loan spells while he was with the LA Galaxy.

Inter Miami announced in March that they will play its first two seasons at Fort Lauderdale's Lockhart Stadium while working toward building a permanent home at Miami Freedom Park.

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https://www.90min.com/posts/6335189-mls-hit-back-as-inter-take-legal-action-against-david-beckham-s-inter-miami-in-naming-dispute

MLS Hit Back as ​Inter Take Legal Action Against David Beckham's Inter Miami in Naming Dispute

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https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/soccer-news/david-beckham-to-sued-inter-14227516

David Beckham 'to be sued by Inter Milan' over US franchise

Beckham is currently working on a project to build a new MLS franchise under the name of Inter Miami

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https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/mls/article228737554.html

Inter Miami, Inter Milan in legal battle over ‘Inter’ trademark

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https://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/highschool/fl-sp-hs-lockhart-20190403-story.html

Fort Lauderdale, Stranahan football teams hope to be included in David Beckham's Lockhart Stadium plans

While the city of Fort Lauderdale and David Beckham’s Inter Miami CF Major League Soccer club make plans to revitalize Lockhart Stadium for South Florida’s new MLS team, local high school football teams are hoping they will be included, too.

Fort Lauderdale approved a plan that made little mention of high school football on March 19, but Lockhart Stadium has historically been the home for Fort Lauderdale and Stranahan’s teams. They would like to return.

“I only wish that whatever happens with Lockhart Stadium — if they knock it down, rebuild it, whatever — they keep Fort Lauderdale High School and Stranahan High School in mind,” Fort Lauderdale coach Richard Dunbar said.

Neither Fort Lauderdale or Stranahan have been playing their games inside Fort Lauderdale’s city limits. The Flying L’s have been playing at Northeast, while the Mighty Dragons have played most home games at South Plantation. The two Fort Lauderdale football teams haven’t played at Lockhart Stadium since 2012.

Returning high school games to Lockhart Stadium, which opened in 1959, would mean a lot to both football teams.

“It would mean everything to the school and the community,” Stranahan athletic director Thomas Harrison said. “This past year has been very difficult for us, basically being the equivalent of couch surfing from school to school. We played at South Plantation, we played at Dillard, we played at Northeast. Only one of those [is] actually in the city of Fort Lauderdale’s city limits.

“To have a place that we could go every week, that’s going to be our home, a place that’s historically been our home, would mean a lot.”

Broward County Public Schools Director of Athletics and Student Activities Shawn Cerra said representatives of the district met with Fort Lauderdale mayor Dean Trantalis and the City Commission before the commission selected Beckham’s proposal.

“We met with them and had some pretty rich conversations about not only the stadium facility itself, but also the surrounding fields they’re going to be creating,” Cerra said.

Lockhart Stadium may not be able to provide the teams with their only home playing fields. Inter Miami starts play in MLS next year, and the MLS season and high school football season overlap from August until October — longer if Inter Miami makes the playoffs.

Inter Miami’s current plan is to play at Lockhart Stadium for two years while a stadium in Miami is built. After the MLS team leaves, the club plans to place its youth academy and United Soccer League third-division farm team in Fort Lauderdale.

For security reasons, the stadium itself is likely to be the only location that could host events as highly trafficked as a high school football game. But the side fields could be used for smaller events.

Cerra said in addition to Fort Lauderdale and Stranahan home football games, he hopes other high school events can be played at the new Lockhart Stadium, including the annual Blanche Ely-Dillard Soul Bowl and soccer state championships.

“We are definitely looking to be part of this project.” Cerra said.

Inter Miami and the city of Fort Lauderdale still need to hash out the final details of the agreement, which will be voted on in a public City Commission meeting later this year. The next step for local high school teams, Cerra said, would be to continue talks with the city and Inter Miami.

“Every person that we met with in person was very open-minded and really aggressively trying to secure what we were trying to accomplish,” Cerra said.

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https://www.calciomercato.com/en/news/inter-decide-to-sue-beckham-s-inter-miami-franchise-85456

Inter decide to sue Beckham's Inter Miami franchise

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https://www.ozy.com/the-huddle/europes-next-big-soccer-stars-will-come-from-major-league-soccer/93442

EUROPE'S NEXT BIG SOCCER STARS WILL COME FROM … MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

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https://sports.yahoo.com/watch-orlando-city-fools-beckham-004024760.html

WATCH: Orlando City ‘fools’ with Beckham’s Miami via Blair Witch spoof

April Fools’ Day on social media gets tired real quickly, so embrace the fresh and never let go.

