Coral Gables leaders delay decision on World Cup watch party at German beer hall
The owners of Fritz & Franz Bierhaus may not know if they can host a FIFA World Cup watch party in a public Coral Gables plaza until a week before the first game of the highly anticipated tournament.
The uncertainty comes after Mayor Vince Lago, Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and Commissioner Richard Lara agreed during Tuesday’s City Commission meeting to once again postpone a vote on Harald Neuweg’s proposal to transform the public plaza outside their restaurant at 60 Merrick Way into a space to host watch parties for select matches through July 19. Commissioners Melissa Castro and Ariel Fernandez voted against delaying the vote.
The reasons given by the three to postpone the vote were the same as in the May 5 meeting: safety, traffic, noise and feasibility concerns for a longer-than-usual soccer watch party setup that is expected to bring many fans to the Gables and will require police and fire presence at a time when the departments are expected to be spread thin.
Coral Gables Police Chief Edward Hudak explained in the meeting that Gables officers will be helping staff FIFA-related and other events across Miami-Dade and at Hard Rock Stadium during the same time period, including the popular Fourth of July festivities at the Biltmore Hotel that draw thousands to the City Beautiful.
“This is the largest tournament in World Cup history. ... There are 30 days that we’re going to be taxed to the max with the police department,” Hudak said.
Lago said he does support the German beer hall hosting a watch party event but wants to meet with Neuweg, the city manager, and fire and police chiefs to ensure the plan that appears before the commission in the next meeting June 2 is doable as the region prepares for an influx of visitors for the highly anticipated games. Lago and Amanda Quirke Hand, an attorney representing Fritz & Franz, agreed to schedule a meeting for Wednesday.
“This is the World Cup in our backyard,” Lago said, noting that he wants to make sure staff will be prepared to take on “an event of this magnitude” while also addressing resident concerns and ensuring that police and fire have enough manpower to respond to any potential emergencies in the city.
Fritz & Franz’s proposal has to go before the commission for approval because it falls outside the city’s existing special event guidelines, according to the city’s community recreation director, Fred Couceyro. Hudak also explained that the higher “high impact” police fees Fritz & Franz and their supporters have complained about are negotiated union fees for all events happening during the FIFA World Cup time period due to the high demand and resource strain.
The discussion comes as the Gables, home to FIFA’s South Florida headquarters, continues to make preparations for the upcoming games. Earlier in the day, commissioners unanimously approved placement of a FIFA-inspired soccer ball artwork in Giralda Plaza.
What seems to be a hard no for Lago and the others: a watch party on the public Bierhaus plaza on the Fourth of July, a day Hand was not willing to promise would be off the table.
Hand, in an effort to clinch a deal Tuesday, offered that the commission could approve the proposal, which shortened the proposed length of the Fritz & Franz event as requested, subject to conditions, including restricting the schedule to games that police can attend, so that Neuweg can start making preparations for the event. She said people will go watch World Cup matches at Fritz & Franz regardless of whether a special event permit is issued, and the restaurant wants to have a plan in place “to make it safe for everybody.” But Lago didn’t budge.
The mayor, Anderson and Lara also didn’t seem keen on making a decision on Fritz & Franz’s proposal after learning it was tweaked Monday, a day before the meeting, to include U.S. and Germany games and was therefore unable to be fully reviewed by them or Hudak. The “last minute” changes were not part of the proposal that was crafted with input from police and city staff and was initially going to be presented at Tuesday’s meeting, according to Couceyro.
Still, Lara expressed optimism that a deal could be made in the near future, even before the upcoming June 2 meeting.
“I want to see this game and all the matches celebrated in the city. I want them in a way that’s reasonable with respect to the safety and welfare of our residents,” he said.
Hand expressed her disappointment to the Herald after the meeting and said she believed the alternative she offered was “sufficient to address the concerns.” But she said she plans to follow up with the mayor, police chief and fire chief to find a solution “well in advance of the June 2 meeting” so that the restaurant has time to prepare.
“The truth is, everybody wants to go to Fritz & Franz to watch the World Cup, so there will be a crowd, and this special event plan is specifically to address that in a safe manner — and for the joy and community of the city of Coral Gables,” she said.
