The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $22 million contract to convert the Miami Beach Convention Center into a field hospital to provide relief during the coronavirus crisis, the Miami Herald reported on Tuesday.
It is unclear if the 1.4 million-square-foot facility would serve as overflow space for hospitals or actually take in coronavirus patients.
“This is obviously a precaution that assumes the worst-case scenario, but it’s better to be prepared for the worst case than to hope for the best case,” said Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber. “It will sit vacant hopefully until it is dismantled.”
The hospital at the convention center is expected to be ready by April 27, although work may start to install 450 beds as early as Wednesday, with the total number of beds to be determined later.
Its setup is to be modeled after the emergency hospital established at the Javits Center in New York, according to NBC Miami.
Most health officials predict that Florida's peak of coronavirus cases will be the in the first week of next month.
The convention center recently underwent a $620 million renovation and was a main attraction for tens of thousands of visitors to the city during Super Bowl weekend just two months ago.
A 250-bed medical tent at Tamiami Park in Miami Dade County was already set up last month to prepare for possible overflow patients, although Mayor Carlos Gimenez said he hopes the facility will remain empty as projections show the county might not need it after all.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.