You can have the nicest , newest stadium (with or without translucent roof lol) , in downtown location .....but if ownership shows no desire to field a contending team on a consistent basis , the fans will stay away. Every time. The above describes the Marlins history.
@@bryangonzalez4604Welcome to the dark side. Lately, our brand of baseball has been of the blowout fun, anxiety-enducing fun or "I'm going to jump off the Walt Whitman". Needless to say, we're obnoxiously passionate.
Yep. Exactly this. I'm a Phillies fan, and it's just sad that the Marlins are just consistently at the bottom of the division. I wish they were more competitive. It's just sad.
I don't get it. The stadium is in the heart of little Havana, it's not like the area is dead or anything. There's plenty of parking in the garages that are next to the ballpark, the freeway is relatively close, the tickets are dirt cheap... like wtf
The problem with the Marlins is that for as long as they've existed, they've never had an owner the fans felt they could trust. After winning the WS in 97, there was a fire sale....After winning in 2003, another fire sale....New stadium..owner was a cheap prick....Things started to turn around when Jeter came in and they got Kim Ng as a GM, but after two playoff appearances in 4 years, she leaves and Jeter resigns......Its a never ending saga. If they got an owner who spent some money, fans would come back for sure.
Part of me wonders how many of those there are. I'm not even talking about going back to Bill Veeck, in the 80s when teams were affordable for at least the average millionaire you had a lot more people who could be trusted to not line heir own pockets. As the teams get much more expensive, the number of available owners shrinks and the number of potential good owners who care about the fans goes down.
The reality is that the team doesn’t have enough revenue to pay players. After a World Series, everyone wants to get paid, and the Marlins are already running in the red every year. To the front office, it makes sense to capitalize on the players’ success and trade them for young prospects that aren’t going to cost tens of millions. It’s just like any other low revenue team - you need to rely on the farm system to bring up cost-controlled talent. The Yankees, the Dodgers, Phillies, etc. can afford to have big free agents. Not many other teams can afford to build a good team with free agents…
I’ve been to this stadium for a college football bowl game. The roof was open. It’s a great venue. Just a shame the Marlins can’t field a compelling team. As for the stadium’s future - their lease is up in 2047. The Marlins will play there until then, good or bad. And a lot can happen with a team between now and then.
The White Sox and Marlins should trade owners. That way Reinsdorf gets his new stadium and the White Sox keep playing in The Cell until a new stadium can be built back across the street or Arlington Heights.
Loandepot park is seriously an amazing park, it sucks that the marlins stink because if they filled that park it would be electric! The WBC is a great example!
Florida and sports just do not work, people just have other things they want to do. Even if they were good they still would not draw well. Rays are in the same boat, even they are good they don’t draw part of that is location but other part is being in Florida..
Marlins are always ready to dump payroll. I have always called them a 4A minor league team. Think about the players that they could have kept over the years if they weren't on a perennial payroll dump. You don't build dynasties that way....
@@scotttildummmm, Marlins drew nearly 30k the first season in Loan Depot with a fire sale! Sports work in South Florida! Heat, Dolphins, and Panthers all sellout!!!! But lease fact check before speaking. Marlins ownership is shit and always have been yet you expect the people to come? Tuh
The Miami taxpayers have funded essentially the ENTIRE stadium with the promise that the Marlins would spend more money to attract/keep stars on the franchise. Since the opening of LoanDepot Park, South Florida and the disgruntled Miami Marlins fandom has seen THREE FIRE SALES, and the stadium isnt even 20 years old. So the residents are pissed that they're paying for the stadium, the traffic situation in Miami-Dade continues being a massive issue, they don't trust the Marlins owners at all, and of course the death of Jose Fernandez also was a very difficult moment to process. I will never ever ever blame the residents for not going, but at the same time I'm also never going to accept the notion that Miami isn't a "baseball city," with the attendance figures of the World Baseball Classic and Caribbean Series proving otherwise.
As a Mets fan i don’t think this stadium is slightly underrated i believe its very underrated. Architectural wise it’s a beautiful ballpark ! I actually wish they never messed with the stronger pitcher friendly dimensions it had originally but at least it still plays some what pitcher friendly. The WBC from 2023 was the best one I’ve ever watched on tv and wished I would have attended to scratch off Loan depot park off my ballpark chasing list but unfortunately didn’t make it. That Puerto Rico VS Dominican Republic game was wild ! It even costed my Mets Edwin Diaz for a whole season. Hopefully they won’t shrink the dimensions again. Love the window they have in LF with the Miami skyline looming in the distance. The park is a gem 💎
How do you have an opinion on a stadium you've never visited? The stadium is overrated trust me. It has no character, nothing going on around the stadium.
