FanFest is a hit for Marlins fans – but what about the rest?
The biggest question of the Marlins — bigger than Josh
Johnson's arm, bigger than Hanley
Ramirez's mind — came through the gates Saturday morning when Marlins Park
opened all its doors for the first time.
Up the new ramp, past the shiny concourse, down the virgin aisles, the fans came. Thousands at the start of the first FanFest that mattered. More than 40,000 by day's end, many in new-logo jerseys with newly signed names.
A father and son immediately went to section 3, row 20, seats 19 and 20, sat down and admired the view from their season-ticket seats. First-base side. Miami skyline staring from the outfield.
"It's absoutely beautiful,'' said Roger Kobert, a Hollywood native when the Marlins began in 1993 who now lives in Miami.
"Perfect,'' said his son, Jonathan, 14.
If you build it right and true and — yes — perfect, will they come?
That's the final question. For all the public-relations blunders and budget-cutting that have defined this franchise's history, the Marlins' stadium completes an off-season that redefines what the franchise is and took every excuse out of the fans' lineup.
They changed their name, logo and uniform. They spent the kind of money they promised with a new ballpark: $181 million in four days just on Jose Reyes, Heath Bell and Mark Buehrle. They got bold personalities, led by manager Ozzie Guillen and, evidently, Reyes too.
A fan noted Saturday that LeBron James promised six titles for the Heat, and asked Reyes how many he could promise.
"Six!" Reyes said.
The centerpiece of cultural change is this stadium that offers what Marlins fans haven't had through 18 turbulent seasons: a future with no excuses, questions and thunderstorms on the horizon. The roof closes in 13 minutes.
The baseball biosphere inside is a funhouse, from its cozy 37,442 seats to its wireless availability to the home-run sculpture in left-center field that will cause wonderful arguments.
"It looks like something you'd tattoo on someone's back,'' said Dennis Albert, of Boynton Beach, staring at it.
"It looks beautiful,'' said his buddy, Jim Bagnett. "I can't wait until it goes off after a home run."
These were the serious fans, the ones who came Saturday. Others will have issues. The parking, for one. It isn't perfect. And the first thing we know happens in South Florida for anything new is a line forms to explain what's wrong with it.
The distance from Broward and Palm Beach counties? It's an issue.
"It's longer, but you get in here, it's worth it,'' said Lou Schiff, of Parkland, who attended the first Marlins game in 1993 and has upper-deck season tickets at the new park.
That's what this is, too. It's a park. And while all praise for the design needs to start with the public footing the bill, publicly funded new baseball stadiums for Washington and the New York Mets recently drew shoulder shrugs. This will draw civic, baseball and architectural raves.
"I've got people calling from all over wanting to come with me to games,'' Schiff said. "A friend from Alaska. Another high-school friend from New York is coming. That just covers April, too."
If it doesn't work, it won't be for lack of planning. Stadium chef Jim Abbey cited a menu of normal ballpark fare plus key-lime lobster roll and a marlin-shrimp burger. Plus, he said, all the rolls for hot dogs and hamburgers will be toasted.
For years, the Marlins have sold the smell of grass and the whack of the bat on Opening Day. What else did they have? They even ran out of hot dogs one Opening Day.
Now they're starting over. And they're starting it right. They've made bold moves on the roster, big moves in the marketing and the best move of all into this stadium.
It doesn't mean there are enough baseball fans in South Florida. It just means, once and for all, there's no other reason if attendance remains among the league's worst.
dhyde@tribune.com. Follow at Twitter/davehydesports
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