Jesse Scheckner
The House has released its proposed budget for 2025, and it contains a relatively small earmark to ensure that when Miami-Dade hosts seven World Cup events in 2026, there won’t be a repeat of last year’s Copa América debacle.
House lawmakers plan to send $500,000 to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (MDSO) for extra security during large-scale events of global importance.
That’s half the sum freshman Miami Republican Rep. Omar Blanco sought in a Feb. 13 appropriations request, which doesn’t appear to have a Senate companion.
The inspiration for the request and the House budget line item is what happened last July in Miami Gardens, where a throng of soccer fans without event tickets overpowered security forced their way into Hard Rock Stadium to watch the Copa América finale.
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 significantly damaged the stadium, including the escalator and entrance at the 72 Club. A handful of people could be seen receiving medical treatment and asking for water in the sweltering South Florida heat.
International criticism of the event’s insufficient security swiftly followed. The Argentine newspaper, Ole, called the event a “party (that) almost became a tragedy.” Radio New Zealand described it as “a stunning scene from the home of the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins, which is used to welcoming massive crowds at sport’s biggest events, including the Super Bowl four years ago.”
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s Office said the Miami-Dade Police Department, since replaced by the MDSO, had assigned “over 500 officers” to handle the sellout crowd of more than 65,000 ticket holders and other non-ticketed people who amassed outside the stadium. But the Office also noted that security responsibilities for the event also fell to Copa América organization CONMEBOL and “other law enforcement agencies.”
Blanco, a career first responder, believes more needs to be done.
“The legislative funding will bolster law enforcement prevention and response while enforcing trespass into mass ticketed events in Hard Rock Stadium, LoanDepot Park (home of the Marlins), and many other large-scale venues across Miami-Dade County,” his funding request says. “MDSO expects increased costs for global events with enhanced safety/anti-terrorism needs.”
It also references “Multiple lawsuits filed regarding public safety concerns.”
The proposed House budget lists Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz as the funding requester and the funding as nonrecurring. It also shows that Miami-Dade planned to provide a 100% match to the requested funding.
