fauowls44

I already feel like this is over..... No talking about it on sports radio (10 mins drive to work). Opposite to what you heard on my nearly 30 minute ride in to work it was 75-80% on Ozzie and the suspension wasn't enough. It was NOT Spanish radio. Granted I'm not Hispanic, but I'm guessing that Spanish radio is much like English radio...the people that call in are not representative of the ENTIRE population. You get the vocal minority calling in to radio shows. Most people (of any race, nationality, whatever) don't care enough about any one particular subject to take the time out of their day to call in and voice their opinion. Besides, angry lunatics make for better radio...so that's who gets on the air.

Didn't see this posted anywhere yet. It looks awesome when it goes off...hopefully that will start to happen a lot more often...

the tinted windows out in centerfield make a 1pm game feel a game played entirely during dusk. if South Florida residents can't handle 85 degree weather they shouldn't leave their houses. the roof should be open during day games, unless it's raining. the entire staff doesn't know how to do their jobs. the stats on the scoreboards were not correct for a single second, and everyone at the concessions stands is slow and dumb, the credit card machines need to start working because not everyone carries around Benjamins with them and I wasted a lot of f***ing time waiting on line only to find out the machine "wasn't working" (at several stands). and the HR feature didn't go off when Gaby hit a homerun. the park's beautiful. there's not a bad seat in the house. the amount of food options are impressive, but extremely expensive. finding parking's not as difficult as I thought it would be. the traffic on the exit-ramp at 17th st (i think that was it) was ridiculous. kinda bulls*** that there's not a single place to smoke a cigarette in the entire park (I mean, there's balconies... what the hell are those for? I saw a cop yell at a bunch of people for having the nerve to think it was appropriate to smoke outside) Everything sounds terrible. Let's just close it down and move back to Sun Life...

They removed the palm trees from the outfield. WTF?!?! This is supposed to represent Miami and no palms, or any plants for that matter????? Looks like they were blocking the flagpoles. Maybe they will bring in shorter palm trees.

There should be plenty of parking. It's just a matter of people figuring out where to go and the best way to get there. That is what will cause the issues initially, not a lack of spots.

http://miami.marlins.mlb.com/mia/ballpark/off_site_parking.jsp All 3000 spots are either within walking distance or have trolly or shuttle service. The only shuttle service that isn't free is from the Magic City casino ($5.00 for adults, free for kids 12 and younger). This doesn't include parking on people's lawns.

Folks at yahoo don't like it... http://sports.yahoo....Y1D1YBXJ9ARvLYF Like a nightmare from "Boardwalk Empire," the display lights up like the unwanted zombie lovechild of a pinball machine, a carnival roller coaster and a diabolical cuckoo clock, giving fans the feeling like they're somewhere in Atlantic City, N.J., instead of Little Havana near Miami Beach. It looks like the ugliest thing you could find in the cheesiest gift shop along the shoreline. Who's up for some neon skee ball? How about Plinko or Cliff Hangers on acid from "The Price Is Right" People not liking something new and different?!? Shocking...people are usually so open and accepting to new things.... :confused That's all this is. It doesn't look like anything anyone has seen before so it MUST be horrible! Like having a giant slide for a mascot to slide down isn't ridiculous? Of course it's ridiculous....that's the point. Baseball is supposed to be fun and not take itself so seriously. It's the same thing with the fans from Broward and Palm Beach. If they can't be bothered to drive the extra 15-20 minutes to the new ballpark, they probably weren't going to Sun Life either, so what is the team really losing?

That is amazing. The water jets makes it. Wish there was one on the other side too. I Love it. I said the same thing. The two marlins should spin in opposite directions and hit the water at the same time. Oh well...still really cool.

I don't see this posted yet anywhere, but if it has been, please feel free to remove this post. This thing looks awesome! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJqm8ybv4Uw

anyone know if there are parking passes being sold through stubhub or not? Why in the world would you want to buy them from stubhub when you can get them from the Marlins website? You think someone is going to sell them cheaper then $15 right now?

