Jesse Scheckner
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava says her administration will examine how security and crowd control shortcomings led to the bedlam at the Copa América Final to prevent it from happening at future Hard Rock Stadium events.
That includes the 2026 World Cup many that fans and government officials worry could also overwhelm county police and stadium security unless changes are made.
“We are outraged by the unprecedented events at tonight’s Copa América finals,” Levine Cava and Miami-Dade Chief of Public Safety James Reyes said in a joint statement.
“Let’s be clear: This situation should never have taken place and cannot happen again. We will work with stadium leadership to ensure that a full review of tonight’s events takes place immediately to evaluate the full chain of events, in order to put in place needed protocols and policies for all future games.”
Levine Cava’s Office said the Miami-Dade Police Department assigned “over 550 officers” to the stadium to handle a sellout crowd of more than 65,000 ticket holders and other non-ticketed people who amassed outside the stadium, but noted that security responsibilities for the event also fell to Copa América organization, CONMEBOL, and “other law enforcement agencies.”
Video posted on social media showed fans, mostly wearing Colombia’s yellow and red colors, jumping over security railings near the southwest entrance of the stadium and running past police officers and stadium attendants. Screams could be heard in the background.
A handful of people could be seen receiving medical treatment and asking for water in the sweltering South Florida heat. Officers were able to crowd behind the gates and lock down the entrance so no one could get inside, although plenty of fans with tickets had already made it to their seats.
Security initially appeared to open gates slightly to allow only a handful of fans in at a time, while other angry attendees pushed against the railings. Fans were again allowed in slowly around 8:10 p.m., with the new kickoff time set for 9:15 p.m. — more than an hour late.
But the commotion did not stop. Fans wearing gear from both teams again broke through the railings, running in multiple directions, some carrying children on their shoulders. Stadium and CONMEBOL staff weren’t scanning tickets as a sea of people overwhelmed the few police officers and stadium officials that can be seen in video footage of the chaos.
Footage showed fans scaling the stadium’s walls, climbing into windows and the structure’s ventilation system to gain access, and getting arrested. A police officer told USA Today at least 10-15 people were taken into custody.
Many others, including journalists, were detained or forcibly removed from the stadium. By then, some fans had done significant damage to the stadium, including the escalator and entrance at the 72 Club.
A fan named Claudio, who traveled to the game from Mendoza in Argentina, spoke of not being able to breathe as police attempted to subdue the throng.
“They can’t organize a World Cup! It’s impossible,” he told The Associated Press. “People stuck against the gate for hours, unable to breathe. There was a senior citizen, look at him, look at him (motioning at his young son), left without water. No water, nothing.”
Hard Rock Stadium hosted two prior Copa América matches. Officials had advised fans to avoid visiting the stadium before the game if they didn’t have tickets, which started at about $2,000 apiece. Many did not listen and put “themselves, other fans and security at the stadium at extreme risk,” said a statement the stadium posted to X at 2:08 a.m. Monday.
Police, CONMEBOL and stadium staff closed and reopened entry gates to permit ticketed fans and “prevent stampedes and serious injury at the perimeter.” They reclosed the gates after the threat of fans being crushed subsided.
“At that time, the venue was at capacity and gates were not re-opened,” the statement said. “We understand there are disappointed ticket holders who were not able to enter the stadium after the perimeter was closed, and we will work in partnership with CONMEBOL to address those individual concerns.”
The statement added that stadium officials will continue to work with police to identify and prosecute people who trespassed and broke other laws Sunday.
“It is disappointing that a night of celebration was impacted by unlawful and unsafe behavior, and we will fully review the processes and protocols in place tonight and work with law enforcement to ensure such an event never happens again,” the statement said.
To better ensure there’s no repeat of Sunday’s debacle, there needs to be new leadership at County Hall, said Republican Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid, who is running to supplant Levine Cava this year.
“Miami-Dade & Daniella Levine Cava weren’t ready for Copa América. How are we supposed to trust them with the World Cup?” Cid said Sunday in an 8:50 p.m. X post that included harrowing photos of the pandemonium. “Leadership matters, and Levine Cava is too busy traveling the (globe) and dancing at Galas. We’ll change that in August when we make a Miami-Dade that works for ALL of us.”
Levine Cava was scheduled to attend a Copa América watch party in Coral Gables with former Sen. Annette Taddeo, a fellow Democrat who is running for Miami-Dade Clerk and Comptroller. The watch party was a joint campaign event. Levine Cava’s campaign told Florida Politics she never made it to the watch party, which she originally planned to go to after the game’s first half, and instead spent the evening at Hard Rock Stadium.
She fired back at Cid with a statement just before midnight through a statement from her campaign spokesperson, Claire VanSusteren.
“Manny Cid’s political opportunism knows no bounds — turning his back on residents while the Mayor focuses on public safety measures to restore public order, after tens of thousands of unticketed individuals rushed the gates and fought officers working to keep fans safe,” the statement said.
“An attack on the Mayor this evening is an attack on the law enforcement officers who are working tirelessly to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all those at the game. This is yet another example of why voters in Miami Lakes have decided to reject Manny Cid’s reckless leadership and Miami-Dade residents will join them in rejecting him again this August.”
Reyes, meanwhile, took heat from Florida Highway Patrol trooper and former Miami Commissioner Joe Sanchez, one 11 Republicans running against Reyes and three other Democrats to become the county’s first Sheriff since the 1960s.
“The scenes at Hard Rock Stadium tonight are chaotic and embarrassing to our community. This very dangerous situation is a result of lack of leadership and strategic planning. It’s clear that having a Director of Public Safety spending most of his time campaigning, instead of focusing on the safety of the residents of Miami-Dade, our visitors and the men and women of our law enforcement agencies, is backfiring on our community,” he said.
“Tonight I am calling on Mayor Levine Cava to ask Director James Reyes to step down — either resigning or taking a leave of absence — so that a competent officer can take over that important role and focus their time and energy on keeping our community safe and not pretending to be a politician.”
Sanchez announced in January, when he entered the Sheriff’s race, that he was taking a leave of absence while running. He asked that other candidates do the same and not campaign “while on the taxpayers’ dime.”
Reyes, a longtime director of Broward County prisons whom Levine Cava recruited to work in her administration last year, clapped back with a short statement from his campaign adviser, Kayla vanWieringen, referencing Sanchez’s support of a 2009 bond plan to build the Miami Marlins ballpark, now estimated to cost taxpayers more than $2.6 billion.
“It’s richly ironic that the deciding vote in the disastrous stadium deal that fleeced taxpayers is politicizing public safety when he still owes Miami-Dade voters an apology for his reckless vote record,” the statement said. “Chief Reyes held numerous onsite security briefings with the CONMEBOL event organizers and stadium staff. He remains solely focused on maintaining public safety and keeping patrons safe.”
Levine Cava and Reyes’ campaigns include much of the same staff and are both managed by Democratic consultant Christian Ulvert.
Led by consensus all-time soccer great Lionel Messi, who had to leave the field with an apparent right ankle injury in the second half of the game, Argentina defeated Colombia in the Copa América Final 1-0. The victory distinguishes Argentina as the winningest team in the tournament’s history, with 16 championships. Prior to the game, Argentina and Uruguay were tied for that distinction.
FIFA selected Hard Rock Stadium in June 2022 to be among several U.S. sports venues to host the 2026 World Cup tournament. The stadium, which is slated to host seven World Cup matches, has hosted many massive events under Levine Cava, including the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix and concerts featuring Bad Bunny, Beyoncé and Karol G.
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This report used material from The Associated Press. Republished with permission.
