We were fortunate to be in Florida in 2012 for Cardinals Spring Training and Opening Day of the Marlins new stadium – Marlins Park. It was a very odd experience, with over-the-top displays all around that ended up being very awkward. We weren’t impressed with the location, new stadium design, or Marlins’ fan enthusiasm. The Cards fans were louder than the Marlins fans! This ballpark currently ranks at the very bottom of our list, and probably why it took me so long to write this blog…

Design

The retractable roof is probably the most unique part of the design. The outside design looks like something made for space. The most prominent inside feature was the home run sculpture in outfield, which we thought was extremely cheesy looking. Come to find out, the Marlins have already dismantled this and dispersed the parts throughout the stadium. They have a decent size scoreboard. There is not much of skyline view out of the stadium.

Location

The location was one of the worst parts. It was in a residentially area, and we literally paid to park in someone’s driveway (see below where we parked)! There wasn’t much to do in the surrounding area, and I was a little wary of parking our car at someone’s house.

Concessions

I unfortunately don’t remember trying the food or drinks.

Amenities

We did not see any special amenities or family friendly items that stood out. Restrooms, seat design, and team store, were pretty average.

Culture

The Opening Day & Ceremony activities were over-the-top, and some extremely awkward including having Muhammad Ali driven around the field and calling a military serviceman with really delayed responses. Below are a few of the displays that were pretty neat.

Here’s a video of the ridiculous home run sculpture that has since been dismantled.

The Marlins fan enthusiasm was almost non-existent. The Cards fans were louder than the Marlins fans! We also didn’t see the mascot, Billy the Marlin, at all.

Summary & Scoring

Date Visited: April 4, 2012
Game Played: Cardinals 4, Marlins 1 – Mostly Cardinal action with RBIs by Freese, Furcal, and Descalso. Box Score
Design:  – Nice retractable roof but ridiculous looking HR sculpture
Location: – Residential area where you had to park in someone’s driveway
Concessions: – Assume average (don’t remember)
Amenities: – Nothing notable stood out
Culture:  – Lowest fan enthusiasm we’ve ever seen – especially for an Opening Day at a new stadium!
Overall:  – The fan enthusiasm was extremely low for the first game ever played and Opening Day at Marlins Park. The retractable roof was nice but the stadium had a lot of cheesy features. The subpar location, lack of extras, and inability to put a winning team on field likely won’t help with boosting fan engagement.

Game Pictures & Videos