@@victormarinjr3230 well I’ve been to Tropicana field and I can assure you this place is most likely 10x better. That was by far the shittiest ballpark I’ve ever been to.
@@BK_718 I've been to Tropicana, and yes it looks nicer but your comparing it to the ugliest stadium in baseball. Its not that great, I'm sure you've been to Citi field, if you compare it to Citi you will be let down. Citi field feels like a baseball stadium there is a culture to the stadium Loan depot is very bland, cookie cutter, and during the game the entertainment is also very bland they don't really do any hype videos or go out of there way to get the crowd pumped, like they did in pro player. Hopefully you get to go one day and experience it for yourself, if you have the opportunity to go during the WBC that's a whole different experience as far as the atmosphere and vibe the place gets crazy.
@@victormarinjr3230 yeah man I feel you. I believe loan depot is still hosting the WBC event for 2026 🤔 they put the list out for the hosting ballparks.
I went to a game there in 2018 against the Red Sox, great stadium, beautiful night with the roof open, then again, it was early April when I went there, just extremely difficult to get there with the traffic in constant gridlock and the attendance was only a little over 11,000 with the upper deck closed.
I go to the stadium when the Giants are in town. which was the last 2 Aprils. Absolutely beautiful weather each time...but they had the roof closed!! It was like a mausoleum. Depressing. I understand a closed roof when it's 100 degrees and 100% humidity but on the rare comfortable Miami days please open the roof!
The Miami Heat have no issue filling the arena and traffic is 10x worse. I’ve never had an issue getting to a marlins game as I’m not a dumb tourist or broward/palm beach person that doesn’t know how to get around traffic
@@jayboogie1295 But the Heat had LeBron, Wade, Allen, and others that won titles for the Heat, later they still were competitive. And the Heat like you said had no trouble filling the stands, even after that dream team broke up. But apparently baseball is different in Florida - The Rays went to the World Series twice - and fans still didn't show. Would be curious to see what the home attendance was when the Marlins won their 2 championships.
Why would you assume MLB would step in? They’ve allowed the athletics and the rays to play in subpar facilities for more than a decade! nobody’s stepping in, nobody wants to go to the games and it’s just going to continue like that. The Rays have 3:30 had competitive teams over the last several years and still they have 10,000 people on average per game and that’s honestly being generous!
It doesn't help that 'EVERYTIME' the Marlins have been halfway competitive, they've followed it up by trading away everyone, and tanking the following year. They're still doing it. They were a playoff team last year, and their ownership has given up on this year. Can you blame the people of Miami for not caring?
took a trip to Miami few weeks ago and I checked out Loan depot park, it wasn't as bad as its made out to be. Then again I'm mostly going to the coliseum in Oakland so anything is an upgrade
Fellow A’s fan here in SoCal now. I visited Miami earlier this month and the stadium had more Phillies fans than marlins fans. It was a nice stadium but with no ambience due to it not having a competitive team. Boo fisher and kaval
I live in Fort Lauderdale and I enjoy all the times I've been to the park (I'll go to a series or 3 every year. Also I know one of the announcers on the team). I went to the ASG when it was here also. (Not that hard to get that ticket either lol) The problem as mentioned by some in the comments is parking and yes, the team hasn't been good. As mentioned, there are better options. Put me in the minority here but I didn't like the fact they got rid of the swimming pool. That was an awesome touch and in that area you could see right into the visiting teams bullpen. I'll agree with getting rid of that monstrosity during HRs was a good move.
Miami likes winners or at least attempt to win. Fans are bitter because of what team owners did selling off players and refusing to spend to be competitive. They also scammed taxpayers to fund the stadium that needed the historic orange bowl to be demolished. They need an owner who’s willing to invest in a few stars
At least the Marlins have had more success (2 World Series wins within their first 10 years) than many other teams though. Hell, five other teams wish they had at least one title.
The only highway near this stadium (836 Dolphin Expressway) is constantly gridlocked and perpetually under construction. It's a nightmare stretch every local tries to avoid. It starts getting backed up every day around 2pm until about 8pm.
