Features and Dimensions of the New Marlins Ballpark

Posted: January 27th, 2009

We’ve been looking closely at the renderings and here are our observations:

This is not a retro ballpark. It retains many of the swooping round design cues that can be found in both the American Airlines Arena and in the old renderings of the ballpark that included the Orange Bowl.

Dimensions are somewhat similar to Dolphin Stadium: 335 down the right field line, 392 in the gap, 416 leading to 420 in a Bermuda Triangle like layout in center, 384 in the left-field gap and 340 down the left-field line. Speaking of the Bermuda Triangle, the outfield walls curve rather than bend and the Triangle looks more like a sea shell then a triangle. Also, the outfield has a pool/beach area and a large animatronic marlin that will jump when the Marlins hit a home run. All the currently available renderings obscure that part of the ballpark which may also include a new version of the Teal Monster.

Right and center field have glass walls leading to green park areas and hopefully views of downtown Miami.

The roof both slides (like in Seattle) and accordions (like Houston). That means that the area outside the ballpark along the first base line will be partially covered when the roof is open. One side of this area is bound by a stretched spiral walkway which appears to have a large video screen for people outside the ballpark.

Conceptually, the ballpark has 3 seating tiers but even within tiers there are some breaks. The upper deck features several sections that are pushed back a bit to create standing room space. Also, the first group of rows along the first and third base lines seem to be separated from the rows above them. We’ve seen this in other ballparks where the premium seats are offset from the rest.

Large HD like scoreboards are located in the right field and left field gaps.

There are several green areas around the ballpark and every external walkway is lined with trees. Some of the flat green areas appear to be recreation areas for the community to use during the off season (one even has a diamond and dugouts that) that can be converted to parking during the season.