TITLE
RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE BID TO BE A HOST SITE FOR THE 2026 WORLD CUP SOCCER MATCHES AND EVENTS; APPROVING THE TERMS OF THE AMENDED AIRPORT AGREEMENT WITHOUT CONDITIONS BETWEEN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AND THE MEMBER ASSOCIATION (AS SUCH TERM IS DEFINED IN THE AIRPORT AGREEMENT) AND AUTHORIZING COUNTY MAYOR OR MAYOR�S DESIGNEE TO EXECUTE SAME AND EXERCISE CERTAIN PROVISIONS CONTAINED THEREIN; WAIVING RESOLUTION NO. R-130-06 AND ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER 3-20; RETRACTING THE AUTHORITY GRANTED THE COUNTY MAYOR OR COUNTY MAYOR�S DESIGNEE IN RESOLUTION NO. R-04-18; AND URGING THE UNITED STATES BID COMMITTEE AND FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION TO SELECT THE BID FOR HOSTING THE 2026 WORLD CUP IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

BODY

WHEREAS, the World Cup is the preeminent soccer tournament, taking place every four years amongst teams representing countries from all over the world and attracting the finest soccer players from throughout the globe; and
WHEREAS, the United States has partnered with Canada and Mexico to form the United Bid Committee (�UBC�) in order to submit a united bid to the F�d�ration Internationale de Football Association (�FIFA�) for the three countries to host the 2026 soccer World Cup throughout various cities in each of the countries; and
WHEREAS, the UBC has selected Miami-Dade County as a finalist among metropolitan areas in the United States, Canada and Mexico to host World Cup soccer matches or to serve as the location for other important World Cup facilities and competition-related events such as the World Cup international broadcast center; and
WHEREAS, the Greater Miami Sports Commission, Inc. (�GMSC�), a not-for-profit corporation, has submitted a bid to the UBC for the 2026 World Cup; and
WHEREAS, the bid identifies: the Hard Rock Stadium located in Miami Gardens as the site for the soccer matches; Bayfront Park in the City of Miami and Lummus park in Miami Beach as potential sites to host the World Cup FanFest public viewing and festivities areas with more than 500,000 fans projected during the course of the tournament; the soccer facilities at Florida International University (�FIU�) in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, the University of Miami (�UM�) in Coral Gables, St. Thomas University (�STU�) in Miami Gardens, and Barry University (�Barry�) in Miami Shores as training sites for the 2026 World Cup teams to practice; and Miami International as the airport that can handle the influx of players, coaches, executives, officials and fans for the 2026 World Cup games and events; and
WHEREAS, hosting the World Cup soccer matches as well as other related events in Miami-Dade County may attract hundreds of thousands of spectators to South Florida resulting in an economic stimulus for this community; and
WHEREAS, indeed, in excess of 400,000 people would be anticipated to visit Miami-Dade County for World Cup festivities and matches during the 2026 World Cup; and
WHEREAS, hosting this momentous sporting event in our community provides a tremendous opportunity to boost our tourism industry and local economy; and
WHEREAS, hundreds of millions of individuals watch the televised Word Cup matches, thus providing invaluable exposure to Miami-Dade County; and
WHEREAS, the World Cup promotes international cooperation through athletic competition; and
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) approved Resolution No. R-04-18 at the January 23rd, 2018 BCC meeting approving the World Cup Airport Agreement with certain conditions, and authorizing the County Mayor or County Mayor�s Designee to execute such Agreement; and
WHEREAS, as stated in the Mayor�s Memorandum, the County Mayor has recommended that the Board approve the Airport Agreement without the conditions previously contained in Annexe 4 of the Agreement, because the Administration believes that the projected benefits to Miami-Dade County of hosting the World Cup in 2026 would outweigh the financial risks to the County; and
WHEREAS, this Board desires to accomplish the purposes set out in the accompanying memorandum, a copy of which is incorporated herein by reference,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that:
Section 1. The foregoing recitals are incorporated herein by reference and adopted.
Section 2. This Board expresses its support for the bid to UBC and, ultimately, FIFA to host the 2026 World Cup soccer matches and related events in Miami-Dade County and commits Miami-Dade County�s assistance, subject to then-available resources, funding, and appropriation, to support this important event.
Section 3. This Board approves the terms of the Amended Airport Agreement, without the conditions contained in Annexe 4 of the airport agreement previously approved by this Board in Resolution No. R-04-18, between Miami-Dade County and the Member Association (as such

