SJ Obstructed Views – Miami Marlins – loanDepot Park ⚾ (ep.63)
[Music] Welcome everyone to Steve Jury’s obstructive views. The show where a couple of guys in a couple of countries drink a couple of beers and discuss a stadium somewhere in the world and their experiences there. I’m Paul and I’m Dave and we’re excited to be here with you tonight. Before we get started, please take a second, subscribe to the StadiumJourney YouTube channel, like the video, leave a comment if you’re so inclined, check out www.stadiumjourney.com as always for all of our fantastic content. So, let’s get started. Dave, what are you drinking tonight? So, I had a moment, you know, went to the beer fridge, pulled something out, went, “Where the heck did this come from?” That beer fridge is still producing beer. It’s No, it’s September. I know. I know. And then I actually read the fine print and went, “Oh, yeah. I bought this beer.” So, this was from my uh my Eastern Voyage. Uh, and it’s from Frederickton, New Brunswick, home of the multinational champion UNB Reds hockey team, which I guess they’re in trouble now that the NCAA is paying people and uh they’re losing all their all their under the table pay players or whatever. But anyway, uh I have a Simeon Jones River Valley Ale from Pickaroons Brewing Company in Frederickton, New Brunswick. Uh it’s it’s pretty good actually. It reminds me of um actually my my favorite beer is a Belgian trapeze beer, which is brewed by monks in a monastery. It’s it’s pretty snoody and bougie. Um, and this is probably the closest nonB Belgian beer I found to that. So, I’m actually enjoying it. It’s like a It’s like a Rickard’s Red, but sort of turned up a notch. So, so far so good. What do you got? Okay, so my last few beers that I’ve brought to the show have been uh chosen more so for their name than for their flavor profile. And tonight’s no different. Tonight’s beer is called Illegal Ninja Moves. Aha. And the can is featuring this Napoleon Dynamite looking kind of guy doing some I don’t know if he’s doing ninja moves. He’s doing dance moves. But you know, the beer is called Illegal Ninja Moves. It’s by Proclamation Brewing Company in Warwick, Rhode Island. It’s an American Pale Ale. Um, as you all know, if you’ve been following along with our show for several years, not right up my alley. Still a good beer. You know, I’m I’m starting to You know what? as I’m exposing myself to the wide wide world of beers, starting to come around on some of these more uh bitter, heavier beers. So, a IPAs, APAs, New England pale. Still, I still couldn’t tell you what the differences between all of them, but still I’m starting to enjoy them a little bit more than I used to. I used to go I don’t like it. But now, like, you know what? These aren’t bad. So, yeah, there’s uh illegal ninja moves. Not an illegal beer, but the beer the uh the moves are illegal. So, if we were visiting today’s destination, we might be drinking and Dave, you told me you actually might have had this beer. You might be drinking Yeah. You might be drinking a Tropical Bay IPA. It’s It’s fun to rhyme from by Kane Bay Brewing in Miami, Florida, because today we’re talking about Bone Depot Park, home of the Miami Marlins. Before we get started, let’s take a look at the Stadium Vitals. [Music] [Music] So, here we are. We’re ready to talk some Miami Marlins baseball. I probably want to talk Florida Marlins baseball, but you know, we’re not going to go there. Well, maybe we will, but uh anyway, uh welcome our Stadium Journey colleague Richard Smith, who is fresh off of his trip from uh a trip to Florida. Welcome. Oh, thank you. So, we have a bit of a different perspective here. Uh I went to what was then Marlins Park uh in the pre- Derek Jeter, still Jeffrey Lauria age. And you have gone in I believe it’s the was it both the post Jeter era or the during Jeter era? I think it’s both post Jeter. Okay. And of course I went to Little Lone Depot Park. Not a big L at the start. Little L at the start. Um and yes, that’s a pretty bad name, but you know, we’re sort of used to those names at this point. So, what do you think of the uh of the changes that were made? Well, I don’t know all of them because like I said, I wasn’t there pre Jeter, but I know that the the infamous, famous, whatever way you want to call it, uh statue that was out in uh Centerfield is now outside the park and the area where it is is now a club. And when I was there the first time last year, uh the club was you’re supposed to have a ticket to the club. And then at one point I was walking past and they were welcoming any anyone who walked in into that club. And then this year it looked like it was a free-for-all. Anyone could go in. So it just sort of seemed like they especially where that was, they don’t know what to do. And I think that what I’ve heard and you can probably explain a little bit more about the ger or prejeter era was they’ve sort of just taken away some of the maybe fun to the park maybe. I guess well I I used to get flak because I really liked Marllin’s Park. I ranked it we did rankings. I ranked it pretty high and people thought I was nuts. But what I liked about it is it was kind of at the back end of all these new stadiums and they tried to do so much to make it stand out to make it different. Um the the Homer uh Homer is actually the name of the statue. So I I will I will recuse myself here. I I have freshly read Jeffrey Lauria’s book. It was horrible. I can’t stand him. He’s terrible. But that being said, he was a an art guy. He was a huge uh proponent of art and that was his baby and uh he wanted it in center field and it’s there were a whole lot