Rockstar's 'Vice Beach' sign due in Lummus Park under city's GTA VI deal

A pink “Vice BEACH” sign about 34 feet wide was scheduled to go up Sunday on the Lummus Park lawn north of 11th Street, the centerpiece of a City of Miami Beach marketing deal for the video game Grand Theft Auto VI, according to city records described by the gaming news site GTAVice.net. Red Sidewalks has not seen the signed agreement or any permit, and could not confirm Sunday whether the sign is up.

What the deal reportedly includes

GTAVice.net reported on Oct. 21 that it reviewed a sponsorship agreement between the city and Rockstar Games, dated Oct. 15 and attested by the city clerk Oct. 16. According to that account, the agreement covers five installations:

• The sign, about 34 feet wide and 7 feet tall, set at least 65 feet east of Ocean Drive.
• Pink paint, a “Vice BEACH” block and a “VI” decal on the Muscle Beach workout equipment near Ninth Street.
• A small lifeguard tower north of 14th Street repainted blue and pink with “VI” branding.
• A 10-foot “VI” sculpture at 689 Lincoln Road, which the Lincoln Road Business Improvement District would need to permit.
• Turning the rooftop “W” on the W South Beach, 2201 Collins Ave., into a “Y,” under a separate deal with the hotel.

The site reported that Rockstar would pay the city a $300,000 activation fee and fund a $4 million fee to Boucher Brothers, the beach concessionaire, which would pass half to the city. A custom vehicle appraised at $643,443 would be auctioned in 2027 for the city’s benefit. Every piece would have to be removed or covered during Art Week, Nov. 29 to Dec. 6, and taken down by Jan. 15, with penalties of $5,000 a day per item. The agreement does not guarantee permits; if none were issued by Nov. 1, Rockstar could cancel, according to the report.

What commissioners were told

The City Commission voted 4-3 on Sept. 10 to let the city manager negotiate the deal with Rockstar’s agency, Amplify Marketing, for signage “on concession equipment on the beachfront” and other public property the manager chooses, according to Resolution 2026-34439 and the meeting minutes. Commissioners Monica Matteo-Salinas (the sponsor), Tanya K. Bhatt, Laura Dominguez and Joseph Magazine voted yes; Mayor Steven Meiner, Vice Mayor Alex Fernandez and Commissioner David Suarez voted no.

According to the minutes, Dominguez said that, based on talks with the city manager, no game logos would appear on city property such as lifeguard stands and that the advertising would be discreet, on Boucher Brothers chairs and umbrellas. Bhatt said the campaign would focus mostly on the Roman numeral “VI” and that its benefits, approaching $4 million, could pay for the unfunded Flamingo Park football field renovation. Suarez objected that the agenda memo marked the item as lobbyist-requested without naming the lobbyist and listed its fiscal impact as “N/A.”

The city has not announced the installations. Rockstar’s “Vice City” blimp was spotted over Normandy Shores last week.