Are those 20,000 spots in actual lots or garages? Or are they street parking in some dude's yard? Is the area safe several blocks from the park? Did UM used to charter buses from their campus to the Orange Bowl? Were there charter services coming from other parts of South Florida? I think people are running the risk of comparing apples to oranges. Football games are more infrequent and treated more like "events." Baseball games promote more of a family atmosphere. The fact that they are held more regularly means that people should have to put up with far less hassle. The situation you guys are describing sounds much worse than any parking I've seen for baseball stadium. I blame the city/county though (not really the Marlins) for having sh*tty transit options. I only went to 3 or 4 games at the OB and parked on-site every time, so I don't know where the other spots were located. I'm sure others on the board are more familiar. I don't think that the few blocks surrounding the park are particuarly unsafe...at least I doubt that they are more unsafe then say the areas around the AAA where people park. Like I said though, I'm not real familiar with the area. As for the old OB, a quick Internet search showed that for Hurricanes games, they used a park and ride service from lots on the opposite side of the Miami River. Is that something the Marlins are doing? I'm sure parking is going to be an issue, at least for the first few weeks as people figure it out, but I'm also sure that if the area can support 75,000-80,000 people with less parking spots available then what we have now, it should be able to accomodate 37,000 with more on-site parking. Sure, there are far less football games than baseball games, but there will also be far less people attendning these games. But isn't the Heat arena actually near downtown? Rather than being located in a low income residential area? A near downtown location should bring more safety and legitimate parking options (not some guy's yard). The AAA is in Downtown, and often surrounded by homeless people. Crime wise, it's basically the same. I, for one, end up feeling much safer in Little Havana than in Downtown Miami (though Downtown has gotten better). People actually live in Little Havana and they want to make money from people parking in front of their homes. I doubt they are going to stand for crime taking place in front of their homes and scaring people away. Plus, I'm sure there will be a significant police presence. As for the AAA, it's in downtown and there are a lot of homeless nearby because of Camilus House a few blocks away. It has gotten better since the Miami Arena days, but I still would feel safer in a residential area surrounded by homeowners collecting parking money than homeless people panhandling. That said, if you don't know the area and don't feel comfortable walking a few blocks, buy a parking pass, take the trolly, or make sure you park and walk to the stadium in a large group with others going to the game.

Are those 20,000 spots in actual lots or garages? Or are they street parking in some dude's yard? Is the area safe several blocks from the park? Did UM used to charter buses from their campus to the Orange Bowl? Were there charter services coming from other parts of South Florida? I think people are running the risk of comparing apples to oranges. Football games are more infrequent and treated more like "events." Baseball games promote more of a family atmosphere. The fact that they are held more regularly means that people should have to put up with far less hassle. The situation you guys are describing sounds much worse than any parking I've seen for baseball stadium. I blame the city/county though (not really the Marlins) for having sh*tty transit options. I only went to 3 or 4 games at the OB and parked on-site every time, so I don't know where the other spots were located. I'm sure others on the board are more familiar. I don't think that the few blocks surrounding the park are particuarly unsafe...at least I doubt that they are more unsafe then say the areas around the AAA where people park. Like I said though, I'm not real familiar with the area. As for the old OB, a quick Internet search showed that for Hurricanes games, they used a park and ride service from lots on the opposite side of the Miami River. Is that something the Marlins are doing? I'm sure parking is going to be an issue, at least for the first few weeks as people figure it out, but I'm also sure that if the area can support 75,000-80,000 people with less parking spots available then what we have now, it should be able to accomodate 37,000 with more on-site parking. Sure, there are far less football games than baseball games, but there will also be far less people attendning these games.

All I know is its going to get crazy come April if they don't work something out and fast. I'm no math expert but I don't think 6,000 spots for 37,000 people is going to work. The Orange Bowl had a capacity of 82,000 and 4,000 on-site parking spots...and yet somehow people managed for decades. This article says that there was an estimated 20,000 parking spots in the area surrounding the OB. http://www.sun-senti...RA0000003.topic It's worth noting that the AAA has a single garage for about 1000 cars and 19,000+ manage to get to Heat games without major problems. People will figure this out. Is the parking situation ideal? No, but if there was enough parking for games at the OB, there will be PLENTY for Marlins Park. People just need to adjust to the that fact that like many ballparks placed in downtown or residential areas, there won't be acres of parking we are used to. So you arrive a little earlier, pre-pay for a parking pass, walk a little further, or try out the public transportation options that exist. It's the price we have to pay for a great ballpark.