term is defined in the Amended Airport Agreement) in substantially the form attached as Exhibit �A� to this resolution. This Board further authorizes the County Mayor or Mayor�s designee to execute the Airport Agreement on behalf of Miami-Dade County and to exercise the provisions contained therein.
Section 4. This Board waives the provisions of Resolution No. R-130-06 requiring that all contracts be fully negotiated and executed before being presented to the Board and Administrative Order 3-20 requiring contractual language on the Independent Private Section Inspector General Services.
Section 5. This Board retracts the authority previously granted the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee in Resolution No. R-04-18, and this Resolution shall supersede and replace such Resolution No. R-04-18.
Section 6. This Board urges the UBC and FIFA to select the bid to host the 2026 World Cup soccer matches and related events in Miami-Dade County.

HEADER
Date:

To: Honorable Chairman Esteban L. Bovo, Jr.
and Members, Board of County Commissioners

From: Carlos A. Gimenez
Mayor

Subject: Support for the Bid to Have Miami-Dade County as a Host Site for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and Approving the Required 2026 FIFA World Cup Airport Agreement

STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
It is recommended that the Board of County Commissioners (Board) approve the execution of the required FIFA-provided attached Amended Airport Agreement (the �Amended Agreement�) to replace the Airport Agreement previously approved by the Board on January 23, 2018 through Resolution No. R-4-18. This Amended Agreement deletes all of the conditions added by Miami-Dade County in �Annexe 4,� as referenced in Resolution No. R-4-18, because the US Soccer Federation has represented to the administration that the conditions contained in the Agreement approved by this Board would disqualify the Airport from consideration. This Amended Agreement is an agreement between Miami-Dade County and the Member Association comprised of the US Soccer Federation, the Mexican Soccer Federation and the Canadian Soccer Association ( the �Member Association� or the �UBC�), and the agreement is one part of the complete bid proposal submitted by the Greater Miami Sports Commission, Inc. (GMSC, a 501(c)3 non-profit entity) for Miami-Dade County to serve as a Host City for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Scope
The FIFA World Cup is an international event that is expected to attract visitors from all over the world to various parts of the County; therefore, the impact will be Countywide.

Fiscal Impact/Funding Source
UBC comprises a joint bid effort of the United States, Canada and Mexico to FIFA, the international governing body of soccer, for the 2026 World Cup tournament. It has been conveyed to the County by UBC that hosting a World Cup may be approximately five times the cost of hosting a Super Bowl as the duration of activities are approximately a month, whereas a Super Bowl is approximately one week. As with the Super Bowl, a World Cup Host Committee will be organized to fundraise for the majority of expenses to support the overall activities. If a Host Committee does not provide all needed funding, the County will be responsible for the remaining costs of the Airport Agreement.

Some of the costs to the County that are outlined in the Amended Agreement include in-kind expenses that would be provided in the form of departmental support. The airport operational requirements enumerated in the Amended Agreement are similar to routine support of large scale special events, and the Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD) believes that it can meet the operational requirements enumerated in the Amended Agreement within Miami International Airport�s (�MIA�) operational capacity. It is expected that this in-kind support of the 2026 FIFA World Cup by the MDAD will total a minimum of $275,000 or approximately five times the cost of Super Bowl activities. In comparison, in 2010, MDAD expended approximately $55,000 in in-kind support to MIA Super Bowl-related activities and operations.

Additionally, staff has quantified another $1.5 million in rental fees and advertisement �buyouts� that the County would need to incur pursuant to the Amended Agreement. To the extent that these expenditures are not funded by a Host Committee, the County will be responsible for these costs. Pursuant to the Amended Agreement, however, FIFA and/or its Member Association or affiliates will cover certain expenses, such as installation of signs and the purchase, at prevailing market prices, of both Airport retail spaces and outdoor media spaces.