of animatronics to it. So one of the things that he commented on in putting it outside is it wasn’t built for that. No. So it’s probably if not already going to end up in disrepair because it was built to be inside. I did not notice the condition of it. I w did walk by, but it was raining at the time. Okay. Um, one of those nice little hot summer rains in Miami, and you’re you actually are glad that that it’s a indoor stadium, so I didn’t see that, but yeah, I have a feeling it is really not made for that. Um, now I also like the stadium, Lone Depot Park, Marlins Park, whatever you want to call it. I like it, too. Now, is it ever going to be as high up as PNC Park and Oral Park and Finway and Wrigley and Target? You could keep going on. It’s never going to be that high on our list. It’s still a pretty nice park. It’s It’s just It’s going to be way down our list because there’s much more exciting, maybe more traditional parks. But one thing I like about Loone Depot Park is it honestly to me it screams Miami. Now, I wish those things like the Homer statue was still there and some of those more fun things that look like Lauria did actually do green walls. That was one thing that kind of stood out to me. The the outfield walls were all green, which was like and not just like, you know, grass green, like this kind of bright vibrant green. And uh you’ll probably see it in the pictures cuz we’ll we’ll have a bit of a mix. But like that was one of the the jeter things like oh we can’t have that baseball is not that color walls are blue or dark you know black or whatever. So that was one thing. Um the uh they went through a lot to put the aquariums behind home plate, right? And they had to test the glass. And um I heard uh I heard something about how they had uh batters try to hit the ball as hard as they could into this aquarium glass to see to make sure it was solid, but you know, they they got rid of those for signage. Um, now I was a little surprised from your pictures and your review that the bobblehead museum is still there. It’s still there and they they make sure it shakes so that like when you walk by the bobbleheads are still shaking. So honestly, it is one of the big highlights of that stadium is you have to walk by the bobblehead museum closely, look at them all, but just enjoy that they are literally bobbling and it’s just a great little thing. Um, now I did enjoy that. Now, one thing I was a little I wouldn’t say put off by, but maybe I was less impressed was they had a really nice history of the Marlins. Uh, and honestly, they’ve won two World Series since they formed. That’s not bad. They’ve been there what 30 years now. They’ve now moved it up to a higher level in the stadium and it’s a level that less people are going to go to and now it sort of seems like an afterthought. I Yeah, I bet. Luckily, the bobblehead Museum seems like in fact they replaced it with a um food court, but I will say it’s a food court that has some cheap uh cheap eats at it. It’s got one whole stand that’s dedicated to cheaper eats. So, yeah, that’s sort of not good, but at the same time, they did replace it with something that’s useful. But they put it someplace no one’s going to go to. Um, I hope they never move the bobblehead Museum cuz that is just that’s that’s wonderful. Yeah, I it was definitely a highlight. I remember when the park opened and it was like it was kind of like the thing they that everyone talked about. Now, according to Jeffrey Lauri, now I’ll be honest, his book, I’m not really sure how much truth there was to it. Uh, but according to him, a lot of that collection was his. Uh, and he had mentioned that he was donating it somewhere else or whatever. So, I was a little surprised to see that it was still there. Uh, but yeah, definitely definitely a highlight. And maybe, you know, over time, obviously, uh, bobbleheads have become such a a thing that maybe his collection has been moved out and replaced with stuff that the team has put out there and and, uh, there’s a lot of newer Bob Woods. I did notice there were some newer, obviously Marlins ones, but other teams, so there’s a chance that his original collection is gone, but it’s still there. And, um, I hate to say it, it may be the most distinctive highlight of that stadium. Uh yeah. Yeah. It it’s it’s kind of interesting and uh you could let me know your take on this. I think the biggest detractor from Lone Depot Park or Marlins Park is the team. Yeah. Because the how the ownership has treated that team permeates through everything. Yeah. So, you know, you’re right. They won two World Series and I want to say that maybe 3 years after each of those World Series, every single player from those teams were gone, right? And it wasn’t followed up by we’re going to spend a whole lot of money. Uh, you know, the the opening of Marlins Park was controversial in that they spent a whole lot of money. They brought in Jose Reyes and Mark Burley and all of these guys. Charlie Huff was the first pitcher. Sorry, Charlie Huff was the first pitcher. Oh yeah, that in the expansion area. Yeah, that’s true. Uh but they brought in all this all these big money guys and then it didn’t work out that first year that Marllin’s Park was open and they traded them all and brought the salary cap from here to rock bottom again. like the the the best year attendance-wise comparatively was the first year and they were 18th in attendance in the league. Every other year the highest they’ve been is like 20 uh seventh and I think that’s this year because there’s two minor league parks below them. So they’re a fairly competitive team too. I mean, yeah, they’re 19 places