Not a good situation... http://www.miamihera...ns-stadium.html Only one real issue and they are taking care of it. The rest is just sob story stuff like old people dealing with heavy traffic right before a game, and two people who are upset because they can't illegally sell food on the street. But even the vending issue is being looked into. Another negative Herald article. Shocking. What is that? One per day? I swear that paper is being influenced by Braman and his advertising money. It seems like they are actively looking for issues to report on. The bottom line is that with any project of this size, there is going to problems that need to be worked out. Did the Herald really think things were going to go perfectly during the first two games? That's why they are having multiple soft openings.

Iv been looking at the Cam today, and I dont mean to sound like a Republican...... but shouldn't they be working today? The field is complete. The areas that are unfinished are on the concourses. I'm sure there are people there working on that stuff today.

This is ridiculous. Just because the building doesn't have an event going on doesn't mean it is empty. People work in these buildings everyday. Sports arenas and stadiums are the office for hundreds of people on a daily basis. These politicians seriously believe they should turn places of business into homeless shelters?? If they are so concerned about homeless shelters, how about they let the homeless live in the State Capitol building when the state government isn't in session? This is just a couple of politicians trying (and succeeding) in getting their names in the paper. Regardless, people keep attaching the Marlins Ballpark to this story but the Marlins deal doesn't include any State money, so I don't even think it would need to comply with this law (which will never be enforced).

I'm not one to buy into conspiracy theories, but the Herald has yet another negative Marlins Ballpark article today. This time it's about the lack of public transportation to the ballpark: http://www.miamihera...ed-to-ease.html First of all, none this is any fault of the Marlins and second, since when has Miami had any semblence of a good public tansportation system?? Never, but let's just frame this as a Marlins problem anyway. Anyone else think Norman Braman and his advertising money is influencing the reporting on the ballpark? I do.

From what I've heard, the Marlins have rented out (or will have them rented by April) the spaces that they control. This article is about the city's spaces and when I talked to someone moths ago about the garages, they said the city had no clue what they were doing. They said if the team was allowed to rent out those spaces, they'd be filled already.

If you look on Amazon, there are multipe books about the Marlins, including one about how we "bought the 1997 World Series" which can be bought used for 13 cents. As far as videos, there is already a video about the start of the Marlins franchise: http://www.amazon.com/Florida-Marlins-1993-Great-Beginning/dp/6302961386 (only VHS as far as I know). Plus, there are 2 World Series DVDs. That pretty well covers it. Is there really much else from our history you would want to re-live? A coffee table book about the Orange Bowl site would be kind of cool though if someone had construction photos of the original OB, photos of it's history, the OB being torn down, and then photos of construction of the new Ballpark. That's something that I would consider buying.

The teams should merge and poof they'll both have a new stadium. Have tampa's owner take over and get rid of Loria and Co. So you want the guy who can't get a stadium built and has a lower payroll then we do instead of Loria? OK... I'd take their GM and farm system, but owner? No thanks. Give Loria and Co. credit. They did what most people thought was impossible and saved the future of baseball in South Florida. Winning will come and go, but we'll have a team here forever. For that we owe our current ownership a great deal of gratitude.

Why does anyone think this report is any more valid then the Joe Frisaro report that the Fish are interested in Ramirez? I'll trust his sources over some guy from Chicago.

I can honestly say I'm sorry for the Marlins and their fans. At least we've got two championships to fall back on. And the new ballpark and secure future. So yeah, we don't need your pity. We'll be fine.

Good post. That people readily believe this crap is the most disappointing part. Is Loria a perfect owner? Not even close, but he has done more for this franchise and baseball in South Florida then just about anyone. The two other "local" guys failed to do so and ran off, but Loria, who has owned the team longer and secured it's future is the outsider/bad guy?

I'm just tired of the constant bashing of the stadium deal. The way some talk about it, you'd think this was the first time a team asked for and received public financing for a venue. The Marlins deal is right in line with every other private/public stadium deal. If you disagree with the entire concept of public financing, that's fine, but to single out the Marlins is ridiculous. These type of deals happened long before the Marlins Ballpark, and they will continue to happen as long as cities want Major League sports franchises. The ballpark is over 70% finished...it's time these people get over it. The ballpark is coming no matter how much people complain about how it was financed....everyone may as well start focusing on making the project a success rather then whining about a financing deal that was agreed upon two years ago.

I'd prefer Leo Nunez to John Buck to end the 2011 World Series.... But ceremonially, Hough to Santiago seems fitting.