As noted previously, the terms of the proposed FIFA-provided Airport Agreement (a) allow FIFA and its Member Association to unilaterally modify and enhance the County�s obligations under the Agreement and b) may require the County to breach existing County contracts that may be in effect through 2026, if necessary for the delivery of obligations.

The County had previously added conditions to mitigate the risks associated with the Airport Agreement terms. Those prior conditions to the Agreement, contained within Annexe 4 of the Airport Agreement in Resolution No. R-4-18, are now deleted. For reference, a copy of that Annexe 4 is attached as Exhibit A hereto.

The Amended Agreement also requires that the County waive the right to pursue any claims against the FIFA, Member Association, or affiliated third parties and obligates the County to indemnify UBC, FIFA, and various other parties for all claims brought against them, without limitation. This indemnity obligation would additionally be implicated if UBC or FIFA incur costs as a result of the County�s inability to comply with any provision of the Amended Agreement, This obligation is different from the County�s typical indemnity clauses, which indemnify private parties only against claims caused by the County�s negligence, and which caps the County�s tort liability at $300,000, consistent with Florida Statutes, Section 768.28.

In addition, if Miami-Dade County is selected as a Host City for the 2026 World Cup with matches to be played at Hard Rock Stadium, then the Miami Dolphins would be eligible to earn grants from the County in accordance with the Performance Based Marquee Event Grant Agreement.

A study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group, on behalf of the UBC, indicates that the economic benefit to local host cities may be as much as $500 million.

Track Record/Monitor
Alex Mu�oz, on assignment to staff this initiative, will be responsible for overseeing issues related to the overall hosting of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Joe Napoli, Chief of Staff, Miami-Dade Aviation Department, will be responsible for monitoring the Amended Agreement after it is executed.

Delegation of Authority
This Resolution delegates to the Mayor or designee the authority to exercise certain provisions of the Amended Agreement.

Background
Since Board consideration of the previous Airport Agreement in January 2018 through Resolution No. R-4-18, UBC has represented to the administration that various other airports have presented unmodified Agreements to the UBC. To the best of the administration�s knowledge, this includes airports in Cincinnati, Dallas, Philadelphia and Nashville. We have requested copies of those airport agreements, but UBC indicates it cannot provide them. The UBC has represented to the administration that the inclusion of any modifications to the Airport Agreement via Annexe 4 will disqualify Miami-Dade County from selection as a Host City for World Cup events in 2026. Reconsideration of several factors such as the Airport�s ability to meet the terms and conditions of the Amended Agreement based on its historic experience with large events, , the world-class level of MIA infrastructure and services, and conversations with representatives of the UBC, prompted reconsideration of the Agreement. Based on the projected benefits to Miami-Dade County of hosting the World Cup in 2026, I recommend that this Board approve the Amended Agreement without the conditions previously contained in Annexe 4, because the projected benefits outweigh the financial risks to the County.

The concerns related to the Amended Agreement and how they are mitigated are as follows:

(1) Is the County obligated to take any action, or omit an action, that would violate or conflict with federal, State, or local laws?

This is mitigated in standard language in the Amended Agreement. Section 12.13.1 generally states that the Airport is not obligated to take an action which would violate law. Furthermore, the Agreement provides for a process to discuss and agree to remedies. However, the County would still be required to indemnify FIFA, the Member Association, and various other parties against costs incurred as a result of the County�s inability to take such action.

(2) Is the County required to breach any current contracts?

Section 12.13.1 also indicates that the County is not required to act beyond its competencies in performing the deliverables of the Agreement. MDAD has also indicated that they currently have no contracts that extend beyond the period when matches would be played; however the County�s obligations to UBC would arise, and could be enforced, upon award. ,If the County is selected as a Host City, provisions related to the World Cup may be included in future agreements before execution. This allows for appropriate FIFA World Cup provision(s) to be added as they are renewed. Notwithstanding, the County would still be required to indemnify FIFA, the Member Association, and various other parties against costs incurred as a result of the County�s inability to perform the deliverables of the Amended Agreement because of any existing contract.

(3) Can enhancements to the County�s obligations be unilaterally changed by FIFA or the Member Association?

