LTC 213-2025 Convention Center Advisory Board MotionMIAMI BEACH
O FF IC E O F THE C ITY C LE R K
LT C N o .
LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO :
FR OM :
DA T E :
S U BJE C T :
H o no rable M ayor Steven Mem e~er ers of the City Com m ission
R afa el E .G ra nado ,City C lerk /2$
M ay 20,2025
C o nventio n C e nter A dv iso ry Board Motio n
The purpose of this Letter to the C om m ission ("L TC ")is to inform the Mayor and City
C o mm issio n of a m otio n m ade ,and unanim ously approved,by the Convention Center Advisory
Boa rd (C CA B )at its M ay 14,2025 m eeting.
M e m bers prese nt:Robin Jacobs (C hair),Antonio Hernandez (V ice-C hair),Mark G idney,Chris
G loede (E x-O ffi cio ),Bruce G o uld ,Pra kash Kum ar,C arl Li nder,and Chris Rollins.
M o tio n:Pursua nt to its m ission to "act in an advisory capaci ty to the city com m ission on
m atters regarding ope ration of the convention center,"and in response to recent
advoca cy fo r potentia l installation of a perm anent children's playgro und on the West side
of Pride Park,the C onvention C enter Advisory Board (CC AB)recom m ends that the
M ayor and C om m issio ne rs fully evaluate the effect such an installation could have on
the opera tio n,stability,and success of the M iam i Beach C onvention Center.The CCAB
recomm e nds that a full evaluatio n should at least consider:(i)the city -w ide public
investm e nt of $640 m illion tow ard construction of the Convention Center intended to
de liver significa nt econo m ic im pact and generate substantial city -w ide revenues,(ii)the
ro le that Pride Park plays in securing and retaining significant revenue-generating and
att ractive conventio ns,(iii)the prior and existing use of Pride Park,(iv)any adverse
im pact that a change in the prior and existing use of Pride Park may cause on retaining
and attracting new significant revenue-generating conventions,(v)the num ber,
frequency,and im pact of prior changes to Pride Park's use and design,(vi)the
possibility of altern atives to construction of a children's playground or any other
tem porary or pe rm ane nt structure,and (vii)conducting an econom ic im pact study.
Pride Park,in its current and prio r use,provides a com petitive advantage to the
C o nventio n Ce nter by offering a unique,open-space am enity that few other convention
centers offer.The C C A B respectfully subm its that the current design and use of Pride
Park suff iciently balances neig hborhood and com m unity access and the need fo r Pride
Park in retaining and attracting significant revenue-genera ting conventions that require
the use of Pride Park.A cco rdingly,the C C AB respectfully recomm ends that the Mayor
and C omm issio n judiciously perform the full evaluation referenced above and create a
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213-2025
master plan for the Convention Center campus before making any further changes to the
design or use of Pride Park which may affect the stability of the Convention Center's
operations and its ability to genera te maximum economic impact for the City of Miami
Beach.
Please contact Heather Shaw,Assistant Director,Economic Development Department at
HeatherShaw@ miamibeachfl.goy should you have any questions.
MH/SA/i
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