Critic's Review
On June 15, 2015, I went to Marlins Park for the first time. The Yankees were in town, and I bought tickets back in March. I never got around to writing it; with baseball season now in full swing, I figured I'd dig up the photos. I had trouble finding the info I needed about the ballpark, so those of you who have never been there before might find it useful.
I got a tip that the parking garages could be difficult getting into or out of, so I opted for surface lot parking. It cost an extra few dollars but I was only going to 1 game a year, so I figured I'd splurge. I wanted to get an early start so I could avoid rush hour traffic. I got there early; the surface lots are quite nice. They only sell a certain number of spots, there's security, and it's kind of a good place to tailgate.
Plus the lot is right across the street from the ballpark, so not much of a walk.
The entrance is right there. Not nearly as much security as at Yankee Stadium. The Marlins are a pretty low interest target.
The first food venue encountered was a big Papa Johns section. I can get bad pizza any day; no need to eat something I wouldn't buy locally at the ballpark.
The main entrance puts you out in right field. My first thing to do was to check out the field.
I figured I'd go upstairs and check out my seats. They were in the "Lexus Legends Level", which sounds like something better than the Toyota Level. It's actually kind of nice; it's where the suites are, and only people with tickets are allowed up there.
Kind of a ghost town at 5:45pm. I think I saw some tumbleweed. This ain't Madison Square Garden, where there's a culture of movers and shakers in the VIP areas where the suites are located.
I figured I'd better drink early so I could sober up before I had to drive home. There are a bunch of bars upstairs; not fully stocked but I drink beer at a ballgame.
The view from this level is just fine. Batting practice was underway.
There's also a dining area at the far end. Not too luxurious.
I had a lot of time so I figured I'd check out the ballpark and the food options. They've got your standard cafeteria type counters with hot dogs and burgers. Silly expensive.
There are some "healthy" options, or at least they try to market themselves that way. I'm not eating tasteless crap at a ballpark. I never really think of Pepsi as health food.
There are plenty of less healthy options available as well. Looking for a cuban sandwich with some banana chips?
From the other side of the stadium, you can get a good idea of the concept design of the ballpark. The skyline view makes you forget what downtown Miami is really like.
Keeping Kosher or just feel like a knish? You can also get a hamburger with soy cheese or a pastrami sandwich.
Find another burger and hot dog counter masquerading as some sort of upscale venue. Fancy signs; same food.
Time for the game. I headed back to my seat. The Luxury Suites are on this level; They have nice leather chairs for viewing in the suites.
I had a good view; Tanaka was on the mound.
They've got a pretty good scoreboard here; the newer the scoreboard the bigger and more stuff they have on it.
I'd polished my 3rd beer off by the 3rd inning and it was time for some food. The best thing I found on the Legends level was The Show; a cheesesteak grill with a big window where you can watch the sandwiches being made.
I order one with the works; it took a while to get it despite the sparse crowd. The cook makes a load of stuff at a time; while it's nice to have everything fresh, it would speed things up if they par cooked the vegetables just a bit.
$15 even. $20 with a water. I have to admit it was pretty good. Betting than anything I could get in Fort Lauderdale.
The game was fairly uneventful, with the Marlins up by one going into the 9th. A-Rod came up as the winning run, but he didn't come through. I hate going to baseball games when my team loses.
The bad thing about a close game is that nobody goes home early. Usually the marlins don't draw that will, but the Yankees only come to town every 6 years, so there was a decent crowd.
This place clearly isn't designed for big crowds. Narrow escalators don't cut it. Getting out of the ballpark was a nightmare. A stagnant mob that moved slowly trying to squeeze 5000 people onto narrow stairs and an escalator. Designed by chimps.
As if getting out of the ballpark wasn't bad enough; getting out of the neighborhood was worse. It was really astonishing how bad it was. The cops had the main roads blocked off and was steering traffic south. So after a half hour trying to go 2 blocks to get out of the local neighborhood, I then had to drive way south to get onto 95 because the cops were steering traffic onto specific paths.
Conclusion
The exit always ruins the game; it's why I don't like going to Football games. No matter how fun the game is, the traffic jam getting out always ruins it.
With HD TV, watching games at home is just as much fun as going to the ballpark, and when the game is over you can do something else. And considering it's a $100 per person deal now to get decent seats, I don't think I'll need to experience Marlins Park again.