Thousands attend 22nd Annual Cars on 5th Concours in Naples Florida
22nd Annual Cars on 5th Concours in Naples, Florida draws thousands. The event benefits Habitat for Humanity of Collier County (aka Habitat Collier).
- The future of the popular Cars on 5th event in Naples is uncertain as several city council members believe it has grown too large.
- An after-action report cited concerns over crowd size, safety, parking and damage to city property.
- Council members suggested the event, a victim of its own success, should relocate to a larger venue outside the city.
- The event’s organizer stated he is not interested in moving the show, arguing its location on Fifth Avenue South is key to its identity.
Could the popular Cars on 5th event have reached its finish line in Naples?
It appears that at least three of the seven city council members strongly feel the annual car show has grown too big and should go elsewhere.
On April 1, while hearing an after-action report on this year’s event, council members discussed whether it made sense to continue hosting it, but they stopped short of making a decision, without an action item on the agenda.
Councilman Bill Kramer reiterated his oft-repeated argument of late that the city is “not an event venue”— and he claimed that most of the residents who voted for him don’t want an event like Cars on 5th in the city.
“I’m telling you, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze,” he said. “We should no longer have this thing here.”
His comments followed an after-action report by Chad Merritt, the city’s director of parks, recreation and facilities, who raised myriad concerns about this year’s event, which is centered on Fifth Avenue South in downtown Naples.
What did the after-action report say about Cars on 5th?
The report included just one sentence about what worked well: Increased foot traffic, which generated more business for merchants along the street.
On the flip side, the report listed about a dozen bullet points on concerns and challenges related to the 2026 event, held Feb. 7.
The concerns and challenges included communication and parking issues, unauthorized pop-up events, and damages to Cambier Park, Fifth Avenue South and surrounding areas.
The overarching concern: The size of the event, one of the biggest in the city.
“The organizer claims 13,600 tickets were sold,” Merritt told the council. “There was 39,000 people in that area total. So, does that mean it’s at peak? Not necessarily, but I can tell you, there was a lot of people, and it was shoulder to shoulder. Very difficult to walk through there.”
If there had been an emergency in the area, Merritt stressed it would have been difficult to get an emergency vehicle to the scene.
He pointed that there are many attractions that draw residents and visitors to Fifth Avenue South, not just the cars, and he reasoned it wouldn’t make sense to shut the street down for the event and turn people away who don’t have tickets.
“Now, I know the organizer has said multiple times that they are not interested in growing the event, but the event continues to get larger,” Merritt said.
Based on the permit application submitted to the city for next year’s event, he said it appears the organizer wants to “grow the footprint again,” including by adding more activities that would “carry it into the night” on Park Street, which intersects with Fifth Avenue South.
What is the big fuss over Cars on 5th?
Cars on 5th turns Fifth Avenue South into a giant luxury-car showroom, packed with Ferraris, Porsches, Corvettes, Lamborghinis, Maseratis and other heart-stopping, head-turning performance models.
This year’s event — the 22nd annual event — featured more than 750 vehicles, including a strong showing of vintage, classic and antique automobiles.
Special events such as Cars on 5th require city council approval. A decision is made every year on whether to grant a permit.
This year there could be a different answer.
Is Cars on 5th too successful?
The event’s success could be its downfall.
“We would recommend that they look at a different venue to be able to hold this event if they want to continue to grow the event,” Merritt told city council on April 1.
He acknowledged that some of the concerns and challenges aren’t the fault of the organizer. For example, the pop-up events are put together by the local businesses looking to take advantage of the crowds generated by the car show.
If Cars on 5th is held again, there needs to be a more comprehensive parking plan and better communication with city staff on safety and clean-up, Merritt told council. It took days for the trash to be picked up.
“This trash needs to be addressed the day of the event,” Merritt said. “They should not leave until the city looks the way it looked when they came in.”
What did council say about Cars on 5th?
While he’s voiced his concerns about the event in the past, Councilman Kramer said the after-action report for 2026 made it more troublesome in his mind. As the event has grown, it has caused more problems for the city and for residents, who don’t directly benefit from it, he said.
“So, as awesome and great as it is, it needs to be awesome and great someplace else, besides city of Naples,” Kramer said. “That’s my two cents, for what it’s worth.”
He suggested the event should be held at Collier County’s Paradise Coast Sports Complex in East Naples, or at a local golf course, such as the Tiburón, at the Ritz-Carlton in North Naples.
Councilman Scott Schultz agreed with Kramer, repeating that the “juice isn’t worth the squeeze,” when it comes to Cars on 5th. As the event has evolved, he said “the benefits of it seem to have gone more to the vendor,” rather than to charity.
He argued the organizer no longer lives in Naples, so “this no longer fits in my judgment.”
“It goes back to philosophically, my view that Naples residents should be the ones picking and sponsoring and pulling applications for events in Naples,” Schultz said.
Like Kramer, he suggested there are plenty of other places it could go in the county, without “tying up our city’s most prominent street.”
