VIRGINIA KEY, FLA. (WSVN) - Members of the Key Biscayne community are voicing their frustrations over Ultra Music Festival’s proposal to move its event to Virginia Key.
Ultra is hoping to find a new home after City of Miami commissioners rejected a bid to keep the three-day event at Bayfront Park. However, residents in surrounding communities such as Key Biscayne aren’t happy with the idea of over 100,000 festival attendees flocking to the area.
“We’re not opposed to Ultra,” Key Biscayne Mayor-Elect Michael Davey said. “We just think this is the wrong site for Ultra.”
Elected leaders and business owners on Key Biscayne joined forces to say “No to Ultra” one day before commissioners in Miami are set to vote on whether the festival will move to Virginia Key.
If approved, the event would be held in the park next to the Miami Marine Stadium in Virginia Key Beach Park.
“This is an environment where, if you stay here long enough, you’ll see dolphins,” said Leah Kinnaird with the Virginia Key Alliance. “If you go out there, you’ll experience manatees, sting rays and all the birds that are on the other side.”
Although Virginia Key is in the City of Miami, opponents believe it would have major consequences for Key Biscayne. They said it would clog up traffic on their only way in or out – the Rickenbacker Causeway.
“Ultra’s sheer size could shut this road down for all of us,” Davey said. “This area simply cannot handle 150,000 or more concertgoers.”
Residents lined up over the weekend to sign a petition calling for commissioners to vote against the festival’s proposal.
“It’s basically asking for trouble putting it in Virginia Key,” resident Daniel Cerqueira said.
“I would probably have to leave town and pay for a hotel,” resident Nancy Elisburg added.
On Tuesday, the Village of Key Biscayne held an emergency meeting on the matter.
As for the meeting scheduled for Thursday at 9 a.m., the mayor is asking for more time.
“I did ask for a deferment, but that’s of course up to the City of Miami,” Davey said.
A representative for Ultra called Key Biscayne’s claims false and misleading.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.