Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava's office submitted a pitch deck to Rockstar Games on June 29, proposing a collaboration to transform parts of the county into recreations of Grand Theft Auto 6's Vice City around the game's launch. The plan, first reported by The Miamian and obtained via public records request, describes Miami as "the real-world inspiration for Vice City" and suggests using "approved GTA VI characters or visual references" across locations including Miami International Airport, Metrorail and Metromover stations, and manhole covers. Proposed elements include an "immersive arrival experience" at the airport with Vice City signage and GTA 6-liveried planes, a dockyard installation inspired by the game's Port Gellhorn featuring cargo containers and cranes, a "Vice City Motor Fest" combining classic cars, lowriders, and motorcycles in a "family-appropriate setting," and a "Vice City Radio Lab" offering community access to recording and media equipment tied to local music and radio history.
A spokesperson for Levine Cava, Carlos Suarez, confirmed that county staff had "some conversations with Rockstar about potential opportunities around the launch of GTA VI," but said nothing has been "formally agreed to or approved."
The pitch has drawn strong opposition from Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz and County Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez, who issued a joint statement arguing the county should promote its real achievements rather than "a fictional version of our community defined by crime and violence." Cordero-Stutz said Grand Theft Auto is "a video game franchise built around criminal activity" whose fictional world includes "murder, robbery, drug trafficking, carjacking, violence against law enforcement, and other conduct" that her department works "every single day to prevent." She added that the county should "seriously consider the message" it sends by promoting such an identity while law enforcement works to reduce violent crime and build community trust. Bermudez said he is "not against video games" but called it "nonsensical" to promote a game that "glorifies" attacks on first responders, pedestrians, and residents.
Separately, Miami-Dade Clerk of Court Juan Fernandez-Barquin and Eleventh Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan sent a letter to Levine Cava requesting that all county courthouses and court-related facilities be excluded from any GTA 6 marketing or branding. The letter states that courthouses are places where "victims seek justice, defendants answer to the law, witnesses participate in proceedings" and that the people who use them "are not characters in a fictional world" but face "real consequences." The letter reportedly does not oppose the broader concept outright, acknowledging the installations could "fiscally benefit Miami-Dade County."
Reporting from the Miami Herald, cited by multiple outlets, notes that the dispute falls partly along political lines: Levine Cava is a Democrat, while Cordero-Stutz and Bermudez are Republicans, with Bermudez seen as a potential mayoral candidate against Levine Cava in 2028. The Herald also reports that the timing coincides with Cordero-Stutz and Levine Cava competing for County Commission votes on funding proposals for the Sheriff's Office in the 2027 budget, with Cordero-Stutz seeking a 12% tax-funded increase compared to Levine Cava's proposed 6%.
It remains unclear whether Rockstar Games will move forward with any version of the proposed collaboration, and the company has not been reported as issuing a public response to the political dispute.