Seriously, South Florida...What would it take?
I want you to tell me. What would it take to get you to attend more Marlins games?
Before Michael Jordan got to the Bulls, there was a joke that routinely made the rounds in Chicago:
A guy called the Bulls to ask what time that night’s game was scheduled to start.
The reply: “What time can you be here?”
The Marlins are off to a surprisingly good start. 67 games in, they’re 37-30, and—if the season ended today—they’d win one of the 3 National League Wild Cards.
They have a chance to make the playoffs for only the 4th time in their 31-year history.
Their new second baseman, Luis Arraez, is trying to become the first major leaguer to bat .400 in a season since Ted Williams in 1941.
MLB proudly and deservedly boasts of attendance being on the rise across the league as fans have embraced a series of rule changes that have dramatically improved the pace of play. 23 of the 30 clubs have drawn more fans per game so far in 2023 than they had at this point in 2022.
And yet here are the Marlins. While drawing 301 more fans per game than at the same point a season ago, they still stand 29th in MLB in attendance ahead of only the historically hapless Oakland Athletics. Those are the same Athletics who have told their fans they are trying with all their might to move to Las Vegas. (Not a great marketing ploy, but the local 9 here in Miami has tried some curious tactics of their own…and there was this desperate doozy too).
On their most-recent homestand, the 9-game stay that wrapped up last Wednesday, the Marlins averaged 9,566 fans per game. In the midst of their most successful on-field stretch of the season, they drew fewer than 10,000 for 5 of the 9 games, and their biggest crowd of the homestand was only 12,507 (roughly equivalent to the number of folks tailgating in the parking lot in Milwaukee 2 hours before first pitch on a typical summer night).
Through 34 home openings, they’ve drawn 20,000 twice—on Opening Day, when the bulk of the ticket buyers were Mets fans, and again on April 30, when most of the Sunday afternoon crowd was pulling for the visiting Cubs.
They’ve drawn as many as 15,000 to only 4 of their 34 home games, not once since the end of April.
They’ve announced attendance of fewer than 10,000 fans for 15 of their 34 home games.
And that’s despite the Marlins already having hosted weekend series against the popular Mets and Cubs and mid-week series against the Braves and Padres, both teams loaded with star power and among the most popular road draws in MLB.
There are 14 major league clubs—one shy of half of the sport—that have ALREADY, through June 12, drawn more total fans than the Marlins will attract all season if Miami maintains its current attendance pace.
The Marlins were 29th in the majors in attendance, ahead of only Oakland, last season. They were 30th out of 30 the year before. They’ve been 29th or 30th every year in which fans have been permitted in ballparks during the Bruce Sherman era.
But the attendance issues pre-date the current owner.
You know the history. They’ve been at or near the bottom of MLB in attendance, with just a handful of exceptions, virtually every year of their existence.
The name of the owner has changed. So it can’t all be Wayne Huizenga or John Henry or Jeffrey Loria or Bruce Sherman’s fault.
The venue has changed. With a retractable roof for the last 12 seasons, it can’t still be the heat, humidity and the chance of rain. It can’t all be playing too far north or too far south.
The one constant: Embarrassing attendance numbers.
If you asked most Baseball fans around the country what the first thing is that comes to mind when you mention the Marlins franchise, most would probably say that no one attends their games.
That, first and foremost, is what this team is known for around the league.
So here’s the question I’d love for you to answer in the comments section below:
WHAT COULD THE MARLINS POSSIBLY DO TO GET YOU TO ATTEND MORE GAMES?
Is it simply a matter of winning more? If so, how much do they have to win?
Do you feel ownership has to show more commitment from a payroll standpoint?
Is the problem where the ballpark is located? You may recall they weren’t exactly packing them in when they played further north.
Do you consider the ballpark experience to be too expensive? Tickets? Parking? Concessions?
Would changing start times make a difference?
Is the music too loud? Is getting in and out of the parking garages a pain?
It has to be more than that.
What other factors keep you away? I want to know.
What would it take to get you to attend more Marlins games? I’m looking for thoughtful answers that I can share in a piece I’ll write in the near future.
Comment below, tweet me (@glenngeffner) or email your thoughts to glenngeffner@substack.com.
I’ll include many of the best and most thoughtful answers.
The stadium never should have been built where it is and the earlier starting times are making it worse now. If a game starts at 6:30 and you work and live in Broward you get off work at 5 and then race home to grab your family or friends then get on 595 or 95 to head into rush hour traffic at 5:45? You'll never make any batting practice if you're even allowed in for it.
If it rains you are lucky if you make it by the 3rd inning after running in from the parking lot. If it rains and a car accident happens on the way down? Might as well go back home.
The faster pace of the game now makes it so much worse for Broward or Palm Beach fans that unless it is a weekend game? Who is going to risk it?
The stadium and team should be relocated to Sunrise and change the team name to the Fort Lauderdale Marlins. Build it near and off Sawgrass. This way roads like the Turnpike, 595, Sawgrass, 95, Sunrise Blvd, 27 all connect to it. Easier for the tri-county fans to attend. I believe you would see an average of 20k fans a night.
Get off Ballys and create local broadcast and national broadcast rights. Reconnect the team with local television stations airing games on free TV. Reconnect with the community.
Ownership is putting too much emphasis on the Miami culture. It has not worked. People have been burned too many times to come back down to Miami. No trust is there.
Two things: winning more and improved public transit.
The winning: everyone is saying that up above me so won’t really say much more other than it seems like Sherman is finally figuring things out
Public transit: I grew up around Aventura and with $10-20 for parking it wasn’t a big deal for me to go to games back in the day. Now that I live in Davie it’s more of a slog for me to go down to the stadium. The Brightline service is fine, but just as expensive to drive since I have to pay for parking at the station. Would love a Homerunner type deal for Tri-rail since I would come out ahead. If I have one piece of advice to give to ownership is to treat the team like a real estate play and try and buy up land around the stadium so there’s more to do down by the park.