If they could put on a consistent playoff team and have ownership that was willing to spend money i think miami would support them better. I think alot of fans stoped caring during their two firesales after they won the world series
My family went to two games a number of years ago when Fernandez, Stanton, Yelich, Ozuna and Realmuto were on the team (hard to believe they had all those guys) ... and we had the whole section on the middle level to ourselves. The players were traded (of course Fernandez died) and then Jeter took all the Miami flavor out of the interior of the stadium. I don't know how they will succeed.
On the surface, it seems like a decent idea, but in Atlanta, they turned the old Braves stadium into a college football stadium, and it's just about the weirdest, most awkward football stadium you can imagine.
I’ve been there a couple times since I’m from Florida but the location and bad traffic make it hard and plus since they have Ben bad for so many years and multiple fire sales and rebuild and losing fans it’s been bottom 5 offense and attendance since 2013.
Consider bringing back the Memphis Maniax as the "Miami Maniax" at Hard Rock Stadium or using LoanDepot Park for football events for both the Maniax and the Dolphins.
MLB people have this weird sense of entitlement, like if they just do "something" then they'll sell out every game in Miami, and the only question is trying to figure out what that "something" is.
Everyone have to remember about Marlins Park, this park was build after the demise of the legendary Orange Bowl and every Miami fan hated that idea. I agree, the Marlins needed a new ballpark but to replace the Orange Bowl for Marlins Park was a huge slap in the face. Also throw in the amount of stabbing in the back from the Marlins ownership/president (whoever’s in charge of trading players) to the fans. The Marlins franchise as a whole, take away the World Series, the franchise never had consistency of winning, and it’s sad and frustrating for the fans which led to low attendance. The World Baseball Classic drew lots of fans at Marlins Park, remember lots of fans in Miami are Dominican, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and baseball is popular in those areas. It’s sad to see where the Marlins is at right now after the successful season last year, the owner just wants to reset once again, it’s basically rinse and repeat and a continue cycle throughout the Marlins franchise.
I live in so cal and I'm still a San Diego chargers fan. Not even a thing. But it just felt like players are too comfy living in such nice areas esp when their house over looks the ocean seeing everyone party. Comparison to mid west they see the grind of everyday workers and it snowing lol.
The problem with many of the large venues in places like Florida where one can catch a sporting event either free or much lower than one would spent in a professional stadium or arena. Florida is a football state like many in the south. Professional Baseball games in most stadiums are just too expensive and even more for Floridians. With tickets and all, a group of 2, 3, or 4 could easily spent between $500 to $1,500 with regular seats tickets included per game.
There are no bars or places to eat or have fun outside the park. Additionally, there are many empty storefronts. However, the inside of the park is very nice and you can walk around and sit wherever you want. It's also frustrating that Ticketmaster charges high fees for tickets. I miss being able to buy cheap tickets from scalpers outside. The parking and traffic situation getting there is also terrible. I wish they could bring back Joe Robbie Stadium.
Went to a game there a couple weeks ago: 2 tickets including fees were $18, parking was $20. I even searched for $10 parking out of principle and couldn’t find any.
The problem with Florida baseball in general is that the majority of the population are not native to the area. Most people that go to these games are from somewhere else and they are there to see their teams - including the Non MLB games. OK - so there are a lot of people at the Caribbean games or world games. Those people are there to see their home country - not Miami. MLB games (and NFL) - most people are there to see the Yankees. The Mets. The White Sox. The Cubs. The Phillies. The Red Sox. Etc etc. Go to ANY game and ask ANYONE "Who is Skipper Chuck" and I guarantee that almost no one will know the answer. Give it 100 years when people really say they are from Miami - then maybe you might get a crowd.
Miami is an event city, the people, the fans, wont attend if they dont feel like its an event. If Miami fans think they have a winning team, theyll flock in droves to the games. Miami fans want to feel the games mean something for something more, but if you just have a sad loser which the Marlins have been for a loonnngg time no one will go because the random lucky win here and there mean nothing. Miami is not some blue collar diehard fan type of city, it is 'Can it be a party there?' type of city, and to make it a party, you win meaningful games. If Marlins made a deep playoff run theyd sell out no doubt. Otherwise its just too hot to leave the house.
They should’ve never gotten rid of the outfield statue or the green walls. They took all the life out of that place. I actually think their original rebrand with the orange uniforms was way better than anything they’ve had since. Should’ve just moved to Charlotte anyways
My mother and I were watching a Phillies game hear and she thought this was a nice ballpark, my suggestion get rid of the retractable roof and replace it with an arched or dome tinted sunroof that lets in enough light to grow natural grass and provides enough clearance for hard it balls. The other thing would improve the farm system and spend money on good players. Baseball cant keep playing this game of musical cities.