or 19 games out of uh of the league, but they’re in third. They’re not in fifth of their thing. So, and when I went to see them a couple weeks ago, they were against the Phillies, and it was a obviously the Phillies a better team. Phillies were going to win that division, but the Marlins were not out of it. So, they have decent teams. It’s just it’s it’s not super well-run team. I mean, you compare it to the the Rays where the Rays also don’t get people coming and they’re playing in a minor league stadium, but they think they have a better run organization. Fact, they may have one of the better ones in all of baseball. Um, yeah, the Marlins are pretty bad about that. Now, another thing is the two games I’ve been to at at Loone Depot Park, one was against the Phillies, so of course it was loaded with Phillies fans, and last year it was a Cubs game. Well, you know what? The whole crowd was basically wearing Cubs gear. In fact, the game that I went to at Marlins Park this year was two games after the sort of the infamous Phillies Karen incident. And guess where my seats were? It was actually in the same section and same rows that she was sitting because I did not do a credential. That’s crazy. So, I thought that was pretty funny. It’s just it’s it’s this type of stadium. It’s going to get more um people from out of town. Not to mention all the people who maybe are from Philadelphia who now live in Miami or Fort Lauderdale. That’s who goes to that stadium. It’s And it doesn’t help that the organization’s just not great. Yeah. And they there’s no staying power. Like even teams that are bad, you know, they try and and keep some guys there and market those players and the revolving door just seems to move so quickly. And you know who was the last I mean the last two big names that the Marlins really had I I feel were Jose Fernandez who you know had tragic early death um and John Carlos Stanton who was traded to the Yankees by Derek Jeter right which was loaded with controversy and now it’s like they they have that same revolving door that the Rays have absolutely but they don’t have that success. s that the Rays have enjoyed on the field. So, I’m looking at the roster right now. I can’t even tell you who the star of their team is. I couldn’t tell you what player on that team. I mean, I could tell you a couple because they got traded from the Orioles and I live in Maryland and I knew that they got tra and then they of course played fairly well for the Marlins as soon as they So, that’s the only ones I know and I’ I’ve been to games and I still don’t know any of the players. I think the other thing that’s kind of significant about this park is the location and and not significant in a good way. I mean, it’s it’s it’s funny. It’s it’s 2 and a half miles from where the heat play, but it’s 2 and a half miles inland in like this super residential area, uh, little Havana. And if you if you have a good look at what’s around it, it’s it’s houses. That’s really all that’s there. There’s no there’s nothing else that’s going to draw someone into that area. Well, and I have a really good perspective of it because I’ve gone now I’ve got I’ve driven to the stadium. I’ve walked from the stadium and I’ve Ubered to the stadium. Uh now I will say there is public transportation but the closest um stop on the I think what they call that the not the metro whatever the metro rail the closest stop is like a mile and a half away and it’s not like an easy well walk it also is not near ne it’s it’s not far from a major highway but it’s also not near a major highway so you’re going to have to go on surface roads. Now, when I drove there, it really wasn’t that bad, and our Uber didn’t really have a big problem, but you could still have some problems because it’s not a quick on and off the highway. Also, you said it’s in Little Havana. Now, after the game, this last game, I decided to walk down to the heart of Little Havana, which is Calala oo or 8th Avenue, that little more sort of tourism central spot of Little Havana. It’s only a mile walk. It’s not an easy mile walk. You’re crossing a whole bunch of roads that sometimes don’t even have good crosswalks. You’re walking through a u a neighborhood that actually is totally safe, but it maybe late at night I might not want to go through, but it’s probably safe, but it I might question myself a little bit. So, you’re in Little Havana, but you can’t take advantage of all the cool Little Havana stuff. Uh you you’re not near a highway. There’s no transportation. It does have really nice parking options. It’s got parking garages on all four corners of the stadium. You don’t have to pay when you go into the parking. You pay by an app. So really, there’s no backups getting into the parking. You just boom, boom, you go in. I mean, I wouldn’t suggest this to anyone, but I’ve heard that sometimes they’re not even checking if you actually paid, but Stadium Journeys are not going to like pick up your towing bill if you do that pay pay on the app. Yeah. Or take you on your own. So, it’s it’s fine. It really is not bad. Um, and the Uber was situation was nice. said a dedicated pickup and drop off lot, but it’s still not a great location. There’s nothing really close to it. There’s a couple restaurants on one side. There’s like a fast I think there’s like a KFC or something nearby. I think it’s a Church’s Chicken, actually. It’s not There’s nothing there. It’s in Little Havana, which is one of the coolest neighborhoods. You can’t take advantage of it. Now, we should say that the reason it’s there is cuz it’s where the um Orange Bowl used to be. Yes. And they had that piece of land and