From the Sun Sentinel
Review by Austin Hersh in KIN 332 (Section 1)
When a city has a baseball team that has just finished in the cellar of their division, has a very weak fan base and no clear sight of future success what do you do? Apparently in Miami, Florida, you build a brand new $515 million stadium.
The Florida Marlins have been the joke around the National League since their World Series championship in 2003. Not only due to the lack of talent, and lack of fan base, but to the fact that they were one of two Major League Baseball teams to still play in a football stadium. With ticket sales continuing to decline, the Marlins decided to move out of the stadium they have always called home.
The new facility features a retractable roof, climate control when the roof is closed and many other state of the art upgrades. But even with the new stadium and all of the excitement, the glamour of the ballpark will quickly wear off if there is no production on the field.
Even with opening day sellouts expected, baseball has to be the hardest professional sport to market due to the lengthy season. With promises to increase team payroll to attract fans, the Marlins seem to want to wait last minute to put a winning team on the field. But as the Minnesota Twins learned this season payroll does not win games. Since the inaugural season of the Twins new stadium, the team has gone from a division winning team to last place in the division all while increasing payroll by $97.7million. Money can buy many things, but team chemistry, and fan loyalty are not on that list.
Without the guarantee of the renovated team giving the fans what they want, it then falls on the marketing team to fill the new seats. The article speaks about a 41-game ticket package which includes marquee games against the Red Socks, and Yankees who have some of the most fan loyalty in all of sports.
Team President David Samson has stated, “It is the most important offseason in the history of our franchise.” The newly found hype and excitement about this ball club is something that has been lacking since the teams championship in 2003. The major question marks would also tend to mean that job security could be in question for many, if the Marlins continue their old ways in their new home.
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