@@alexisr.diazmartinez5900 Fort Lauderdale is closer to the center of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Palm Beach metro population. But I doubt a ballpark there would do much better.
Why don't the Rays build a stadium in the big grass area right next to Raymond James Stadium? That was the former site of the Big Sombrero and it's actually in Tampa.
The AAA is waterfront in downtown with it's own Metrorail stop. LoanDepot is in the middle of the Little Havana ghetto with horrible traffic to get there and nothing to do around the area.
First, hire some baseball people who know what the hell they’re doing. Second, rename the stadium to Marlins Park @ the Orange Bowl. (That’s the location of the old Orange Bowl stadium before someone decided to tear it down for THIS.)
I live in west Palm with is about an hour or so away, I just got into baseball but the marlins put me to sleep. I’d really love to go but the team needs to improve.
This was a beautifully designed ballopark, in a good location, and is fantastic for fans and players. The issues with the Marlins have nothing to do with the stadium, unlike Oakland and Tampa Bay. Recommend looking up David Sampson talking about the issues. They are unique to Miami.
The ownership group doesn't even pretend to try to win. It's sad. Even when they won their 2 WS, they broke down the team the following year. Not a recipe for building a fan base.
At least they have those two World Series wins, five other franchises have never had that kind of success. Hell, the Expos were a prime example of a team that never cared about winning. Only had one playoff season in their 35 years and I always heard they never had strong fan support in Montreal in part because it’s more French.
@@RB01.10 Funny you use the Expos as an example. I grew up in West Palm Beach and used to go to the stadium as a kid to watch them during Spring Training.
As a lifelong marlins fan here's a few things that other people would never understand. The location is horrible south Florida is ridiculously huge and getting to a game is a traffic nightmare but most importantly the biggest problem that nobody understands is that people in Miami hate the marlins with a passion since 1998 and still haven't forgave them.
@@edwardeduardo8561 because in 1997 they won the World Series and 10 minutes later ownership dismantled the whole team. A huge chunk of the fanbase never forgave them and because of it attendance went from constantly being top 15 to being in the bottom
I have been in Florida for 16 years. Originally from New Jersey. The only team that draws in the Tampa area is the Lightning. Because their season runs in the winter time. When all the money comes down here from the northern states , and Canada. Plain and simple.
It’s only a “crazy lease” because the franchise is a tire fire and no one wants to go to the games. It’s a perfectly appropriate lease length in exchange for the obscene taxpayer ripoff that Loria and Samson perpetrated.
Florida was ideal as a Grapefruit spring training state for a number of MLB teams before the bad weather arrived. People from other cities living in Florida full-time would go to the games along with baseball-rabid tourists from out of state to cheer on their home teams. Then, in early April, the teams would head north and leave the bad weather behind them. Absolutely foolish to put full-time MLB teams there, and it's not going to change in either Miami or Tampa.
@@RB01.10 So what? My point is Florida does not appear the be a state where citizens are big on MLB teams of their own. Couple what with the bad weather summer months and indoor baseball, and you get the kind of bad attendance numbers you see, even when the teams are good.
After several bad years of play, the Marlins would get #1 and other high draft picks. Then in a few years, start winning again. This happened with the Astros. But there's another team that used to stink, mainly because they were an expansion team. And they also got better, good enough to contend, even make the World Series twice. They're in the same state as the Marlins, of course I'm talking about the Tampa Bay Rays. Despite being a World Series contender, the fans still don't show up. Even if the Marlins got better (and they themselves have _won_ two World Series), the fans _still_ wouldn't show up. Too much else to do in the Sunshine State, and it's @#$% Hot in the Summertime.
I know the WBC exists but that may be because Miami is a town that will either come as tourists to view the spectacle or support the Cuban National Team. It’s not a town for a MLB franchise, even if the Marlins were winning, they’d still have an attendance of around 20K. Many people in Miami are fans of the big market clubs like the Yankees, Dodgers, and Cubs. Fielding a competitive team may not help unless they make the playoffs 6-8 years in a row.
The problem is the ownership not putting a consistent and fun product. In Miami is all about stars and a fun product. Look at the Heat, they built on the first championship and the franchise changed the attendance problem forever! They used to tarp off sections in the upper deck at the AAA. Look at what the Panthers have done! The Dolphins have sold out every game the last couple of years and look at Inter Miami. The Marlins need to have stars and a fun product and attendance will be up! No doubt about it! Go Fish!
They just think moving to a new area will get tickets sold? I mean yeah for a little because of the trend but not the numbers they want. Again they just want to profit, not invest.
Unless it can be converted to a football stadium for UM I don't see Miami letting the team out of the lease since the bonds are back loaded so they will be paying hundreds of millions in the last 5 years of the lease.
its a domed stadium DUHHHHHHH I only expected them to have the roof open on perfect weather evenings anyhow. The summertime is the rainy season in Florida so you cant expect them to have the roof open every game do you? Especially with the heat and humidity. Also its not that South Florida is not interested in Baseball, The Ownership has shown that they aren't interested in the fan base because they continually disrespect the fan base by putting a lack luster product on the field. Players cant have good seasons because they are worried about if they do they will be traded. Thats why Jeter left... yeah he made some mistakes but he also did some good for the team and when he found out that Ownership wasn't into spending money he left because he felt he couldn't be apart of that. I don't blame him.. In a nutshell this is whats wrong with that team..
FYI - LoanDepot, LLC is non-banking, mortgage financing company, headquartered in the Los Angeles suburb of Irvine, California. What could possibly go wrong with LoanDepot, LLC Park? - Marlins ownership sucks - Team sucks - Empty stadium - Cost $634 million dollars to build - Mortgage interest rates are up the wazoo - LoanDepot, LLC is losing their shirts spending a fortune for naming rights ($10 million dollars a year) to put their name outside the wall of the stadium 🤦♂️
Winning team = high attendance Loosing team = low attendance 4 playoff attendances in the last 27 years. Why would you spend money on attending a game for a team that is popularly known from Palm Beach down to Key West as a loosing team, when you could spend it on: Florida Panthers - 4 consecutive playoffs appearances including a Stanley cup final. Miami Heat 25 playoff attendances in 36 years of franchise. 3 championships in the bag. Dolphins - Tua and McDaniel pumping up the franchise with 2 consecutive playoffs appearances. Inter Miami - Besides having the soccer GOAT in the team alongside other world champions, they already won Leagues Cup, and are currently leaders in their league’s division. For those claiming the traffic and the stadium location, just look at the attendance numbers for the 2023 WBC and 2024 Caribbean Series. People will do whatever to see their team play. But it is almost impossible to build a fanbase when you don’t give anything to feel proud of.
Winn-Dixie should buy the naming rites. Thats a south Florida institution. Make every day BAT DAY and hand them out BEFORE THE GAME plus make all alcoholic beverages BOGO and served at the same time. Upper Deck Seats should ALWAYS be five dollar with ten-cent beer, and dollar MEDIA NOCHES.
The Florida Marlins signed their own death certificate moving to MIA. They had the opportunity to keep their fan base moving 2 broward where the working ppl of SFLA live. They took the bait of the glamour/lights of MIA. #UMakeUrBedUSleepInIt
Spring training is the only thing that really works in FL it is that simple. Heat even when they were good didn’t draw well, FL is a vacation spot and people have more things they want to do then sit inside. Why NHL never worked in FL either.
It’s Miami there is just way to many other things to do then to go watch a team with a 10-40 record. Take a look at the WBC attendance and the Caribbean Series Attendance that’s what Miami will bring if the owners have a damn
The Heat , Dolphins have great ownership.. the marlins have had poor owners.. Jeffery Loria and his former step son were carpet baggers , cash strapped , who sold as soon as they could after fleecing the city for the stadium
IN MIAMK WE ARE NOT GOING TO A GAME TO WATCH THEM LOSE. IF THEY WIN AND SHOW THAT THEY ARE TRYING TO WIN WE WILL COME BUT IF THE OWNERSHIP DONT CARE AND DONT WANT TO SPEND WHY SHOULD WE....
People complaining about Marlins performance on the field miss the point. The whole point of a new ballpark is to carry you when the team is not that good. The ballpark becomes an attraction in and of itself. If you have a beautiful new facility, your attendance shouldn’t tank during the years you’re trying to rebuild your team. It’s supposed to stay respectable until the team gets good again. You shouldn’t be tarping off seats a few years into the life of a new ballpark no matter how bad the team is . There just isn’t enough interest in Miami. It’s a simple as that.
I think the only focus right now in miami sports is Messi because the heat aren’t great and the marlins aren’t in a good situation the dolphins are ok but miami feels like it’s just Messi
Which is hilarious because MLS is viewed globally as a developmental league for the more elite Europe leagues and for old athletically declining star players who are at the twilight of their careers
