The Marlins have officially released a construction camera of their new ballpark through their website. Along with that, I also found a photo gallery of construction ranging from November 2010 through late July of this year, courtesy of Fox Sports Florida (see above). This yet-unnamed, 37000-seat ballpark is slated to open on the site of the former Orange Bowl in Little Havana for Opening Day 2012, and features a SAFECO Field-style retractable roof which acts as a canopy resting on two large piers off the back of the stadium when open.
Whereas in Seattle the roof covers a train shed when open, in Miami there is a plaza below. Other than this plaza, nothing about this park seems particularly impressive to me. I definitely appreciate the design straying from the retro style, as well as the small capacity, but from what I've seen so far from photos and renderings this ballpark is going to be pretty awful. It's hard to get a grasp on how a stadium will "feel" from aerial photos, particularly a domed stadium, but all that white metal aesthetic makes the stadium look monotonous, almost like a UFO. On the inside, the outfield configuration seems very arbitrarily angular, including a jumbotron that is for some reason rhombus-shaped. There is also a weird unidentifiable concrete oval in left-center field that Erik and I are hoping will be a marlin tank. I'll be keeping an eye on the construction over the remaining 8 months, but so far it looks atrocious and I am very disappointed.
That's not to say that we're not going to the inaugural season next year, because you know we are! Can't wait to take the bus from downtown into the hood to go to a ballgame here; I am most interested to see how the neighborhood around the ballpark takes shape in the coming years. We're hopefully going in April or May to beat hurricane season, but we have to be flexible since I'm now also planning a wedding.
STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 08.02:
Brewers 61-49, +3.5 (3 v. Cardinals, 3 @ Astros)
Reds 53-56, -7.5 (3 @ Astros, 3 @ Cubs)
Twins 50-58, -7.0 (3 @ Angels, 3 v. White Sox)
2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 11
Peter - 32
Whereas in Seattle the roof covers a train shed when open, in Miami there is a plaza below. Other than this plaza, nothing about this park seems particularly impressive to me. I definitely appreciate the design straying from the retro style, as well as the small capacity, but from what I've seen so far from photos and renderings this ballpark is going to be pretty awful. It's hard to get a grasp on how a stadium will "feel" from aerial photos, particularly a domed stadium, but all that white metal aesthetic makes the stadium look monotonous, almost like a UFO. On the inside, the outfield configuration seems very arbitrarily angular, including a jumbotron that is for some reason rhombus-shaped. There is also a weird unidentifiable concrete oval in left-center field that Erik and I are hoping will be a marlin tank. I'll be keeping an eye on the construction over the remaining 8 months, but so far it looks atrocious and I am very disappointed.
That's not to say that we're not going to the inaugural season next year, because you know we are! Can't wait to take the bus from downtown into the hood to go to a ballgame here; I am most interested to see how the neighborhood around the ballpark takes shape in the coming years. We're hopefully going in April or May to beat hurricane season, but we have to be flexible since I'm now also planning a wedding.
STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 08.02:
Brewers 61-49, +3.5 (3 v. Cardinals, 3 @ Astros)
Reds 53-56, -7.5 (3 @ Astros, 3 @ Cubs)
Twins 50-58, -7.0 (3 @ Angels, 3 v. White Sox)
2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 11
Peter - 32
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
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