Miami City Counsel votes in favor of Ultra Music Festival’s move to Virginia Keys

The fate of Ultra Music Festival (UMF) has been oscillating on a back-and-forth pendulum over the past few weeks. This past September, the City of Miami stripped Ultra of its longtime home in downtown’s Bayfront Park as the result of complaints from downtown neighbors.

Then Ultra organizers proposed moving to the nearby Virginia Key as the new home for their 165-person event, despite dates running up against the Miami International Boat Show and the smaller Rapture Music Festival. Just when things were looking bleak for Ultra, the Mayor-Elect of Key Biscayne then issued a flagrant PSA urging locals to block UMF’s move to the island, which is located just 10 minutes away from Bayfront Park.

Against all odds, Ultra Miami’s proposal was approved on 4-to-1 vote to re-locate across two venues: Miami Marine Stadium and Historic Virginia Key Beach Park. The counsel deliberated for three grueling hours with the final stipulation of the deal coming down to (1) a $2 million fee made payable to the City of Miami and (2) the ability of Ultra to sell up to 60,000 tickets to the festival. The contract will be set in place for two years, with the possibility of revoking the permit within 60 days after the 2019 festival.

Scroll to the 9:40 mark to see the City of Miami’s full deliberation over the 4-1 decision. The “yes” vote remains controversial for city constituents, so stay tuned for more Ultra 2019 coverage.