The Administration is seeking direction from the Commission.

The Pro Footvolley Tour, a for-profit operation, will host the 2017 South Beach Open in Lummus Park between 7 and 9 Street July 27 through 30, 2017. Other locations on t the 2017 Pro Footvolley Tour include Hollywood Beach, FL; the Wildwoods, NJ; Cartagena, Colombia; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Cayman Islands; and China. The event on Miami Beach will feature team USA versus Spain, Brazil, and Argentina. Sergio Menezes, the President of the Pro Footvolley Tour, is a University of Miami graduate, a long-time Miami Beach resident, competed for team USA in Rio de Janeiro 2016 and was featured on NBC Sports in primetime.

For the 2017 Miami Beach event, the producer is requesting a waiver of relevant special event application, permit, square footage and Lummus Park user fees, assumed by to be under $5000.  The Administration can provide more specific estimates once the producer provides detailed schedule and site plan requirements. The City Manager is authorized to waive special event application, permit and vehicle access pass fees for not-for-profit applicants seeking such waivers.  The City Commission can waive additional event special event fees, including square footage fee, user fee and police and fire administrative fees.  The Commission has previously waived all event fees for for-profit applicants, like Pro Footvolley Tour, including recently for the Air and Sea Show, Major League Baseball’s All Star Game Fan Fest and the Miami Beach Bowl.  In addition to event fee waivers, the producer is requesting the City provide a $10,000 sponsorship to the event, to assist with costs that cannot be waived.

Special events taking place in Miami Beach which seek funding typically apply through the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority (“MBVCA”), a public-private entity that offers reimbursable grants from resort tax collection. The approval and value of these grants is based on target criteria the event must demonstrate, including Miami Beach hotel room nights and media impressions.  The minimum number of Miami Beach hotel room nights for MBVCA grant consideration is 350, unless the event occurs in North Beach, where the minimum requirement is 75 Miami Beach hotel room nights.  This event came together quickly, taking advantage of the recent announcement of the El Classico soccer match, a major soccer exhibition featuring Real Madrid versus Barcelona, taking place at Hard Rock Stadium on July 29, 2017, during the dates of the Footvolley Tour.  The Footvolley Tour producer is eager to take advantage of the media attention and fan attendance coming to South Florida for the El Classico soccer match, hoping it will bring more attention to the Footvolley Tour.  As a result of the timing of the recent announcement about El Classico, the Footvolley Tour was unable to apply for an MBVCA grant, as the deadline for grant approval in this period had elapsed.   The event producer estimates the Footvolley Tour will bring approximately 150 hotel room nights to the City of Miami Beach.

While the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee recommended sponsorship for this one-time event, they also recommended that the Administration develop criteria for sponsorship funding.