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From roof tracks to restaurants, just about every area imaginable in the Marlins' new ballpark is being addressed.
The planning stages have also reached the point where meetings are taking place to discuss such fine detail as grease exhausts.
That's right, grease exhausts.
It's a significant part of planning because it gets into the nitty-gritty realities to adding restaurants, both inside and outside the 37,000-seat retractable-roof stadium that will open in 2012.
On the stadium grounds, last week was monumental because giant roof track beams were raised 150 feet to the top of the Super Columns. The tracks will eventually support the roof, allowing it to slide open and shut.
As this massive undertaking was going on, meetings were being held to iron out grease exhausts.
The swings in direction add to the fascination of the project.
"To get an idea for what it takes to get a ballpark, the technical focus is making sure that the track beams were lifted safely, properly and perfectly," Marlins president David Samson said. "That is underway right now. It took so much preparation to get to where we are today. Then you see those beams lifted in the air. You hold your breath and realize the professionals know what they're doing, and you feel happy about that.
"At the same time, we're having meetings where we were planning for the release of the grease exhausts, and putting gas and electricity into the area of the West Plaza, where we're going to have restaurants."
The West Plaza promises to be one of the major attractions of the new ballpark. The expansive area will be the site of restaurants and sports bars that will be open year-round. A number of these establishments will be assessable from the street.
"There are going to be restaurants in the ballpark that are for game days," Samson said. "But we're talking about ones that are on the plaza that will be open for regular business at regular hours.
"Our vision is to have people in the plaza each day. When the Marlins are on the road, we envision people coming to that area to see games in a sports-bar-type atmosphere."
The Marlins and local leaders who approved building the ballpark have long believed the stadium in the Little Havana section of Miami would trigger development in the community.
The vision is to make the area similar to "Wrigleyville" in Chicago, where restaurants, shops and residential areas surround Wrigley Field.
"I guess that our eventual goal around the ballpark is to be like Wrigleyville," Samson said. "Where people live, and people just get a chance to enjoy the area.
"As far as specifics for which restaurants, we're not there yet. We've got a couple of years to go. By getting gas, electric and grease-exhausts planned, you're doing the infrastructure necessary for restaurants to open at later dates."
All stages of development of the new stadium can be viewed on the New Ballpark Webcam on www.marlins.com. In the near future a second camera will be added.
"If you walk the West Plaza right now, it's really taking shape because the tree columns are fully built," Samson said. "You can see the vast space that we have over there, and why it will be so special.
"We're beginning to map out where certain things will go, as far as restaurants and bars, and all the things that will make it a destination. Not just on game days, but every days. It's a little bit like creating a community, which we're trying to do. We've had great support from all of the politicians and all of the people in the community who realize the ballpark itself will be the epicenter of great development. We're not just talking about it. We're doing it. It's an exciting time."
Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
The planning stages have also reached the point where meetings are taking place to discuss such fine detail as grease exhausts.
That's right, grease exhausts.
It's a significant part of planning because it gets into the nitty-gritty realities to adding restaurants, both inside and outside the 37,000-seat retractable-roof stadium that will open in 2012.
On the stadium grounds, last week was monumental because giant roof track beams were raised 150 feet to the top of the Super Columns. The tracks will eventually support the roof, allowing it to slide open and shut.
As this massive undertaking was going on, meetings were being held to iron out grease exhausts.
The swings in direction add to the fascination of the project.
"To get an idea for what it takes to get a ballpark, the technical focus is making sure that the track beams were lifted safely, properly and perfectly," Marlins president David Samson said. "That is underway right now. It took so much preparation to get to where we are today. Then you see those beams lifted in the air. You hold your breath and realize the professionals know what they're doing, and you feel happy about that.
"At the same time, we're having meetings where we were planning for the release of the grease exhausts, and putting gas and electricity into the area of the West Plaza, where we're going to have restaurants."
The West Plaza promises to be one of the major attractions of the new ballpark. The expansive area will be the site of restaurants and sports bars that will be open year-round. A number of these establishments will be assessable from the street.
"There are going to be restaurants in the ballpark that are for game days," Samson said. "But we're talking about ones that are on the plaza that will be open for regular business at regular hours.
"Our vision is to have people in the plaza each day. When the Marlins are on the road, we envision people coming to that area to see games in a sports-bar-type atmosphere."
The Marlins and local leaders who approved building the ballpark have long believed the stadium in the Little Havana section of Miami would trigger development in the community.
The vision is to make the area similar to "Wrigleyville" in Chicago, where restaurants, shops and residential areas surround Wrigley Field.
"I guess that our eventual goal around the ballpark is to be like Wrigleyville," Samson said. "Where people live, and people just get a chance to enjoy the area.
"As far as specifics for which restaurants, we're not there yet. We've got a couple of years to go. By getting gas, electric and grease-exhausts planned, you're doing the infrastructure necessary for restaurants to open at later dates."
All stages of development of the new stadium can be viewed on the New Ballpark Webcam on www.marlins.com. In the near future a second camera will be added.
"If you walk the West Plaza right now, it's really taking shape because the tree columns are fully built," Samson said. "You can see the vast space that we have over there, and why it will be so special.
"We're beginning to map out where certain things will go, as far as restaurants and bars, and all the things that will make it a destination. Not just on game days, but every days. It's a little bit like creating a community, which we're trying to do. We've had great support from all of the politicians and all of the people in the community who realize the ballpark itself will be the epicenter of great development. We're not just talking about it. We're doing it. It's an exciting time."
Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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