More than 50 supporters of the Miami International Boat Show attended a meeting Tuesday of Miami and Key Biscayne officials and organizers of the Miami International Boat Show as stakeholders tried to come to an agreement about moving the show to the Miami Marine Stadium Marine Park and Basin.
Supporters wore T-shirts supporting the boat show and its planned 2016 move from the Miami Beach Convention Center as that site undergoes extensive renovations.
“The city and village are going to continue mediation, and while they still don’t see eye to eye, we were encouraged by yesterday’s dialogue,” National Marine Manufacturers Association spokeswoman Sarah Salvatori told Trade Only Today.
Village and city officials failed to reach a compromise at the meeting, according to The Real Deal, a South Florida real estate news publication.
Local Channel 10 News called the boat show “one of the most important events in South Florida,” but also said the meeting Tuesday “went nowhere.”
“We are committing to Key Biscayne that we would not have more than one event of this magnitude” at the site, Miami mayor Tomas Regalado told the TV station. The village initially expressed concern that the city would need to bring several large events to the renovated venue during the year to make it worth the $16 million it plans to invest.
Regalado said that if the village council is that concerned about potential gridlock, it also should be working with the city to address the traffic congestion created by the Miami Open tennis tournament, an annual event the village supports, according to The Real Deal.
“Either cancel the tennis tournament or help us alleviate the traffic,” he said.
Salvatori said the meeting — which wrapped up with both sides agreeing to appoint a lone representative from each elected body to continue hammering out a possible resolution — was “a step in the right direction.”
“We are encouraged by today’s discussion between the city of Miami and the village of Key Biscayne and pleased that they have agreed to continue to have an open dialogue,” said an NMMA statement issued after the meeting.
“We are optimistic that they will be able to come to a resolution and look forward to continuing the 2016 Miami International Boat Show’s 74-year legacy and $600 million economic impact at Miami Marine Stadium Park and Basin.”
