Miami Heat Fans Want to Move the County Curfew an Hour to Watch the Finals in Bars and Restaurants — But Mayor Says No

Miami Heat fans hoping to watch their National Championship run at a local bar or restaurant throughout the county will still be facing an 11 p.m. curfew — a hinderance on many viewers as the games tend to go well beyond the curfew. While many hospitality operators were hoping the county would loosen its curfew to accommodate the Heat’s run toward the title, Miami Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez doesn’t want to change it quite yet.

“I realize people are excited for the Heat going to the finals, I know I am, but extending the curfew at this time adds more risk,” Gimenez said in yesterday in a press conference.

He also noted that he was hesitant to move the curfew to midnight after reopening so many businesses last week since it might give the impression to county residents that “everything is great” when the state still is reporting thousands of COVID-19 positive cases a day. And Gimenez wants to take the advice of local and national officials to open things up incrementally.

“Let’s leave the curfew at a 11 o’clock and see what those openings do, and then if everything is remaining stable and then we can move the curfew back to midnight,” Gimenez added.

Late last week, Florida moved into Phase Three of its reopening plan, which allows all businesses to be open in the state with little or no social distancing, but Miami-Dade implemented its own level of regulations.

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