Marlins Get First Home Win on Walk-Off Double By Gaby Sanchez to Beat Astros 5-4

[Big Z]

Salaguero is an imbecile.

I'll be just fine with 25-30K per game. I don't expect the park to sell out right away, people have to get into it and eventually they'll come (when we start winning and they start noticing). This city is all about winning (success). Look at the Heat when they got the AAA, they didn't immediately start selling out. Now that they have the Big 3, a lot of people go because they expect them to win. Then you take a look at the Phins and they're the complete opposite, they used to sell out but they stink so bad now that people don't want to see them.

The place was great yesterday and the concessions were not packed, I loved everything. I cannot wait to come back tonight.

[CrimsonCane]

I also think the articles neglects to consider the fact that since this is only the second home game a lot of the people in attendance were visiting the ballpark for the first time. People are going to be walking the concourses, taking it all in, etc. especially when they first arrive.

[Metes]

About those concourses... tr, how's the campaign to widen coming along?

[tr305]

I was on the 2nd level last night and it's a ghost town. You have to see it to believe it. No one gets up from their seats there it seems.

[Party]

All 10 parking lots for tonight's game have been sold out. Don't expect an article from anyone on tonight's most likely sellout.

[tr305]

Take pics and send to Saldoucho if it looks fairly full.

[Party]

I also think the articles neglects to consider the fact that since this is only the second home game a lot of the people in attendance were visiting the ballpark for the first time. People are going to be walking the concourses, taking it all in, etc. especially when they first arrive.

This too. People like walking around and hanging out in the standing room areas behind the sections.

[tr305]

True but the clubs down the line were legitimately empty. I don't think they ever sold any "Silver" tickets to be honest and that's where the empty sections were.

[Party]

True but the clubs down the line were legitimately empty. I don't think they ever sold any "Silver" tickets to be honest and that's where the empty sections were.

Because club seats are overrated and overpriced.

[tr305]

I hear ya but it's a pretty nice place to sit if you are the two closest sections to the sky boxes. Can't beat the view. But yeah, way down the line should have been priced way lower.

[Flum]

I'm all for bringing in the fences.

When I saw the dimensions after the plans for Marlins Park were initially released, I thought it was a mistake. If ownership wants to woo an indifferent fanbase and get the people of Miami to actually be excited, they have to give them something to be excited about. The unsophisticated fan could not care less about a pitching duel. They want to see offense and they want to see home runs (see: league-wide attendance increase c. 1996). Since the Marlins are trying to gain the interest of an entire city of unsophisticated fans, ownership needs to appeal to them by giving them what they want: offense.

To look at it from another perspective, the Marlins put so much effort in re-branding the entire team in order to make their product more attractive to fans and increase attendance, but I think they overlooked a key element: the actual baseball product. It's nice that we have a "tradition" of pitching and defense and they wanted to continue that by constructing a stadium whose dimensions are consistent with that style of play, but we also have a "tradition" of paltry attendance. Essentially, pitching-and-defense baseball has been the Marlins' baseball product for the past 19 years and that has not yielded any significant increase in attendance. Like I said above, people don't find that exciting. Building a stadium presented more than just an opportunity to change the logo and the setting, it also provided an opportunity to change the type of baseball they play, and I think it was a mistake not to.

[TheMendozaLine]

From Juan C. Rodriguez:

Marlins bench coach Joey Cora's suggestion to owner Jeffrey Loria regarding home run feature: "I don’t think there are going to be too many home runs hit at this ballpark. If he’s planning on using that thing, maybe it would be better to get it on when we win games instead of only home runs. There’s a good possibility we win more games than home runs we hit at this ballpark the way it’s playing right now.”

[Fish Tank Frenzy]

Seems like a good suggestion.

[MiamiHomer]

Should have held onto Volstad for this season to up his value. He would have looked a lot better in this park lol.

[Omar]

They'll probably end up moving them in eventually for financial reasons. I don't think it's any secret that home runs sell tickets.

Wins sell tickets better than homers. If the team wins a slew of 2-1 games because all fly balls die and games consistently end in 2.5 hours or less (yestersay's would have if not for Bell's blown save), the place will be packed.