The Amended Agreement includes language that the Member Association, FIFA and the Airport shall discuss and agree to potential solutions of any modifications. However, even if there is no agreement by the County, the Amended Agreement provides that the Member Association and FIFA can unilaterally change the Amended Agreement. However, under Swiss law, as confirmed by Swiss lawyers consulted by Bond Counsel, such modifications must reasonably relate to the purposes of the agreement. Although there is no way to determine prospective changes, Airport staff are confident that they can meet the obligations currently set-forth in the Amended Agreement and any reasonable requests in the future. However, the County would still be required to indemnify FIFA, the Member Association, and various other parties against costs incurred as a result of the County�s inability to perform.

Other conditions provided in Annexe 3 to the Airport Agreement remain unchanged from the prior version, and these conditions provide that various federal, state and local laws are applicable to the Amended Agreement and must be complied with by the Member Association. Included in Annexe 3 are provisions required by the Federal Aviation Administration, State of Florida Statutes related to Public Records, and the County Code pertaining to requirements for conducting business with the County.

Additional important disclosures include: a) the Amended Agreement requires the County to coordinate the timing, form and content of any public announcements in relation to the competition with FIFA, b) the Amended Agreement will be governed and interpreted under Swiss law, and c) any disputes arising under the Amended Agreement are subject to binding arbitration to be held in Zurich, Switzerland, pursuant to the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration. Additionally, the County could be obligated to perform under the Amended Agreement even if FIFA decides not to have any World Cup matches in Miami-Dade. The FIFA-provided Amended Agreement, once executed by the County, is an irrevocable offer by the County to FIFA�s Member Association.

While I may, in the future, recommend that the Board waive some of the provisions required by County Code, for the Agreement to be legally sufficient now, the provisions in Annexe 3 must be included. I am also directing MDAD staff to negotiate any agreements that expire before the 2026 World Cup in a manner that would allow for the delivery of obligations consistent with the Amended Agreement.

I am also recommending the waiver of the provisions of Resolution No. R-130-06 requiring that agreements be executed by other parties prior to Board consideration. The bidding process for the 2026 World Cup requires that the Agreements be executed first by the bidding metropolitan areas and then by the Member Association. To remain in consideration for the hosting of World Cup events in 2026, it is in the best interest of the County to waive the requirements of Resolution No. R-130-06. Additionally, I am also recommending the waiver of the Independent Private Sector Inspector General requirement in Administrative Order 3-20.

The World Cup is one of the world�s premier sporting events with participants from all over the world. In July of 2017, the UBC contacted the County as a possible candidate to host 2026 World Cup matches and activities. One of the many assets that helps to increase the strength of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Bid is MIA. Unlike 2009, the bidding requirements for the 2026 World Cup include the execution of an Airport Agreement outlining support and facilities needed by FIFA. Approval of the Amended Agreement is needed now so that a complete bid package can be submitted to the UBC. In addition to the Airport Agreement, the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) is working with the Miami Dolphins, the hotel industry, local universities and municipalities to provide other requirements. The Bid components being submitted include a Host City Agreement, Stadium
and Training Site Agreements.

Hosting the World Cup presents many benefits. Economic impacts are estimated to be as much as $500 million. Other benefits, such as the exposure and legacy of serving as a host city, are more difficult to quantify, but support the County�s and the GMCVB�s international recognition as a �big-event town� and premier travel destination.

In September of 2017, the County, along with the GMCVB and the Miami Dolphins, provided a response to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) that was evaluated by the UBC. The RFQ determined that the County, along with all of its partners, facilities, and venues, was a qualified location to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. As a result, Miami-Dade County was �shortlisted� along with 24 other cities to provide a Bid to serve as a host for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The selection of the Host Cities for the 2026 World Cup is not expected until late 2020. It is expected that FIFA will be announcing the selection of the host nation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia this summer. Currently, Morocco is the only other nation submitting a bid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. FIFA has indicated that the 2026 tournament will be an expanded version including the largest field of participating nations ever, with 48 countries competing. A Host City can expect to hold between four to eight matches. The UBC has also stated that the US will host 60 of the 80 matches, with Canada and Mexico each hosting 10 matches.


Alina T. Hudak
Deputy Mayor