Ultra Music Festival Miami Bayfront Park
Ultra Music Festival Miami Bayfront Park
Groove Cartel·
FestivalsNews
···2 min read

The City of Miami still wants Ultra to be held in Miami

Despite the fact that Virgnia Key is off the table, Miami City Manager Emilio Gonzalez said he would re-engage with Ultra

It seems there are hopes for a return of Ultra in Miami next year.

Today, during a City of Miami “Sunshine Meeting” about the Ultra Music Festival and Miami city bond issues, Miami City Manager Emilio Gonzalez, commissioners Ken Russell, Keon Hardemon, Manolo Reyes, and Joe Carollo, and Manager Andrea Agha and Council Member Luis Lauredo from Virginia Key discussed the topic.

During the meeting, City Manager Gonzalez said the early cancellation of the contract by Ultra will be a loss for the city and that “If there is anything I can do to get them to reconsider, I would be happy to do it.”

After the problems with Miami downtown residents and the imposed change of location a few months prior to the festival, Ultra Miami was held at Virginia key in 2019. Again, huge problems with the venue and the risk of another cancellation of the contract have pushed Ultra to find another location, outside Miami for 2020.

If Virginia Key is still off the table, now the Miami City Council seems to be willing to return to the negotiation table.

Below you can find the whole discussion, tweeted live by KeyNews.

THREAD: Key News is live-tweeting a City of Miami “Sunshine Meeting” about the Ultra Music Festival and Miami city bond issues.

  • Present are Commissioners Ken Russell, Keon Hardemon, and late arrival Joe Carollo. There are so many attendees, the meeting has moved from a conference room to the main city hall chambers.
  • Present from the Village of Key Biscayne are Manager Andrea Agha and Council Member Luis Lauredo. Commissioner Manolo Reyes starts with discussion of a possible $150 million bond for an administration building.
  • Now on to Ultra. Hardemon is asking colleagues if there is an appetite to re-engage Ultra.
  • Commissioner Carollo responds: ”I do know that Virginia Key was a complete mess…. It bothered more people than ever before.”
  • Miami City Manager Emilio Gonzalez said that Ultra only told him they had made a decision to move on, and that he was expecting the concert to be at Virginia Key again in 2020 until he got the termination letter.
  • As to luring them back to Miami, City Manager Gonzalez says, “It is a loss for our city. That kind of economic impact for the residents of our city, I think it’s a huge loss. It’s unfortunate. If there is anything I can do to get them to reconsider, I would be happy to do it.“
  • Hardemon says that Virginia Key didn’t work. He wants them to think about downtown Miami again, and wants Ultra to be a discussion item for the June 27th agenda.
  • As the meeting ended, KB Councilmember Lauredo got up to speak. He and Commissioner Hardemon got into a verbal war of words, with Lauredo continuing to speak while Hardemon was talking.
  • “You are being disrespectful to me,” Hardemon said to Lauredo, saying Lauredo wasn’t even looking at him. “I don’t have to look at you,” Lauredo said. Hardemon then ended the meeting.
  • Afterward, Miami City Manager Emilio Gonzalez said he would re-engage with Ultra. He said so far as he’s concerned, however, Virginia Key is off the table.
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