Celine Orlando Speaks Out About the Impact of After-Midnight Policing Fees on Nightlife Venues

Orlando nightlife venue Celine is speaking out about the city’s After-Midnight Alcohol Sales fee, raising concerns over how the program is applied and how much it is costing a select group of downtown businesses.

Since May 2023, downtown venues that serve alcohol after midnight have been required to hold an After-Midnight Alcohol Sales, or AMS, permit. According to the venue, businesses with a capacity of 125 or more are also required to pay the city for off-duty police officers on weekend nights, with payment required to keep the permit active.

The cost is significant. Under the highest fee level, Celine says it is currently charged $9,548.71 per month, including a 10% city administrative fee. From 2023 through 2025, the venue says it was billed a total of $328,952.25.

A major part of the dispute is how those costs are distributed. Citing Orlando Police Department figures from June 2026, the post says only 23 of 57 downtown bars and nightclubs pay the fee, while the other 34 do not. The officers funded through those payments patrol streets, sidewalks and garages across the wider district rather than being assigned exclusively to the businesses covering the cost.

The post also highlights several exemptions. According to the venue, the Kia Center, Camping World Stadium and hotel bars are exempt from the fee, while 34 other downtown bars and nightclubs in the same district pay $0. Celine, meanwhile, continues to pay more than $9,500 each month.

At the same time, the venue says it already invests in safety through ID checks, wanding, bag searches, pat-downs and a third-party professional security company. Its position is not against increased safety downtown, but against what it sees as an uneven system. The venue is also calling for greater transparency around how the money collected through the AMS program is being spent.

According to figures shared in the post, downtown Orlando venues were billed a combined $4,304,461.60 between 2023 and 2025. The venue also referenced data from NIVA showing broader challenges across Florida’s live entertainment industry, including inflation, insurance costs, rising artist fees and declining alcohol sales. The figures cited in the post state that only 35% of independent venues, festivals and promoters were profitable in 2024, despite the sector contributing $7.8 billion in economic output, supporting 52,018 jobs and generating $421.7 million in tax revenue.

The Orlando venue says it hosted 192 events in 2025, employs 43 people and books more than 300 local artists each year, with programming ranging from free weekly yoga to touring musicians, DJs and bands.

The campaign closes with a call for supporters to share the message, attend independent downtown venues and contact city leaders. The venue is asking for the AMS fees to be ended entirely and for a full public accounting of how the money collected through the program has been spent.