“We have to do so many things as a city, the PD (police department), just the preparation for this, the mess, the pure mess it creates, it’s a victim of its own success,” Schultz said. “So, let them find a bigger, better venue.”
He emphasized that cars are sold at the event and commented, “We get nothing.”
“I love fast cars,” he said. “I’d love to get my racing license, but I simply can’t see this thing making any sense any longer for our city.”
Chiming in, Councilwoman Linda Penniman agreed with all his points in two words, saying, “Well stated.”
How much does Cars on 5th cost the city?
Councilman John Krol asked city staff about the cost of the damages from this year’s event, versus the fees the city collected for its services. In answer, Merritt said he didn’t have the damage estimates yet, and he didn’t know if the city was “in the red” or not.
“When they use the avenue, there’s not a rental price for that,” Merritt said. “So, it’s a heck of a deal for a large-scale event.”
Naples Police Lieutenant Michael O’Reilly told council there were more than 20 officers assigned to the event, and the organizer covered that cost, but the department likely lost revenue because the crowds disrupted its communication system.
“We, because of the overcrowding issue, could not get on our phone system to issue any parking citations along the beach ends,” O’Reilly said. “So, for approximately four to five hours, we have no parking enforcement on the beaches. But that would be an indirect cost I wouldn’t be able to quantify.”
Krol asked if the event had become a safety risk.
In answer, O’Reilly said: “Our opinion at the police department is the event is overcrowded. Has been overcrowded for several years. I don’t know that the challenge is surmountable.”
When will a decision be made on the permit for Cars on 5th?
A decision is not expected to be made until May or later, with all requests for special events involving Cambier Park in 2027 currently on hold, with future council discussions planned on the size limitations and security requirements for events at the central park.
City Manager Gary Young stressed that city staff was not asking council to take action on the 2027 car show at the meeting. He said the permit is “pending,” but the goal was to get the after-action report for the most recent event to council before it considered a new application.
Mayor Teresa Heitmann expressed concerns about safety due to the size of the event and described the aftermath of this year’s event as “unacceptable. She concurred it needs to be smaller, if it continues to be held in the city.
Vice Mayor Ted Blankenship agreed the event no longer seemed suitable for the city.
“I just agree with what almost everybody said,” he stated. “It just seems it’s gotten too big, with all the problems that it’s caused. With that growth, it just seems like it would be better placed — to have a home — somewhere else.”
Is the organizer interested in moving Cars on 5th?
In reaction to council’s criticisms and concerns, Tom O’Riordan, president of Naples Automotive Experience, who organizes the annual event, told the Daily News he still hopes to hold the show in Naples.
While some on city council have suggested the event has lost its local connection, he said he remains a city resident — and he’s still in the driver’s seat when it comes to Cars on 5th, although it has duPont REGISTRY Group as a new partner and sponsor and the Naples chapter of the Ferrari Club is no longer involved.
Years ago, he got involved in the event as the president of the local Ferrari Club.
“I didn’t create the thing,” he said. “But I think I made it better.”
The event has raised millions for charity. Despite the city’s rising costs for security and other services, it still generates a sizeable check for a good cause, O’Riordan said.
This year’s charity partner was Habitat for Humanity. The amount raised has yet to be announced.
Over the many years that he’s been involved in the event, O’Riordan said, “he’s never taken a penny from this thing.”
“It’s a full-time job,” he said. “I guarantee I put more than 2,000 hours into it. I enjoy it, and it’s for a good cause.”
If the city no longer wants the car show, O’Riordan said he’s not really interested in moving it elsewhere. At 70, he said it would be a heavy lift.
“For those that want us to go somewhere else, we’re not going anywhere else. We just wouldn’t do it,” he said.
Fifth is in the event’s name for a reason. It’s representative of the city’s main street, with international recognition, which makes it “extra special,” with opportunities for unique experiences with friends and family for event goers, O’Riordan said.
“If I move it out to Paradise Coast, it’s not the same,” he said. “It just becomes another show, just like another show on any Sunday, any place in America. We have lots of cars, but I think it’s really the package that makes Cars on 5th work.”
The clock is ticking on the future of Cars on 5th
For the event to be held on Fifth Avenue next year, O’Riordan wants an answer on the permit by June. He submitted the application to the city three weeks ago, but he understands it’s on hold for now.
Not having the event in downtown Naples, he said, would “kill the restaurants,” who need the extra business to help them survive the slower months, from May to October.
“It’s very interesting that I was on Fifth Avenue yesterday, talking to many of the merchants,” he said. “All of them support and love the show. I told them that it was in jeopardy, but none of them were really willing to step up and fight City Hall. They’re all worried about surviving this summer.”
Cars on 5th grew out of much smaller Ferrari Club gatherings, held elsewhere in the city. The event now draws car enthusiasts, spectators and collectors from around the world.
What do you think?
Some people think the popular Cars on 5th event has grown too big for the world-famous avenue and should be moved. What do you think? Please share your thoughts and suggestions at [email protected] and give your name and the city or community in which you live.
