By Coral Gables Gazette staff
UPDATED: A little more than a week after Mayor Vince Lago and a majority of commissioners put a temporary stop to plans for popular World Cup watch parties on city-owned property outside Fritz and Franz Bierhaus, the Coral Gables Parks Advisory Board weighed in on the controversy during its May 14 meeting.
Community Recreation Director Fred Couceyro told board members he has held meetings with restaurant owner Harald Neuweg and is working on a revised operational plan aimed at addressing concerns raised by commissioners over noise, cleanup, crowd management and impacts on nearby residents ahead of next week’s City Commission meeting.
“The direction from the commission to the applicant was to come up with some more solid plan and look at ways to alleviate those situations,” Couceyro said. “He’s going to give me his final plan, and then we’ll present it again. And it’ll be up to the commission.”
For 24 years, or the last six FIFA World Cups, soccer fans have flocked to Fritz and Franz to watch the world’s biggest sporting event, turning the Bierhaus Plaza into one of South Florida’s most recognizable soccer gathering spots. But city leaders last week expressed concern over allowing the restaurant to occupy the plaza for more than a month during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
A 33-day event that falls outside city rules
Couceyro reiterated to the advisory board that the issue before commissioners is largely procedural because the proposed event falls outside the city’s existing special event regulations.
“Our guidelines approved by the commission are that events can be no longer than four days in a row and only take place between Thursday and Sunday,” Couceyro explained. “This application does not fall within the guidelines, so it does have to be approved by commission.”
He added that under existing rules, city staff cannot administratively approve a 33-day event with ongoing noise and event infrastructure on public property.
Board members again raised the possibility of hosting World Cup watch parties at Ponce Circle Park, similar to the recent University of Miami football watch party held there. Couceyro said the city is exploring hosting a World Cup final watch party in the park, but noted the costs make a tournament-long setup unrealistic.
“That was about $10,000 for the screen for one day,” Couceyro said of the UM event. “We wouldn’t be able to do it for the whole World Cup.”
Downtown living and World Cup crowds collide
Board member Maite Halley pushed back against arguments that downtown residents should be shielded from occasional large-scale events.
“The people who live in those apartment buildings moved into a downtown area,” Halley said. “This is not what I would consider a residential neighborhood. It’s their residence, but it’s not a residential neighborhood.”
Halley added that if events comply with city ordinances regulating noise and hours, “hiding behind this is a residential area is really disingenuous and not an argument that we should entertain.”
Board member Kirk Menendez questioned how the proposed World Cup festivities differed from long-running events such as Carnaval on the Mile, which also features amplified music and large crowds downtown.
“He can monitor the speakers. He can’t monitor the people.”
Couceyro responded that one major difference is duration. Carnaval on the Mile lasts only a few days, while the World Cup proposal would span more than a month. He also noted that Fritz and Franz sits directly across from residential towers, unlike festival stages located farther down Miracle Mile.
“We get more complaints about Fritz and Franz than Carnaval on the Mile,” Couceyro said, adding that crowd noise itself can become difficult to control during emotionally charged matches. “He can monitor the speakers. He can’t monitor the people.”
A scaled-back World Cup proposal now heads back to commissioners
For now, the fate of Coral Gables’ signature World Cup watch parties remains in the hands of the City Commission, which is expected to revisit the issue at its May 19 meeting. The agenda includes both a presentation from Fritz & Franz Bierhaus and an amended city manager-sponsored resolution that would permit the restaurant to maintain setup, sales, and crowd control infrastructure at the plaza at 60 Merrick Way beginning June 19 — but would not authorize the full watch party activation, including screens and public gathering, until July 3 through July 19. The group stage, which begins June 11, would not be covered by an official watch party under the current proposal.
This Post Has 10 Comments
The World Cup is perhaps the one single event held every four years in which people of every nationality, heritage, religion, race, and language become friendly — and happy — adversaries for a few unforgettable weeks. This is precisely the spirit the United States urgently needs today, both politically and socially.
