Marlins Park Exec VP/Operations & Events Claude Delorme said that attendance for the three days of All-Star Game events beginning Sunday is "expected to exceed 110,000," according to Andre Fernandez of the MIAMI HERALD. Delorme also said that the MLB FanFest at the Miami Beach Convention Center, which "begins Friday and runs through Tuesday, has already sold more than 100,000 passes combined." To increase security, Marlins Park officials are "taking steps similar to the ones they used to handle major events such as Beyoncé’s concert" in April '16, which "drew a crowd larger than 35,000." Metal detectors will be "placed outside the perimeter of Marlins Park to create a wider safe zone." The Home Run Derby and the ASG itself are "each likely to draw crowds at or near the facility’s attendance record for baseball (37,446) set during March’s World Baseball Classic game" between the U.S. and the Dominican Republic. Marlins Park has a capacity of 37,442, but the club is "adding standing-room-only tickets for the games." Delorme said that the MLB Futures Game and Celebrity Softball Game, the "first big events of the weekend held Sunday at Marlins Park, have sold upwards of 30,000 tickets" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/6). In Miami, George Richards cited Tickpick data as showing that this is the "easiest and cheapest All-Star ticket in the past few years." Tickpick said that the "average price of a ticket for sale" to Tuesday’s ASG is $550 -- a 31% drop ($253) from last year’s game in San Diego and a 62% drop ($885) from the '13 game at Citi Field (MIAMIHERALD.com, 7/6).
BAIT & SWITCH: In Miami, Clark Spencer writes, "After waiting more than two decades, South Florida is finally hosting the All-Star Game that was promised to it in 1995 -- two years after the Marlins joined the majors." MLB awarded the '00 ASG to South Florida in '95, but in '98, the year after the Marlins "won their first World Series and then-owner Wayne Huizenga promptly shredded the roster, the league pulled the plug on it." Instead the league awarded the game to the Braves' Turner Field, saying that South Florida "needed a new stadium in order to host the event." Many "felt the league’s decision had more to do with the team’s fire sale -- and the bitter taste it left with Marlins fans -- than it had to do with not having a new ballpark." The Marlins "could have hosted last year’s All-Star Game," but it went instead to Petco Park in San Diego. Marlins President David Samson: "We switched with San Diego due to booking issues. San Diego needed to host in ’16 instead of ’17. We agreed, and I’m so glad we did.” Samson said that in some ways, hosting the ASG now is a "bigger deal than it would have been" in '00. Samson: "All-Star week is so much bigger now" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/6).
