Naples has lost its biggest car show after the council refused the 2027 application, and the organiser's own site now advertises a four day event on February 4 to 7 under a new name

Naples is losing the event that filled Fifth Avenue South every February, and it is not going far.

Gulf Coast News reported on Tuesday that Cars on 5th will move to Bayshore Drive in 2027, outside the Naples city limits, after more than twenty years in the city. Layza Pinero Resto and Kendall Brandt reported that the organisers announced the move on Friday in a social media post.

The city closed the door first. According to that report, Naples City Council voted in June to deny the show's 2027 application, citing growing safety and logistical concerns, and said it wanted to work with organisers on a revised proposal. Tom O'Riordan, chief executive of Naples Automotive Experience, told the station the city's proposed changes would not have been financially viable, and that he decided in July not to go ahead inside the city limits. He said there had been a narrative that the show was going to get bigger, and that the only interest was in making the experience better.

This desk reported on July 30 that the show would not apply to return to Fifth Avenue South and that Collier County commissioners were in talks to keep it in the county. Those talks have now produced an address.

County Commissioner Rick LoCastro told the station he had been in talks with O'Riordan for a couple of months and that they had met leaders from fire, EMS and the sheriff's office to work through logistics. Business owners on Bayshore Drive told the station they were glad to have it.

The organiser's own site has already been rebuilt around the new arrangement. It now runs the event as Naples Automotive Experience, banners the dates as February 4 to 7, 2027, and describes a four day programme opening with a reception on February 4. Tickets are listed as coming soon. The station reported the show itself as Saturday February 6, with a reception at the Jetport the evening before, and February 6 does fall on a Saturday.

One thing on the public record does not line up. The event site says the show supports Habitat for Humanity of Collier County. O'Riordan told the station that proceeds will be donated to the Patty Baker Humane Society. Neither statement has been withdrawn, and this publication has not established which is current.

The Naples City Council record of the June vote was not obtained for this item, and the account of that vote rests on the station's reporting.