Attendance

[Richard]

I actually attended the game on Friday night and the announced crowd was 14,000. I do not get it. Do not tell me that there aren't baseball fans here. I live here and for some reason there are NO Marlins fans except for me. I attended a Marlins-Yankees game a few years ago and 40,000 fans were there, unfortunately most of whom were Yankees fans and Boston Red Sox interleague games are well attended. Last year the Marlins drew 25,000 and 43,000 respectively during the Barry Bonds home run chase. The radio and television ratings are actually very good. It's not easy being a Marlins fan. A triple-A baseball game last night I think in Columbus drew over 10,000 last night.

[Steve Jeltz]

There are baseball fans in Miami, but they are either Yankee, Red Sox or Met fans that moved to Florida. Unless there is a reason to go to a game, i.e. Bonds going after the record, hardly anybody comes or cares. Even when the Marlins were making the wild card chase in 2003, people did not come out until September. Miami is a Dolphins town

[donzblock]

If yesterday's game was a home game for the Marlins, then Ramirez's two homers were gobbled up by thousands of empty seats. Was that a home game for Florida? True, the opponent was the Reds, but if that is the kind of crowd that turns out on a Sunday, then baseball does not belong in Miami.

[Richard]

I was there and the attendance was pathetic. Like I said, there plenty of baseball fans here, unfortunately, many are Yankees, Red Sox, Mets or Cubs fans.

[Gallic Gun]

It seems like it might be a geographical issue. Whenever the Braves are in Florida for a series, I always see how poor the attendance is, even when the fish are having a great year. You guys already have more WS than us and haven't been around very long, also had to win them by Wild Card which isn't easy.
What all does the park offer to attract fans?

[Richard]

The park is nice, but is certainly feels like a football stadium.

[1927Marlins]

The park is nice, but is certainly feels like a football stadium.

hmmm, the park is certainly NOT nice, even when there's 29,000 it still feels like nobody is there because all the fans are all so spaced out from each other...the stadium itself is in the middle of nowhere, and it feels so generic, it doesn't even feel like a football stadium either.

[Richard]

You are right, I can't wait for the new stadium. I won't hold my breath because we can never trust a politician especially Dade County politicians. I'll believe it once I see a shovel in the ground.

[GreekGuy87]

You are right, I can't wait for the new stadium. I won't hold my breath because we can never trust a politician especially Dade County politicians. I'll believe it once I see a shovel in the ground.

I can't wait either. Every team in our division will have good stadiums. Not that I don't like watching a game in Dolphin but a real ballpark would be great to see Mets & Marlins. Plus I think a new stadium would do WONDERS for attendance.

And what do you mean you don't trust the politicians...isn't it a done deal that its going to be made?

[Richard]

There is a pending lawsuit which may delay construction and Dade County is notorious for shady, incompetent politicians.

[Richard]

These crowds are pathetic. In their inaugural year the Marlins drew well in excess of two million fans and I just do not get it, regardless of gas prices or distance or whatever. The seats are full in St. Louis, Chicago, New York, Houston, Detroit. LA for both teams, Milwaukee, Boston, Philadelphia and sometimes Cleveland, Atlanta, Cincinnati and Washington with a bad team and elsewhere, but I see plenty Yankee, Mets, Red Sox and Cubs hats around here. As a baseball I detest living here in Florida. This team deserves better support at the park.

[PatTheBat5]

Can I tell you how much of a disgrace it was to see Ken Griffey Jr. hit #600 in Florida? The games in Philly were all sold out for that series and the Marlins pulled in 50 extra fans.

[mrakbaseball]

Just move the Marlins to Portland. Have them compete with the Blazers for entertainment dollars. Give the Mariners a regional rival. Competition is a good thing.

[nymetsgiantspolo]

Does this lawsuit from Braman actually stand a chance?

I don't believe so, although it seems somewhat legitimate (not saying he doesn't have ulterior motives).

The attendance is well not great, but let's see what they can do if they stay in the playoff hunt through August... which shouldn't be too hard considering the NL East.

[mrakbaseball]

Move the Marlins to Portland. Miami has had enough chances to construct a ballpark. With the Marlins in Portland, Seattle would have to field a winning team to maintain a fan base. No more "profits over championships". b.s.

[nymetsgiantspolo]

Move the Marlins to Portland. Miami has had enough chances to construct a ballpark. With the Marlins in Portland, Seattle would have to field a winning team to maintain a fan base. No more "profits over championships". b.s.

What does Portland have over Charlotte, SA, LV, Northern Virginia, and NJ?

I'm not saying you are wrong (in fact I can/have in the past built a decent case for Portland), but I just want to know what you think.

[emanuelsaavedra]

i have to say that i agree with a lot of the things that you guys have said, but i do not think that it is necessary to move the team elsewhere, I think that this team could be successful here, we just seem to have some flaws at the management level. Personally, i am a marlins fan living in oklahoma. So i may be a little off touch since im not in miami. I am going to post a couple of solutions that i think would help the marlins. Please tell me what you think but please be respectful, like i said i dont live in miami so there may be things i dont know.

[emanuelsaavedra]

i think that the ballpark will help. More than anything the ballpark even though its big, at the same time it looks more compact, a place where everything is relatively close to everything else would work better, make the fans feel more at home, it would be kind of like the city, everything together. Also, they have to make sure that they do not make tiket prices too hard on people. Every time i go to miami i go to a few of the marlins games. Last year i went to five games and spent over $250 bucks just in tickets. I understand that this is a business but life in miami is expensive, when you add up tickets plus refreshments plus gas & parking etc. In order to go with a family of 4 to a game you are looking at almost $240 for a night! With our economy that is a tough price. I know that the cubs, yankees, sox, etc fill up their stadiums always, but by market standards miami is a poorer city and then the marlins cant expect to have th fan base that the cubs, yanks and sox do. I think it would be more financially smart to make things cheaper but get more people in. What do you all think?

[emanuelsaavedra]

also, i think that it would help tremendously to add a quality cuban player to the roster, i know a lot of people are thinking here goes another stuck up cuban, but hear me out. If you dont have the history that teams like the yanks and the sox have, then you have to put a product on the field that attracts the fans. I am not saying go spend $32 mil on a pitcher, but get a relatively good/ cheap cuban player (kendry morales). For example, everyone in my family in miami is a baseball fan. Heck during the world baseball classic they were all hooked up to the tv watching mainly team cuba. What i am saying is that i think we are letting a great market get away. Kendry would not be even close to being our best player. But he is recognized enough to where he can attract those cuban people who know him and who might have to money to go to a game. I think he could put up 275-25(30)-75(90) numbers specially in the 6-7th spot in our lineup. He would not be the star, but he would be the bait that you use to get people to follow the team. Once you come into the stadium to watch kendry and you then see hanley, johnson and those other guys play, how can you not like them? What do you think?

[emanuelsaavedra]

like i said before, you have to put teams together that fit the make of your fan base. The Dodgers and Manny were such a great fit, because Manny was just like the city! Crazy and wild. The Red Sox are rowdy and tough like their fans and the city, the yanks are solemn like new york, the braves have a bunch of atlanta players etc. Do you get my point? That is why i think that adding a good cuban player is vital to the team, it would be someone that the cuban portion of your fans can connect with because it would bring them back to the days they saw him in an industriales jersey. Please dont tell me about Lowell and Luis Gonzales, they dont qualify, for example i never heard of him untill i got to the states. I just think that doing this would connect the team to a fanbase with great potential. Thoughts please?