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You are at Beckham Magazine : News Story / L.A. scores with Beckham
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L.A. SCORES WITH BECKHAM Friday, January 12, 2007 
The estimated $250 million, five-year pact with David Beckham marked the biggest Los Angeles sports deal since hockey legend Wayne Gretzky joined the Kings nearly two decades ago. With his wife Victoria - formerly Posh of the Spice Girls pop group - Beckham joins the elite of L.A.'s celebrity culture. And he propels L.A. into the center of an international spotlight with a one-man industry expected to be priceless in everything from glitz and glamour, media deals and tourism promotions to merchandise and Hollywood buzz. The deal marked a coup for Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Galaxy and three other Major League Soccer teams as well as the Home Depot Center in Carson, where the stylish 31-year-old British midfielder will play. "The whole world is suddenly paying attention to us here," said Timothy J. Leiweke, president and chief executive of AEG. "David Beckham will have a greater impact on soccer in America than any athlete has ever had on a sport globally." Overnight, Beckham turned the Galaxy into a "celebrity ticket." By Thursday evening, more than 2,000 Galaxy season tickets - at $500 to $800 a pop - had been sold although Beckham won't arrive until his contract with Real Madrid is up June 30, when the MLS season will be well under way. All but two of the 46 luxury suites at the 27,000-seat stadium had been snapped up. "It's another royal couple, world attention, media and tourists from all over the world," Leiweke said. David M. Carter, assistant professor of sports business at USC, said that as both a celebrity and world-class athlete Beckham is in a unique position to brand Major League Soccer. "In this town it's all about celebrity culture, gossip, the scuttlebutt. They instantly become a great sports-entertainment power couple in town whose moves everyone will want to follow," Carter said.
"I am proud to have played for two of the biggest clubs in football and I look forward to the new challenge of growing the world's most popular game in a country that is as passionate about its sport as my own," he said. And the sheer starpower of Beckham - the inspiration for the 2002 hit film "Bend it Like Beckham" - makes him perfect for Tinseltown. It also could wake up the National Football League, which for years has been unable to seal a deal to locate a team in the city. As Beckham readies to join the Galaxy, Leiweke said Galaxy officials don't believe some who say he is nearing the end of a storied career after failing to win a major title in his career with Real Madrid. Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas said the right-footed Beckham - who wore number 7 in Madrid - retains his "legendary ability" to score goals off of free kicks and is one of the best crossers of the ball in the world. His new teammates - whom he'll join sometime this summer - are excited about playing with the star and the spotlight it will bring to soccer. "A couple of the players were a little concerned they'd fallen off the No. 1 spot as best-looking on the team," he said. The Beckham signing is the most high-profile soccer contract in the United States since 1975, when Pele inked a deal with the New York Cosmos of the now-defunct NASL. Lalas, whose team failed to make the playoffs for the first time last year, said Beckham will elevate the Galaxy as well as American soccer. Beckham led England into last summer's World Cup, but he struggled with injuries and watched as his team was eliminated in a penalty kick shootout against Portugal in the quarterfinals. After the tournament, Beckham stepped down as England captain but said he wanted to continue to represent his country. New coach Steve McLaren did not recall Beckham for international duty. Ben Grossman, Los Angeles bureau chief for Broadcasting and Cable magazine, said executives at Fox Soccer Channel and ESPN air MSL games nationally and are ready to capitalize on Beckham's star wattage. "They are ecstatic," he said. "Clearly someone of this magnitude will not only bring in soccer fans but the mainstream sports viewer for some first-time sampling. That is crucial in trying to grow any kind of television product," he said. Among the winners is Fox Sports Net West, which broadcasts Galaxy games. "They have three years left on their current contract and now, basically, that product has just infinitely shot up in value," Grossman said. "The MSL is betting that this is going to be a smart long-term play for them and it better be because they are paying a lot in the short-term."
Some questioned whether his dramatic hairstyle changes, tattoos and flashy clothes may be too metrosexual for L.A. fans. "That kind of pretty boy doesn't fly here as much as it does in Europe," said Marc Malkin, Planet Gossip columnist at E! Online. "That's not who really is the hunk here where we are looking at pictures of smelly and hunky Matthew McConaughey without a shirt on." Still, Beckham and Victoria have been one of the most glamorous couples in Europe and already have Hollywood friends including Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. "Whenever you have someone who has transcended their field and is famous on the world stage, they are a `get,"' said top Hollywood publicist Tony Angelotti. "He'll be invited to everything under the sun in this town with his wife, who is famous in her own right. "This was a town where Gretzky was a big get and this is not a hockey town nor is it a big soccer town. But that won't matter. In L.A., they are crazy for celebrity." Blogger Trent Venegas, editor of Pink is the New Blog, thinks the couple's celebrity will effortlessly transport from Europe to the West Coast. "They will be right at home with the Hollywood thing. They pretty much live that lifestyle in England. He and his wife both will fit in very well with the whole Ivy and Robertson crowd. They will probably be at Hyde every weekend. "He's very cool with being seen and going out. He always looks good and is dressed well. He's like the male Paris Hilton but he has a job."
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