The Major League Baseball season has ended and with it The Florida
Marlins have said goodbye to Sun Life Stadium. The Marlins who will now
be known as The Miami Marlins began play in 1993 and have always seemed
out of place in this stadium that was designed for football. As of right
now the team’s new stadium will be called Marlins Ballpark. It stands
on the site of the former Orange Bowl and The Marlins are hoping that
the new stadium will be a shot in the arm for revenue. The Marlins rank
at the bottom of baseball in both payroll and attendance.
The team payroll has only exceeded $60 million once and the excuse
behind that has been the lack of attendance. The Marlins have not
averaged 20,000 fans in a season since 2005 when fans were still eager
to see them after they won The World Series in 2003. Attendance improves
a little when The Marlins play teams such as The New York Mets and
Philadelphia Phillies who have many fans that have relocated to South
Florida.
The main problem is that South Florida is not the place for a Major
League Baseball team to flourish. The summertime in Miami speaks for
itself. The sun is out, the girls are on the beach, and the clubs are
where the action is at. So why would anybody want to sit down and watch a
baseball game? Sporting events are not important in Miami as The NBA’s
Miami Heat found out last season. For the first part of the season, The
Heat could not get a full house at The American Airlines Arena. The fans
did not come out to support a basketball team led by superstars Lebron
James and Dwayne Wade which is why I don’t think they will run to
support a baseball team that finished last in The National League East.
The Marlins also have been a victim of numerous rainstorms in Miami
that have postponed games. Marlins Ballpark has a retractable roof that
will alleviate that problem. The Marlins faced opposition in the
community as the stadium project barely had enough approval by local
politicians, especially when this is a tough economic time and The
Marlins do not have a tremendous track record for bringing in revenue to
Miami.
The Marlins have taken some initiative to increase the buzz around
town by acquiring manager Ozzie Guillen from The Chicago White Sox. The
outspoken Guillen led The White Sox to The World Series crown in 2005
and he will look to motivate a team that has underachieved in the last
two seasons. Guillen needs a better effort out of All-Star shortstop
Hanley Ramirez who has developed a reputation around baseball as a prima
donna. The Marlins have traded numerous young players over the years
but decided to hold on to Ramirez and build their team around him.
Ramirez is talented, but he has drawn the ire of teammates and front
office personnel such as Hall of Famer Andre Dawson for his lack of
hustle and uninspired play.
Ramirez has a lifetime batting average of .306 and he has the
ability to hit 30 home runs every year. The Marlins rewarded him with a
six-year $70 million contract that runs through 2014 as the team expects
him to be a catalyst.
The new stadium approximately cost $515 million to construct with
The Marlins only picking up the tab on $155 million. The city of Miami
and Miami-Dade County put up the rest of the money. If The Marlins do
not succeed at this venue then they will be the latest in a line of
sports franchises to cry poverty in order to get a new stadium. It will
be tough for The Marlins as the only baseball that we need in Florida is
spring training.
Leave A Comment