MIAMI – The Miami Heat's 2013 NBA Championship parade will take place next Monday, June 24.
The parade, starting at 11 a.m., will begin at Southwest Eighth Street and Second Avenue, travel east on Eighth Street and then turn north on Brickell Avenue. It will cross the bridge and go north on Biscayne Boulevard and into the AmericanAirlines Arena via Northeast Eighth Street. The rally inside the AAA is only for season-ticket holders.
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Miami police will begin barricading intersections at 7 a.m. Monday. Biscayne Boulevard will be closed for the parade.
The route is the same as last year's parade, but there will be some changes.
"At the end of last year, we spent a week after we finished making sure that we put everything and every detail into place so that we could put it on the shelf and I pulled it out last night," said Kim Stone with the AmericanAirlines Arena.
The parade organizers have asked the double-decker buses to move more slowly to give the crowd a longer look at the players and staff riding in them.
"We're going to slow down," said Michael McCullough with the Miami Heat. "We were pretty fast last year with how the fast the buses were going, so we're going to slow that down to allow the fans to get a better look at the players."
There will also be more water and safety personnel along the route after a significant number of heat-related sicknesses last year.
"We'll have a lot more water and hydration on the route because it's hot, more first-aid stations along the route," added McCullough.
No backpacks will be allowed at the parade, according to the Miami Police Department.
The InterContinental Miami said it will bring out hundreds of pots and pans from General Manager Robert Hill's kitchen for the parade. The hotel will have private bleachers right on the parade route and will use the cookware as instruments for guests and staff to show support.
Click the map below to see the parade route.
