World Cup wants $10M more from Miami-Dade County. That could mean cuts to services

A budget crunch may not stop Miami-Dade County from doubling its spending on World Cup preparations this year, even if it means trimming government services.

Days after asking county departments to submit suggestions for 10% spending cuts, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is recommending Miami-Dade spend an extra $10.5 million this year for the 2026 soccer championship. The extra World Cup money may come from reductions to county services, Levine Cava said in a memo released this week.

County commissioners last year approved a $10.5 million subsidy for World Cup in 2025 as organizers prepare for the 2026 games. In the memo recommending that commissioners approve the World Cup spending boost to a total of $21 million this year, Levine Cava said the extra $10.5 million she’s requesting would come from a fund to cover expenses tied to employees leaving their jobs. Replenishing that fund to cover the World Cup dollars will likely require generating extra money elsewhere in the budget, Levine Cava wrote.

“To achieve these savings, several considerations regarding the current level of services provided by departments funded by the General Fund and how they provide those services are being reviewed,” Levine Cava wrote. “As a result, service adjustments may be inevitable.”

The memo, part of the mayor’s broader request for mid-year budget changes, does not offer details on what service reductions could be on the table. Levine Cava’s office did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Commissioner Oliver Gilbert is sponsoring the legislation that would authorize the $10.5 million subsidy boost for World Cup and the other budget changes in the Levine Cava request. In a statement, Gilbert said the $10.5 million for World Cup wouldn’t come from service reductions but from “efficiency efforts” that will generate new dollars. “This is ultimately an investment in our community,” he said.

Rodney Barreto, co-chair of the local World Cup organizing committee, said the economic boost from hosting seven World Cup games during the summer, which should bring in extra hotel and sales tax revenue, is bound to cover the county’s extra outlays. “It’s hard to believe this $10.5 million item would negatively impact county services,” he said. “It’s an investment in World Cup.”

The World Cup request comes on the heels of Levine Cava amplifying her warning that cutbacks to county government spending may be needed next year.

After a first term defined by an increase in property tax money from a booming real estate market and a surge in federal COVID funds, Levine Cava said she’s expecting leaner times ahead and is looking at cutting spending, freezing hiring and pausing raises for county managers. Last week, she asked department heads to submit proposals for 10% cuts in their budgets but didn’t say whether those reductions would be enacted.

“I fully recognize the hard work and difficult decisions that lie ahead,” Levine Cava wrote in the March 7 memo to commissioners, which did not touch on World Cup expenditures. “We must be proactive as we wisely manage our resources in order to avoid even harder decisions in the future.”

Levine Cava helped lead the county’s pursuit of World Cup matches ahead of the global soccer tournament run by FIFA coming to North America in the summer of 2026. The Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium secured the right to be one of 11 venues in the United States for the games, including a quarterfinal and third-place match.

The local organizing committee last year requested a $46 million subsidy from county government for the games — $21 million in cash and $25 million in donated county services. Most of the donated services was for overtime pay for police and paramedics, expenses that pro sports teams like the Miami Dolphins pay out of pocket for regular games.

The subsidy proposal faced blowback when made public in May through legislation also sponsored by Commissioner Gilbert. Florida House Speaker Danny Perez, a Miami Republican, came out against the proposal, saying county taxpayers shouldn’t be subsidizing “the elites of FIFA.” Levine Cava herself issued a statement then expressing “concerns” about Gilbert’s legislation, noting the cost to Miami-Dade would be “significant.”

Facing resistance, Gilbert revised his proposal to only provide a portion of what organizers wanted. On May 21, commissioners approved a nearly $36 million funding package for the 2026 games — with a $10.5 million cash subsidy and $25 million in donated services.

That left organizers $10.5 million short of their original request. The change wasn’t meant to be final, with organizers free to come back ahead of the 2026 games to request that final $10.5 million. “We might need more,” Anthony Rodriguez, the commission’s chair, said before the vote.

The new Levine Cava budget proposal would provide the missing $10.5 million, completing the organizers’ original request.

Barreto, whose lobbying firm represents the Dolphins, said the latest funding proposal follows through on the expectation that organizers would return to the county to ask for more money. He said Miami-Dade should expect to get far more back from World Cup’s arrival than what the budget will spend on it.

“The hotel tax revenue produced will be more than enough to justify the item,” he said.

This story was originally published March 13, 2025 at 5:11 PM.