Orange Bowl was crumbling down. Let’s put it there. This is not where it should be. And if you are going to put it in Little Havana, put it near where all the cool stuff is. There’s some great things in Little Havana. If you could take advantage of like Old Savannah, Ball and Chain, the El Pub, all these great restaurants down in the heart of Little Havana, Cali Oojo, that would be an amazing baseball experience. Go get a drink, go get some Cuban sandwiches, get a mojito, jump over to the stadium. You can’t do that. It would be interesting to see if they would have built Marllins Park or I keep saying Marllins Park, Lone Depot Park now. Uh because like the whole strategy has changed, right? Like they’re not nobody’s building just a park anymore or a stadium anymore. They want like 5 acres, 10 acres, 20 acres around to have all those things, all those postgame kind of things and and pregame kind of things. Um, you know, Paul always talks about the Patriot place and how like and and I don’t know if that was the first one or not, but it seems like everybody who’s talking about, especially in the NFL, they’re talking about, well, we need we need all this space because we want to have this work life b uh work life play um area. Uh Atlanta is a perfect example of that. And you know, Load Depot Park was built uh on budget, on time, which is bizarre in and of itself. Uh it was probably one of the first, you know, really green um stadiums uh in that, you know, they where they got the lead uh certification and everything. But wow, it just I mean it seems like it hasn’t aged well, but it hasn’t really aged. It’s not that old. And and I mean we’re we’re sounding sort of negative about it, but honestly I like the park. It’s a fun place to watch a game. It really is. And I have to say, you know, some people are going to hate an indoor park, but when you’re in Miami, I mean, we we won only two weeks ago still. It was September. You know how hot and stuffy outside it was. It was rainy. That game would have been delayed anyway. Um and it would have just been humid and miserable. You’re in this nice airond conditioned park. And I know that it’s retractable roof, but I don’t think they open it that often. And I’ve also heard that when they do open it up, they still pump the air conditioning in. So, which probably ruins their lead certification, but whatever. Possibly. It’s a It really is a pleasant place to see a game. It’s just it’s never going to be the top stadium. It doesn’t mean you should replace it. It’s a good stadium. I I I had a lot of fun there. And a lot of my negative is just is just seeing how it’s changed and not not for the better. And probably like you like when I went there weren’t a ton of people there, which you know sometimes isn’t isn’t a bad thing. You know, you don’t you can stretch out or whatever. You’re not squashed. You’re not running into people and whatnot, but at the end of the day, you need you need to have a better better support from your fans. Uh you also have to cater to your fans better. And you know, let’s face it, coming to see the bobblehead Museum, you know, 60 times a year isn’t going to cut it. And the one thing I noticed about the crowd was it seemed like a minor league crowd. And I don’t mean that in that they’re not very smart or minor league. I meant that it was more families and groups. So, like when you go to your local minor league stadium and I’ve been there for I think Dominican Republic night. This last time was first responder night and I’m seeing groups of like, you know, families of like 10 people and stuff. Um, so it seems like that kind of park. So, I think they are maybe trying really hard, but it doesn’t have that hardcore baseball fans. It’s it’s a minor league kind of crowd. And like that sounds negative, but it’s not. It just it’s not it’s a different kind of crowd, but I think that’s also a Miami thing, too. Um, now I I am looking at the map uh overhead of it. There is some green space near it. There’s some surface lot, so they could potentially take advantage and build some stuff. Um, I’m just not sure. The Marlin’s ownership seems like that they’re the the type that’s going to be able to do that. And like I said, my main gripe is you’re in Little Havana and you’re not taking advantage of Little Havana. Well, if we’ve learned anything from, you know, I I I think the Florida Panthers are a great example. There’s market there for sports. I mean, the Florida Panthers were they were dead, you know, five years ago. Suddenly, they get some success success to the top level. You know, they’ve won the Stanley Cup. Now, it’s a super hot ticket. So, the opportunity is there for the Marlins. And you know, I think it’s what’s going to come first. You know, are the people going to be able to show up and and push the ownership to reinvest or is it going to have to come on the field first and draw those people in? We’re just going to have to wait and see. Yeah. Anyway, that’s our look at Lone Depot Park in Miami, Florida, home of the Miami Marlins. Richard, thanks for joining us and we hope to see you all on the road again real soon. Cheers. [Music] [Music]
Stadium Journey’s Obstructed Views is back and we’re heading to the Sunshine State! With the MLB season winding down, Dave and Paul bring in special guest Richard Smith to breakdown the phenomenon that is loanDepot Park, home of the much maligned, Miami Marlins. How could a place so new have so many changes? Did the short-lived tenure of Derek Jeter do anything to help this place? Can MLB survive in Miami? Grab a beer and take in the latest episode!
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