Thursday, June 06, 2013

More on the Miami Marlins ... by gimleteye

Would new ownership change the Miami Marlins' dismal attendance record?

Earlier this year, Jeb! Bush surfaced as the name brand of a partnership expressing interest in the professional baseball team. Apparently, the Bush consortium made a very significant offer that was turned down.

I expect that the current management cannot squeeze expenses and paying baseball fans for too much longer. That game is in the late innings.

Judging from reader comments, there are a fair number of fans who believe that changing ownership will bring paying customers back into the seats. Others believe that Miami only backs its winners, like the Heat.

The thinking goes: if the Marlins were owned by and lead by Hispanics and began to win, that the seats would fill and the Marlins' fortune reverse.

I wouldn't bet on that outcome. First of all, there is the traffic; it is meant to break the spirit on any baseball game day. Second, do Hispanic demographics support a rise in attendance if the ownership changes?

Knowing the extent to which the Miami economy is supported by investors who only spend a few weeks of the year in Miami, I doubt that attending a Marlins' baseball game rises to the level of a sure thing.

Where are the voters when it comes to throwing out of office those elected officials who supported the taxpayer funded ballpark and gave its owner the right to profit when the team is flipped? Turned off.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fans would definitely attend under new ownership. MLB should use the "best interest of baseball" clause to force Loria's hand. He's proven time and again to be a detriment to the game and its fans!

Biscayne Bystander said...

MLB is too busy dealing with the aftermath of the New Times PED story to address Loria. New ownership is the first fix the Marlins need to make. Trading out the commissioners box seats for public section of $1 seats should be another way the Marlins begin to earn back the city's trust. Diamondbacks did it when they got public funding and even kept the section at $1 during The World Series.

Anonymous said...


I agree/disagree with you on many issues regarding the Marlins.

One issue I disagree with you on is the traffic. Especially if you're using the Heat as a comparison. Having been to several games for both teams this season, the traffic is much worse to go all the way to downtown for the Heat game. (I live in Pinecrest area)
I'm not talking about the game traffic itself, because obviously if the Marlins had double the attendance it would mean much more parking/traffic hassles at the stadium itself.
But the traffic for an evening game at the Arena, if I try to get there 1/2 hour before evening game is pretty bad.
If I turn off USeless-1 at 37 ave, 27, 17, etc to go to Marlins park, I hit very little traffic to the stadium.

As for the ownership, I don't think average Joe or Jose Citizen cares who the owner is. Your readership is waaay above representative of our community in intelligence and awareness. People in our area want to be jump on a bandwagon and be able to bang their pots and pans in the streets after a big team win.

Anonymous said...

Fans will attend when they pick up the entire stadium and move it next to AA Arena!

Who wants to go to that neighborhood to watch baseball in a mall?

Anonymous said...

New people to the area make a BIG mistake when they underestimate the average Joe or Jose Citizen in Miami-Dade County. They have been "around the block" quite a bit over the years, and did not "just fall off the turnip truck". Just because they get excited about their team, does not mean they can't think.

Anonymous said...

No. Fans will not bother attending games if Loria sells. Fans hate the location, they cannot afford the price of tickets and parking and they hate that our elected officials gave away over $3 Bil of their tax dollars. The only thing that will get a slight increase in attendance is IF Loria sells and IF the new owner can offer a better record. Big Ifs.

sundayniagara said...

Besides the ownership issue, the Marlins' attendance problems date back to when the team was first established. What you have here, is a National League team, in an American League town. Put the Marlins in the AL East and watch 'em draw the fans!

Anonymous said...

Fans and residents hate the Marlins. Tourists never visit stadiums outside their own hometowns. Now the Marlins have the worst record and the worst attendance
in Major League Baseball. Oh, the politicians voted to make the taxpayers pay over $3 BILLION in debt service. Things will get worse.

Anonymous said...

Miami residents do not want to waste 45 minutes trying to find Marlins Stadium then $20 to park and then $20 for a coke and a hotdog. Just to be among 200 people watching the Marlins lose.