Alumnus Mathew Ratner believes in the beauty of Miami and its community.
As the head of sports and entertainment tourism for the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB), it’s his job to help elevate the city’s status as a global destination by bringing the most recognized sports and entertainment events to Miami-Dade County.
“I want Miami to shine,” says Ratner, who graduated with his master’s in recreation and sports management from FIU in 2013. “That’s what my team and I do. We make sure that Miami is the main character in everything.”
That’s why when FIFA reached out the Miami-Dade County mayor’s office asking if local leaders were interested in hosting the World Cup, the GMCVB took hold of the opportunity to work with the mayor’s office and bring FIFA to the ‘305’.
Ratner was part of the team (at the time headed by Ratner’s then-boss, fellow FIU alumnus Jose Sotolongo) that gathered information about the city, airport, transportation, venues, hotels, logistics and more to create a competitive bid to host the World Cup.
Almost 10 years later, Ratner — now in his current role at the GMCVB — has continued working on the project and is happy to see the World Cup come to fruition.
“Miami has a great opportunity to showcase itself to the world,” he says. “We are a worldwide, world-renowned destination, and we want to continue to be on people’s minds.”
The World Cup is the tip of the iceberg. Over the years, Ratner has helped Miami host hundreds of events such as the Miami Open, F1 Miami Grand Prix, PGA Tour, World Baseball Classic, the NASCAR Cup Series Championship and the Discover NHL Winter Classic.
Ratner (right) with soccer star Ronaldinho, who won two FIFA World Player of the Year awards and is often considered one of the greatest players of all time.
“We work closely with the Marlins, the Miami Heat, the Homestead-Miami Speedway, Miami Marathon and more,” he says. “These are great sports organizations that are fixtures in our community. We make sure they are successful.”
The organizations, Ratner explains, are not just enthralling fans with sports but also actively giving back to the community.
“For example, the Orange Bowl hosts football clinics every year for local children and Major League Baseball renovates fields in Miami-Dade for kids to play on,” Ratner says. “There is a lot of work being done by these organizations behind the scenes to make sure the community is coming together. We help them.”
Ratner also regularly works with producers of major motion pictures (such as the action film Bad Boys: Ride or Die), reality TV shows and others who film in Miami-Dade County.
Fun fact: Ratner (left) got to meet stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence during a press conference for Bad Boys: Ride or Die, which was filmed in Miami.