Marlins Exec VP/Ballpark Development Claude Delorme said that the team along with city and county officials “spent more time dealing with parking than any other issue other than the roof and air conditioning” in construction of the team’s new ballpark in Little Havana, according to Hal Habib of the PALM BEACH POST. Delorme said, "We realize that the experience starts and ends with parking." The new Marlins ballpark “will provide 5,700 parking spaces in four garages and six surface lots, but those spaces will be spoken for by season-ticket holders, players, staff, officials and media members.” Parking “will be included in most season tickets, but if you have season seats beyond the baselines or buy single-game tickets, your best options will be to use shuttle services from nearby lots, public transportation or someone’s lawn.” The ballpark has a capacity “of 37,000 compared to the Orange Bowl's 74,476, and the OB had more than 2,000 fewer on-site parking spaces.” The Marlins estimate that fans “will need a total of 11,000 parking spaces for sellouts.” Delorme said that the Marlins contacted “every season-ticket holder to determine if the customer prefers an assigned space on the north or south side based on the preferred routes to and from the ballpark.” Habib notes, “As for parking on private lawns, until opening day 2012, there's no telling how that option will go over with fans unfamiliar with this staple of the Orange Bowl experience. Even those living in proximity of the ballpark, with a chance to profit, seem unsure.” Delorme said that fans “without on-site parking will be able to take a direct shuttle from park-and-ride locations downtown.” The Marlins also “might offer shuttles from the Civic Center near the Miami River.” Still, Delorme estimated that that leaves “2,000 to 3,000 cars parking on private lawns.” Delorme: "Where they used to park 12 cars, they're going to end up parking four or five" (PALM BEACH POST, 9/23).
