CLEVELAND _ The building may no longer be his business home, but it will forever be his address.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez on Monday announced that Northeast 7th Street, which runs perpendicular to the front of AmericanAirlines Arena, will now be called Dwyane Wade Boulevard.
"To my great honor, on the weekend of commemoration and retirement of Dwyane Wade's jersey, when I handed him the key to the city, to name, as of today, Dwyane Wade Boulevard _ 7th Street and Biscayne Boulevard _ on behalf of the greatest athlete in the history of South Florida," Suarez said in a video posted on his social media.
"I can't wait to share this honor with him and his family. And I'm thankful to the City of Miami commissioners who unanimously supported by resolution."
Wade was honored for three days at the Miami Heat's arena over the weekend, including the raising of his iconic No. 3 to the rafters at halftime of Saturday night's victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The three-time NBA champion was in Los Angeles on Monday to attend the Kobe Bryant memorial service at Staples Center.
The idea of the designation had been championed since Aug. 2018 by 790-The Ticket morning radio host Brendan Tobin, who along the way had reached out to several Heat personalities to assist in his campaign.
"Give Dwyane Biscayne, now," former Heat center and current team executive Alonzo Mourning said in a Tobin promotional video.
"Let's pay homage," Wade's former Heat teammate Caron Butler said.
"Give Dwyane Biscayne," Heat guard Goran Dragic said.
"Simply put, we want Dwyane Wade Boulevard," University of Miami basketball coach Jim Larranaga said.
Of the idea coming to fruition, Tobin said Monday, "I'm happy it finally happened. He absolutely deserves it. And it was the right thing to do."
Tobin said he had his doubts after it took the Dallas Mavericks only three weeks to create a street name in front of their home arena for Dirk Nowitzki, who, like Wade, retired after last season.
"I was losing a little bit of faith," he said. "I had a lot of great conversations on it with people in the Mayor's office. But I was skeptical. Now I'm waiting for the ceremony."
