The Marlins are installing a new three-level center field social area at Marlins Park, a project that will replace the recently departed “Homer” statue and signal a heightened emphasis by the club on communal spaces at the nearly seven-year-old ballpark. The forthcoming Center Field Zone, designed by MSA Sport, will include a top level accessible to all ticketed fans and featuring craft cocktails, a middle level exclusively sold as a standing-room social ticket with drink rails and a lower level serving as a group hospitality space. The Center Field Zone will be joined by a second area, the SRO Social Section, in the right field corner that will featured five tiered drink rails. The Center Field Zone and SRO Social Section will combine to have a capacity of about 600, and access to both areas will be sold through SRO Social Passes starting at $10 per game. The moves seek to mirror successful communal spaces at other MLB ballparks, including The Treehouse in Oakland and The Rooftop at Coors Field. “We didn’t feel like we had enough product for the millennial audience, and this is another step in our effort to re-imagine our in-game experience,” said Marlins President of Business Operations Chip Bowers.
MORE VISUAL CHANGES COMING: The new areas, slated to be ready for the start of the ’19 season, will be joined by other major visual changes at Marlins Park including a shift in the outfield wall color from bright green to a blue that matches the ballpark seat color. The Marlins Park batter’s eye has also been redesigned and will include ivy next to the Center Field Zone. The Marlins last month won unanimous county permission to move the oft-debated home run sculpture, over the objections of designer Red Grooms, to the plaza outside the ballpark, in turn creating room for the new Center Field Zone.
