City of Miami voters are now deciding whether the long-closed Miami Marine Stadium should move into a 40-year management deal tied to its restoration and future event use.
The question appears as Miami Referendum 2 on the August 18, 2026 ballot. The Miami-Dade Elections Department's official sample ballot asks whether the city should enter into a management agreement with Global Spectrum L.P. to activate and manage events at the Historic Miami Marine Stadium and Flex Park at 3501 Rickenbacker Causeway.
The vote matters because the Virginia Key landmark has been closed since 1992, yet remains one of Miami's most recognizable civic spaces. A yes vote would authorize the city to proceed under the terms on the ballot. A no vote would leave the city without that approval and force a different path for the site.
The issue is also a practical one for voters who may know the stadium as an architectural landmark but have not followed the management terms. The ballot is not asking whether the building is historic. It is asking whether this specific operator, revenue split, management fee, sponsorship split, and restoration contribution should be approved.
What voters are being asked
The ballot language says the city would receive 93% of gross sales from all events after deducting a $33,333 monthly management fee. It also says the city would receive 85% of sponsorship revenues, while Global Spectrum would pay the city up to $10 million toward restoration of the historic stadium.
The agreement would run for 40 years, according to the official ballot. Axios Miami reported that the proposal is intended to help restore the stadium and cited local reporting that the plan would begin with activation of the flex park area before a broader renovation. That makes the referendum both a preservation question and a long-term operating decision.
Why it is on Miami ballots now
Miami-Dade's master ballot lists the August 18 election for countywide primary races and local referendum questions, including Miami Referendum 2. For Miami voters, that means the stadium question is appearing alongside other election items rather than as a stand-alone civic survey.
Axios reported that City of Miami voters also face an August 6 deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot. Election dates and instructions can change for individual voters based on registration status, ballot style, and voting method, so residents should verify their own information with Miami-Dade Elections before relying on campaign materials or social posts.
What happens next
If the measure passes, the city would have voter authorization to move forward with the Global Spectrum agreement for events at Miami Marine Stadium and Flex Park. The key questions after that would be the restoration schedule, how event revenue is used, and how the public site balances preservation, access, traffic, and private management.
If it fails, the current proposal would not have voter approval. That would not settle the long-running debate over the stadium's future, but it would send city officials back to another plan for a waterfront venue that has been shuttered for more than three decades.
