Some officials in Miami-Dade County dream of turning Miami into Vice City for the release of Grand Theft Auto VI, The Miamian reported, but law enforcement isn’t a fan of the idea.
GTA 6 takes place in the fictional, Miami-inspired Vice City, and county officials are trying to spin it into a marketing opportunity for the destination, according to the news outlet. On June 29, they reportedly submitted a pitch deck to Rockstar, the makers of GTA, which The Miamian obtained through a public records request.
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The slides include ideas such as transforming Miami International Airport and parts of the Metromover system with Vice City branding, to creating a Vice City Radio Lab in downtown Miami’s Main Library. Carlos Suarez, a spokesperson for Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, confirmed to The Miamian that the mayor’s office has had conversations with Rockstar about potential opportunities, but that nothing has been formalized or agreed upon.
The Miamian reported this on Aug. 27, and by Sept. 3, Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz criticized the idea (per Axios), saying, “Miami-Dade County is not Vice City,” adding her view that GTA is a “video game franchise built around criminal activity…that the men and women of the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office work every single day to prevent.”
As reported by Axios, Cordero-Stutz also stated:
At a time when law enforcement is working every day to reduce violent crime, prevent robberies and car thefts, combat drug trafficking, and build stronger relationships between our deputies and the communities we serve, I believe we need to seriously consider the message we send when our own government promotes a fictional identity centered around many of those same crimes.
Miami-Dade District 12 Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez is also against the partnership. “I still cannot believe that we are even considering temporarily rebranding important County assets, including Miami International Airport, as ‘Vice City Airport,'” he said, according to Axios.
The following day, The Miamian reported that a different commissioner wants big promotions of the game in the city.
City of Miami District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo is sponsoring an ordinance on the Sept. 10 city commission agenda that would grant Rockstar waivers to advertise GTA 6 with temporary banners, building wraps, and promotional displays. These waivers are usually reserved for events like the 2026 World Cup, according to The Miamian. The money received by Rockstar would go towards developing 33 acres of open space called the Rev. Edward T. Graham Heritage Trail, according to Pardo.
Whether Miami will become Vice City this fall remains anyone’s guess. Mashable has reached out to Rockstar Games for comment.
Source: https://mashable.com/entertainment/miami-dade-gta-6-rockstar-partnership
