Mets in Miami – Marlins Park Review

As some of you who follow me on twitter know (@dtwohig), last Friday I was in Miami and attended the Phillies-Marlins game.  Though I hated rooting for the Marlins, I was able to see Philadelphia eliminated from the playoffs, so I got that going for me.

While Marlins Park is an improvement over their prior stadium (Sun Life / Landshark / Dolphins / whatever ), it’s not a huge improvement.  While just about every other team has gone with a retro look, the Marlins went more modern – which immediately means it will look dated in 5 years.

Those rails on the left of the picture is what the roof slides back on when they decide to open it.  It was pointed out to me that if you look closely you can already see rust forming along these rails – one of many problems that have plagued the park since it opened (apparently the roof was leaking during the first storm it encountered back in April).

Once inside the park is very cold and garish.  Concourses are wide but have more of a football stadium feel than a baseball venue.  Can’t pinpoint exactly why – perhaps the stark industrialness has something to do with it.  It’s heavy on the concrete and the lighting is very stark.  The substantial AC vents are clearly visible throughout which only adds to the coldness of the place (I don’t mean temperature).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You get the idea.  Add in that lime green color throughout the park and it’s an eyesore.

 

 

As for that home run structure…all I can say is that I’ve seen more tasteful things in Las Vegas.  It’s ugly, cartoonish, and overshadows everything around it – including the US flag which flies on a short pole just to the left of it.

 

 

 

 

 

As far as food goes, I’ve been to 19 major league parks now, and this ranks at the bottom.  I enjoy sampling local fare wherever I go (Milwaukee’s selection of sausages can’t be beat).  At Marlins Park there is one stand – Taste of Miami – that offers something beyond the basic lowest level food.  Unfortunately finding the stand is near impossible and I never actually got to it.  The beer selection is even worse.  I found one stand with an IPA, other than that it’s Bud or Michelob.

Finally, there is The Clevelander.  I stopped in after the game and was not impressed.  For one of the “hot clubs” in Miami it was really lame.  And that pool – a waste of valuable space.

The one cool thing about Marlins Park is the Bobblehead Museum – a display case full oif bobbleheads from all over the league.  I will be posting pictures of that tomorrow.

One last note.  The park is located in Little Havana on the site of the old Orange Bowl.  The neighborhood around the park while not bad, is severely depressed and it doesn’t look like anything is going to be built up anytime soon.

 

So if you are going, enjoy the Mets, have some street food across the street, and boo this guy: