MIAMI—The Village of Key Biscayne and the City of Miami are duking it out in a legal battle over the Marine Stadium site on Virginia Key. The village offered its side of the story in May.

Now, Cathy Rick-Joule, the director of the Miami International Boat Show, is offering her side. In part one of this exclusive interview, we get some background on the show, assess the economic impact and get her take on how the show could impact other businesses on the property.

GlobeSt.com: How long has the boat show been in Miami and why is it now moving to Miami Marine Stadium Park and Basin?

Rick-Joule: The Miami International Boat Show has proudly been taking place in Miami for 74 years. The Miami Beach Convention Center, where the show was previously held, is undergoing renovations and because of that construction, we had to look for a new home.

We considered many locations throughout Miami and only Miami Marine Stadium Park and Basin was fit to host the show that the community and boating industry have come to expect. Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado and the City of Miami suggested we consider Miami Marine Stadium Park and Basin because of its unique location and history as a center for boating activity and we agreed that it is the ideal venue for the boat show.  Miami Marine Stadium Park and Basin provides us the opportunity to help bring back life to a site that has been underutilized for more than two decades, and create from scratch the boat show of attendees' and exhibitors' dreams.

GlobeSt.com: What kind of economic impact does the show have to the local and state economy?

Rick-Joule: The Miami International Boat Show generates $600 million in annual economic activity in Florida. The event supports 55,000 middle-class Florida jobs and more than 1,500 Miami businesses, according to data compiled as part of a study conducted by Thomas J. Murray & Associates for the National Marine Manufacturers Association. In addition, it is a significant tourist draw, filling 200,000 hotel room nights and attracting more than 100,000 visitors annually, 50% who travel from outside Florida and 10% who travel from outside the US.

GlobeSt.com: How much time will the boat show need for set-up at the Miami Marine Stadium property in 2016 and each year after? Will set-up of the show impact other businesses on the property?

Rick-Joule: After careful consideration of the work that needs to be done in this first year to properly complete construction and implement upgrades, the boat show and the City of Miami felt it was most reasonable for the event license to cover 73 days before the show. Within that time span, upgrades and load-in will happen gradually, in a phased approach. We will learn a lot from this first show and expect the time needed in the future to be significantly less.

While the license is for 73 days, that does not mean the area is inaccessible for 73 days. The surrounding businesses such as the Rickenbacker Marina, the Miami Marine Stadium Marina, the Rowing Club and Rusty Pelican will all be running as normal during this time with the exception of some key construction dates and the five-day duration of the boat show.

During set-up of the boat show, all local marinas and parks will remain accessible to area residents and customers, and the Rowing Club will remain open. Customers of the surrounding marinas can arrange with boat show management any access needed during the set-up of the show, during its five-day duration and during tear down.