Miami's GTA VI banner law: where giant Vice City banners can go downtown, when, and what they cost

Downtown Miami has a legal path to oversized Grand Theft Auto VI banners this fall. The City Commission passed an ordinance that sets aside a defined slice of downtown where the city may permit building-sized promotional banners for the game, starting no earlier than Oct. 15. It is often summarized as “banners from Oct. 15 to Dec. 31,” but the text is narrower than that. This story is based on the ordinance itself, City of Miami Ordinance 14490, which is posted on the city’s legislative site.

What the city passed

• Sponsor: Commissioner Damian Pardo, District 2.
• Votes: It passed first reading on Sept. 10 and was adopted on Sept. 24. Both votes were 5-0, with Commissioners Miguel Angel Gabela, Damian Pardo, Rolando Escalona, Ralph “Rafael” Rosado and Christine King in favor.
• Effect: It takes effect on adoption, subject to the city’s usual rules on the mayor’s signature or veto.
• Precedent: The ordinance places the game alongside the Super Bowl, the Miami Formula 1 Grand Prix and the 2026 FIFA World Cup, events for which the city previously relaxed its banner rules.

Where banners are allowed

The ordinance creates an “Event Area” bounded by NE Fifth Street on the north, the Miami River on the south, Biscayne Bay on the east and NE Second Avenue on the west. Properties fronting NE Fifth Street and NE Second Avenue are included. The text names no specific buildings. A banner can go on any property inside the zone, but only with city approval and at the city’s discretion.

When: a window, not a guaranteed run

Banners cannot go up before Oct. 15, 2026, and everything must come down by Dec. 31, 2026. The ordinance also caps the promotional period at 56 consecutive days. The Oct. 15 to Dec. 31 window is 78 days long, so banners permitted under this law cannot stay up for the whole span. The ordinance does not say when or how the 56-day period begins, and as of Oct. 4 no start date had been announced.

Size, fees and who signs off

• Maximum size: 10,000 square feet per banner.
• Who can apply: Permits are issued at the request of Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar’s parent company, or its authorized representatives. The ordinance limits the special treatment to displays approved by Take-Two as publisher.
• Fee: $208,000 per permit for any banner over 5,000 square feet. Smaller banners pay the standard city fee.
• Where the money goes: The city manager is directed to put net proceeds toward the Reverend Edward T. Graham Greenway capital project (No. 40-B193621). That is the official name of the long-planned Underdeck park and trail along the I-95 and I-395 corridors through Overtown (WLRN/Miami Times). Commissioner King tied the banner revenue to that Overtown trail and said no city assets are being used to promote the game (CBS News Miami).

The ordinance also states that it creates no permanent billboard, mural or signage rights on any property.

What we don’t know yet

• Whether Take-Two has applied for any permits, and how many.
• Which buildings will carry banners, and what the artwork shows.
• The start date of the 56-day period.
• How much the city will actually collect, which depends on how many large banners are permitted.

As of Oct. 4, the window had not opened. The ordinance does not allow any of these banners to be displayed before Oct. 15.

The rest of the Vice City map

The city’s banner zone is one of several local decisions:

• Miami-Dade County already has a paid sign up: the “Welcome to Vice City” lettering on the county-owned Kaseya Center roof, installed Sept. 22 (WPLG Local 10). Earlier ideas for the airport, bus stops and manhole covers had not been agreed as of Sept. 3, the mayor’s office said (CBS News Miami).
• Miami Beach commissioners voted 4-3 on Sept. 10 on a plan for discreet “Vice City” or “VI” branding on privately run beach chairs and umbrellas from mid-October to year’s end, skipping Art Basel week. Accounts of that vote differ. GTA BOOM reported that it authorized the city manager to negotiate, with no final contract. WSVN described it as an approval worth about $3 million. The picture gets murkier still. On Sept. 22 the Miami Herald reported that both Miami and Miami Beach had already signed marketing deals with Rockstar. That same day, CBS News Miami described Miami Beach as having turned down promotional opportunities tied to the game. We have not seen a signed Miami Beach agreement.
• Separately, in September a banner reading “vice” appeared outside Kaseya Center. CBS News Miami asked the Heat about it and had no response at publication.

Our Vice City takeover guide maps what is installed, approved or only proposed, downtown and on the beach.