Let us, the residents of Coral Gables, set an example of civility, tolerance, and community for the rest of the country — and the world — by not allowing a small minority of people to disrupt any part of the schedule of such a magnificent global event.
Hosting World Cup watch parties at Fritz and Franz as done for the past 24 years in the Commercial Business District of downtown Coral Gables is consistent with the goals of the Coral Gables Business Improvement District (“BID”) – (a) enhance the economic vitality and overall experience of Downtown Coral Gables, (B) work closely with local merchants to promote the area as a premier destination for shopping, dining, arts, culture and business and (C) create a vibrant, internationally recognized destination that celebrates commerce, culture and community in a historic and welcoming setting. That is directly from the BID website! This 6-week event at Fritz and Franz helps bring our diverse community together to share memories allowing City officials to proclaim Coral Gables as a world-class city. If the Commission restricts this event, it is turning its back on the BID and all small businesses that need this event to draw customers to downtown Coral Gables during slower summer months. People living in the CBD enjoy being able to walk to and attend downtown celebrations like World Cup watch parties at Fritz and Franz. It is important for the Commission to support downtown small business and our soccer community every 4 years.
Don’t take away a joyful event!
Given the current world affairs this should be considered medicine for our plagued minds.
If you buy a home next to an airport, you shouldn’t complain about aircraft noise, if you buy a home next to a school you shouldn’t complain about the noise of children playing or the drop-off, pick-up traffic.
If you buy a home in the central business district you shouldn’t complain about noise generated by businesses…especially when it’s a temporary situation which has been happening for the past 24 years, and it’s being generated by enthusiastic, happy fans which are also bringing business to the business district where they chose to live.
Does the commission really want to increase business in the central business district, or tie their hands instead?
I agree with Lynn Guarch-Pardo. Fritz and Franz was downtown LONG before the residences that built up around them. You cannot expect to live in a downtown area of a City and not hear some noise once in a while. Especially on a very special occasion. That’s like moving to an apartment in Manhattan and complaining about the hustle and bustle of a major city down below. Make an exception – especially since Coral Gables is hosting the FIFA headquarters.
As a resident he lives in the direct proximity i do not oppose Fritz and Frantz showing the Games . But to take over the plaza for 6 weeks is abusive . Last year with the Concacaf Finals fans thru smoke bombs during the game , our building had to be evacuated because the smoke went into the buildings a/c system. Keep the game inside the restaurant and the tables around restaurant, not the entire plaza .
Lago and his 2 puppets need to sit down and zip it. Enough of your dictatorship. This event is important and it is for a short period. Why do you need to stick your autocratic agenda in everything. Leave the event alone and let us live. You 3 have ruined our city with overdevelopnent, congestion and traffic. Now you want to ruin it with an event that is important to our community. Just like the dog park and the Garden, you think you know what is better for us than we do. Go sit in a corner and fix our real issues.
For more than two decades, Fritz and Franz has helped create one of the most positive and internationally recognized community traditions in Coral Gables. These World Cup gatherings are temporary, they are joyful, and they bring together people from every background in a way very few events can. At a time when the world feels politically exhausted and divided, this is exactly the kind of celebration communities should embrace, not discourage!
Downtown Coral Gables is meant to be vibrant. People choose to live in a downtown business district because of the culture, energy, restaurants, and events that make the area special. A once-every-four-years World Cup celebration that lasts a few weeks is hardly an unreasonable burden, especially considering Fritz and Franz has responsibly hosted these gatherings for the last 24 years.
What concerns many residents is not the effort to improve logistics or crowd management (which is understandable and responsible) but the tone of trying to overregulate something that has become part of the identity of this city. Coral Gables should be proud to welcome international visitors and soccer fans during one of the biggest global events on earth, especially while FIFA itself is headquartered here.
And finally, I have to say: the previous commenter’s line about “Vince Lago and his two puppets” may have been blunt, but judging by the public reaction, it clearly struck a nerve for a reason. Well said.
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