Florida Marlins to Relocate?
It’s no secret the Marlins have had horrendous attendance records despite winning two World Series in the past 10 years. Hispanic people love baseball don’t they? It doesn’t make sense that a city full of Cubans can’t sell out a baseball game. Marlins President David Samson is fed up saying the club will “explore the relocation of the Marlins”. He thinks the Marlins will try to stay in a Florida market, but I don’t see that happening.The Marlins have wanted a new stadium since the day they became a franchise. They’ve been sharing a stadium with the Dolphins since 1993. It’s not like there isn’t enough money in South Florida. It’s not like there aren’t enough people. Baseball in Florida just doesn’t seem to work (see the Tampa Bay Devil Rays). In a state where the game can be played year round and a state that produces many pros, it just doesn’t make sense that a pro team can’t survive. Do they really think a new stadium will cure attendance problems? It won’t. The sure fire way to increase attendance is to win, right? That’s not the case in Miami.
"This does not mean that the Marlins are necessarily leaving South Florida," Samson said. "It does, however, mean that we're going to seriously explore all of our options, including those in other markets. As part of this process, I do anticipate that will be engaging in discussions with other cities."
I think the Marlins should just leave Florida all together and move to a city that will support them. Are they looking at moving to West Palm Beach and trying to bank in on the growing geriatric population? How about the tourist market in Orlando? No cities in Florida can house this team. So you ask what cities can support a Major League Baseball team? I’ll run down the top 5 contenders.
1. Portland
2. Las Vegas
3. Oklahoma City
4. Memphis/Nashville
5. New Orleans (just kidding)
You would think Vegas would be an attractive market, but there’s no way MLB will associate itself with the gambling that goes on in Vegas.
posted by David Lithman at 3:33 PM
6 Comments:
It would be nice if the Marlins could find another Florida market, because I like having (regular season) baseball in that part of the country. And I think Miami's proven to be a terrible sports town over the years. But as you said, baseball's struggling in Tampa Bay too, so maybe it is a Florida thing.
Of the markets listed, I like Portland and Nashville. I wonder if there's much interest in the Carolinas, like in Charlotte?
Carolina baseball is big in the minor league system. Charolette didn't even cross my mind. I wouldn't be surprised if major league baseball could thrive there.
The Fish will always lose attendence if they keep trading guys because they can't afford them or they want a new stadium. I don't believe Flordia and baseball cannot mix. Give either the Marlins or the Devil Rays a consistant competitive team and the fans will come and they will get their stadium. The Marlins gotta so South Florida not only that they can get guys like Delgado down there, but to keep them .
A)Why should Floridians spend any money on a sports palace when there's hurricane rebuilding to be done?
B)The Marlins made their bed by insisting on a retractable roof. If they weren't married to the idea of a roof, they would be able to fund a new stadium without public money.
C)It's time people realized Miami is akin to Oakland, CA, when it comes to baseball. Yes, fans will show up in semi-reasonable numbers, but you can't expect them to sell out a 40,000 seat stadium every time out. When you put them in a 60,000 seat stadium, things seem worse than they are. As in Oakland, they sell out for the playoffs and when the Yankees and Red Sox come to town. They just have to accept that, in Florida, it's a less than ideal, but very workable, situation.
One also has to wonder the Braves have horrible attendence problems and they've won like 14 division titles in a row. They can't sell out playoff games!
Florida Marlins are as good as gone within the next few years.
My wife and I went to a Marlins game two years ago while on vacation. I walked up to the ticket window 10 minutes before the opening pitch and bought front row seats. There was no one at the game.
I would love to see them come here to Oklahoma City.
Post a Comment
<< Home