Miami Marlins

Marlins Park

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Friday, May 11, 2018

While shooting the show “Color Splash: Miami,” I decided to hit up another ballpark with part of the cast & crew (Carlos Carmona, Wes Coventry, and Adam Howell). It had been just under 7 years since I’d been able to cross another park off my list, and almost 10 years since the summer of 2003 when I really got going on this project (Although I have revisited quite a few parks I had already checked off on the list). So it felt good to get back into the groove!

I didn’t realize right away that the stadium was only one year old. Its inaugural season was 2012, so I visited the park early in its second season. The site is the old home of the Miami Orange Bowl, which held many eventful football games and was torn down and replaced by Marlins park.

The park looks like a huge UFO landed in Miami. With its silver sides and curved glass, it reminded me a bit of the Arizona Cardinals University of Phoenix football stadium. Very modern, indeed. And it has two towering columns that jut out of the circular structure which holds the roof when it is opened. It sort of forms a porch over the entrance. (not pictured, but I have seen it driving down the freeway). And that’s right, you can play baseball in Miami rain or shine now.

And taking a step back, this park is really remarkable. It is the first park built in years that is not a “retro” park, reversing a trend that has been going on for nearly 20 years. It has no brick or exposed steel in its facade to mimic the turn of the century (1900‘s) parks. It is a park that looks forward to the future, instead of to baseball’s nostalgic past.

We had a little trouble getting tickets — not that they were sold out by any means, but because the kiosks were not connecting properly. After picking up the tickets from the booth, we headed up a long ramp. Apparently a bit short on staff, it wasn’t really clear where the entrance was. Every level looked like some VIP entrance, so we wandered around for a while. Eventually we walked in and headed to our seats.

First impressions were good. The park looked brand new. It’s retractable roof was closed, due to the possibility of rain. There is an amazing view of downtown Miami right out the windows in left and center field, which is really a great design. I also noticed a strange “Spanish tile” sculpture with flamings in center field. Pretty gaudy? Or perfectly Miami? I’m not sure I can still decide. But it appears to light up and move when a home run is hit (I am assuming).

It was half-price Tuesdays at the park, and a whopping 13,000 people showed up (or at least paid for tickets). So our $34 row D seats (purchased for $17, plus fees) seemed like they should be decent. But as we kept heading down, we realized our seats were quite good for the price we paid. Turns out, row “D” is basically the first row of the section, with only VIPS below us (of which there were none). Can’t beat that.

The food selection was surprisingly limited. They had standard hot dogs, a pizza stand, and Mexican stand, and a burger stand. We eventually found one sushi kiosk and one smoothie kiosk. But nothing else. I had been watching a trend growing of gourmet food in ballparks. But they seem to have dialed it back to more basic offerings. In some ways that’s nice, but if you’re watered up for garlic fries of a “Chicago” style hot dog, don’t expect to find them here.

On the plus side, they did have a “Bobblehead Museum.” Strange, yet quite hypnotic. It’s a selection of bobbleheads from various teams in a large plastic stand-alone case that gently shakes back and forth to allow the viewer to fully appreciate the bobble. NL on one side, AL on the other. Again, strange, but it brought a smile to my face to see those little guys shake all game long.

Also, in left field, the famous South Beach Hotel/Bar “Cleavender” has a ballpark location that includes a bar and small pool which you can visit for an additional $50 entrance fee. We did not partake in the is activity, but I guess if you just can’t leave the club scene to watch a baseball game, this seems to be a good compromise. And yes, I’m being a bit sarcastic here, if you can’t tell.

Just before headed out, we hit the restroom. And I have to say, I think it was the cleanest ballpark restroom I’ve ever been to. That may have to do with the fact there the park is barely a year old, or that there were only a few thousand people in attendance, but either way… That was a nice change! (sorry, no photo) :

We ended up seeing an entertaining game with over 20 hits combined from both teams, but the Marlins ended up losing 3-7 to the Phillies, continuing their tough season.

Getting back in the swing of things (please pardon the baseball analogy) was great. Seeing a new ballpark is always fun. Now let’s see… Just how far of a drive is it to Tampa Bay???

Update: I headed back to Miami and watched a game with the Countdown crew on May 2, 2018 (vs. Philadelphia Phillies). And then we returned to film UFC Fighter Yoel Romero on May 11, 2018 (vs. Atlanta Braves). Shaq was there on the field and met Yoel. We later went up to the Oweners Box and met former Yankee and now Marlins investor Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez (sorry, no pictures of that!).