Orlando City SC’s video qualifies as fresh, even though it isn’t quite a prank as much as a chance to rip on its future geographic rivals: David Beckham’s Inter Miami CF.

Beckham and his crew are going to redevelop Lockhart Stadium, which has been abandoned for some time, and it’s going to be gorgeous. But the announcement wasn’t as sexy, with Becks standing in front of the overgrown field for the news.

OCSC sent players Dom Dwyer, Lamine Sane, and Benji Michel into “the wilderness” for a spoof on “Blair Witch Project.” Not quite anything to be believed, but genuinely amusing.

It could’ve been perfect, but the ending did not feature a corner.

Just wait til DPs Messi, Ronaldo, and Neymar enact their revenge in several years.

Orlando City SC

@OrlandoCitySC

BREAKING: Three players vanish after traveling to Lockhart Stadium to scrimmage @InterMiamiCF, leaving only their footage behind.

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https://sportstalkflorida.com/mlb/tampa-bay-rays/a-tale-of-two-cities-oakland-and-tampa-and-baseball-parks/

A Tale Of Two Cities: Oakland And Tampa And Baseball Parks

The 2019 Major League Baseball season has started and two problems have not been solved. There seems to be no resolution for the ownership groups of the Oakland A’s and Tampa Bay Rays in their quest for new ballparks. The stadium issues in Oakland and Tampa were supposed to be resolved by the end of December 2018.  Major League Baseball would then be free to find two expansion sites with Montreal the overwhelming favorite to get one of those slots. But the present Oakland ownership seemingly in the same position as prior Oakland ownership groups since 2001. The owners are seeking a stadium to replace the Oakland Coliseum. Present A’s ownership has identified an Oakland waterfront area a potential ballpark site but there is a major traffic concern and no one knows how many toxins are in the ground as the property has housed a gas plant, a charcoal plant and oil tanks. The Port of Oakland has been monitoring ground water at the site since 2002. Oakland ownership wants to move into the waterfront stadium by 2023 but there are many environmental tests to come and eventually a site cleanup. A’s ownership also wants to build housing on the site but because of the probable toxins in the ground, there is a prohibition of constructing housing on the site. A’s ownership is also facing opposition from unions and an environmental group over its plans.

St. Petersburg officials are waiting to hear from Rays’ ownership about future stadium plans. Rays ownership has a deal with St. Petersburg to play in the city stadium through 2027. A proposal to move the team to the Tampa side of the bay fell through last year. St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman claims there is money available through the local Tourist Development Council for a stadium but it won’t last forever.

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http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/st-pete-bike-lanes-to-grow-parking-spaces-cut

St. Pete Bike Lanes to Grow, Parking Spaces Cut

SAINT PETERSBURG (FOX13) - Saint Petersburg, is now known globally as a city to push the envelope on Eco-friendly issues, and that’s just fine with Neal Norton, the owner of a bike shop on First Ave. South.  A green city means more cash flow for his business.

“Our shop is located right on a major bike route,” Neal said.

St. Pete plans to add nine more miles of bike lanes this year as part of a plan calling for 30 miles over the next decade.

This follows a damning Wall Street Journal report last year which found Tampa Bay, more specifically Pinellas County, as the deadliest place to ride a bike because of the high number of accidents.

“As we’ve put in more bike lanes the average number of bike lanes has gone down,” said Evan Mory the City’s transportation director.

There is an organization protesting Saint Pete’s bike lane plans.  Dr. Ed Carlson heads up Citizens Against Lane Loss.  They are concerned as the city’s population grows reducing motorist lanes for bike lanes will lead to further congestion.

“It’s the mayor and the head of transportation, who doesn’t have an engineering degree, they are imposing this whole thing on the city,” Carlson said.

His group is even angrier over a plan to ditch close to 100 parking spaces and keep bike lanes to make way for a rapid bus lane on First Avenue North from 20th to 31st street.

“We are all for it done right which is on the side of the road on a bike path, rather than a lane in the street for just a few bikers,” Carlson said.

Mayor Rick Kriseman’s office has made it clear bike lanes will only grow.  There’s even an initiative by several different transportation organizations encouraging many driver to try and go “car free.”

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b8me17/fotmob_player_ratings_vs_loudoun_united_330/

FotMob Player Ratings vs. Loudoun United [3/30]

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https://www.stltoday.com/sports/would-mls-team-be-competing-against-cards-for-fans/article_8fc24c3e-ca3e-5ede-805b-0ac95ca9bb1e.html

WOULD MLS TEAM BE COMPETING AGAINST CARDS FOR FANS?