Formula 1 racing around Miami Dolphins’ stadium shouldn’t hit the gas quite yet | Editorial

Miami Gardens residents hit a bump in the road on Tuesday. Miami-Dade Commissioner Barbara Jordan’s attempt to block Formula One race cars from speeding around Hard Rock Stadium and the city’s streets failed when another commissioner switched his support and voted with the other side.

It was a blow for Jordan, who represents the city and the area around the stadium. She had implored fellow commissioners not to “let this go down in my community.” She was hoping to garner enough votes to override Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s rare veto of their original rejection of the racing event set for 2021.

That the race will proceed still is not a sure thing, nor should it be at this point. There’s another mayor who has legitimate concerns that should be addressed.

“There’s a lot of talk about it being an economic generator. Well, not for Miami Gardens,” that city’s mayor, Oliver Gilbert, told the Editorial Board. “How will this bring businesses and jobs to Miami Gardens? It would be great if county development funds came to the Gardens. We could do more.”

He’s absolutely correct. Inconvenience can’t be the only thing residents reap.

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, along with Gimenez, sees the proposed racing extravaganza as a multimillion-dollar event to attract fans, tourists and revenue. Many residents in this predominantly African-American city, however, see the potential for pollution, traffic jams, street closures, gas fumes and ear-piercing noise.

Tuesday Mayor Gimenez’s office described a county commission auditor’s report of these complaints as “flawed.” These complaints about noise and pollution have not plagued the race in other cities, the mayor said in a memo to commissioners. Still, the concerns are real. Credit the county mayor for holding meetings recently with residents’ representatives and others to hear them out.

Ross has been hankering to bring Formula One to Miami. In 2017, he worked to locate it in downtown Miami. When that failed, he moved the race to the stadium. But he has faced pushback from residents, who should be heard and get something out of the deal.

The mayor’s office says that there would be two days of trial races about three hours long, and then a two-hour race on the third day. As talks between the sides continue, we suggest serious thought be given to containing the race on stadium property. Parking will become an issue, of course, but that’s what shuttles, Uber and Lyft are for and it would eliminate disruptive street closures.

And Gilbert adds: “They need to do more business with the businesses here.”

In other words, Formula One proponents have to bring respect and revenue to the negotiating table.

This story was originally published November 20, 2019 at 4:18 PM.