Miss Universe 2015 will be held in be Doral, Florida. The 63rd annual beauty pageant was postponed last year to January 2015. Although locals are excited that the prestigious event will take place in Doral, some are skeptical if it will actually benefit the city.
Local politicians are questioning the $2.5 million amount that Doral has committed for the event. The city has hired economic analysts to shed some light on the issue.
"What data will be used to analyze all this? What will impact study show? I believe this study should be done, but not at the very end. It should have been done preliminarily and at the end. This seems like a rushed effort to justify a certain cost that has already occurred," Councilor Christi Fraga said.
The City of Doral will be investing about $25,000 to hire The Washington Economics Group's Antonio Villamil to lead the research. Late Tuesday, the council had voted on whether the City of Doral should hire economic analysts to study the impact of hosting the Miss Universe pageant in their city. The result came in at 4-1, with Fraga opposing the majority.
Fraga said that very little information was shared with the council and she does not feel comfortable supporting it. Fraga added that the decision to hire an economic analyst was a "rushed" one.
"This is not a rushed effort. And I love the fact that it's being paid for by the city, so that nobody can later say that they study is slanted. This is a consultant that has an area of expertise, above many. I trust Mr. Villamil's analysis completely. To even hint that he would slant any report would not be appropriate," Vice Mayor Sandra Ruiz said in an interview.
Local government authorities are convinced that the Miss Universe Pageant will benefit their city. Not only will they be hosting a prestigious event, but it will also promote their city to other parts of the world who have not heard of Doral. The event is expected to bring in at least 600 million viewers worldwide.
But the argument among the opposition is that these "benefits" are only temporary.
"People around the world take an interest in Miss Universe. The question I would ask is how long will those impressions last? How long will people go home and talk about Doral, tweet about it, share about it? Will the name of Doral mean something? Or will it be something that fades quickly?" University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality professor Deborah Breiter explained.
The 63rd Miss Universe Pageant will be held on Sunday, Jan. 25 at the Florida International University.
