Miss USA to Miss Miami Beach In 2012
MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) - When the crown a Miss USA this year, it will be in a different part of the USA than Miami Beach. Talks to bring the venerable beauty pageant back to South Florida in 2012 have ended, with money being the major sticking point.
Max Sklar, Miami Beach's tourism and cultural development director, confirmed to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald that talks for 2012 have ended.
The pageant spent it's first 11 years in Miami Beach, and then moves around the nation, spending a lot of time in Las Vegas, where it was hosted in 2011.
When the pitch was made to return it to the Beach, organizers asked the locals for $3 million, a figure that they couldn't accept.
The Herald reported that at the end, the request from South Florida had dropped to about $1 million, but between the cost and the fast-approaching deadline for the move, Miss Universe, owners of the pageant, decided to keep it in the desert instead of moving it to the beach.
The pageant will be shown on NBC June 3rd, and while things look dismal for this year, local supporters are not giving up, possibly with a three year commitment starting in 2013.
