World Cup side hustle: Miami Gardens residents park cars for extra cash

• But this is the summer of soccer — and when FIFA is charging around $200 for parking, locals can make an extra buck selling discounted spots.

What they're saying: Ahead of the Colombia-Portugal match last month, Nick Rice stood on Northwest 27th Avenue waving down drivers to park with him.

• Rice tells Axios he made about $1,800 during the opening World Cup match in Miami.
• He has been selling parking at his home and neighbors' lots for about two years. "Mostly I do it for [Formula 1] and the World Cup. That's where we make the money at, bigger than the football games."
• He can fit over 20 cars and has been charging about $50–$60 per spot during the World Cup.

Friction point: Further south on 27th Avenue, Eric Hernandez says police have been restricting access to his street during some matches, cutting him off from customers.

• He's been selling parking at his home for the past 20 years.

• Speaking to Axios ahead of the Colombia-Portugal match, Hernandez watched as an officer once again blocked access to his street, with just two of his six parking spots full.
• "Sometimes you can do it and sometimes you can't because the police don't let us," Hernandez said in Spanish. "They are big events and the cops want to protect tourists coming from other countries, even though this isn't a bad area."

Still, he said having the World Cup and other sporting events at Hard Rock is a positive for him.

• "It's not much, but it's something."