Welcome Miami Marlins!

South Florida’s Major League Baseball team officially became the Miami Marlins yesterday.  The team (formerly known as the Florida Marlins) had an appropriately glitzy unveiling of the new team name and logo, with some of the team’s players modeling their new uniforms.  The name change comes as part of the deal that moved the team from Sun Life Stadium to their new ballpark in Miami.

The new Miami Marlins Ballpark is built on the site of the famous Orange Bowl stadium.  It’s a very modern-looking stadium, with retractable roof to protect fans and players from Miami’s heat and frequent thunderstorms.  It may be new, but it won’t be big:  It’s one of the smallest stadiums in MLB, seating only 37,000.  If you’ve been to a Marlins game in recent years, you know that’s still a lot more seats than they’ve needed.  But the team expects much larger attendance starting in 2012 and plans on spending more money on hiring free agents to make the team more competitive.

While their old home was built for football, the new ballpark is all about baseball.  Seats are closer to the field and aligned for watching a baseball game.  Closest to the field are the 21,000 seats in the lower bowl.  Up one level are the 4,500 seats on the “Legends Level”, including 50 private suites.  The topmost level (10,000 seats) is called the “Vista Level”.  4,700 seats are in the outfield, most of them between center and right field.

The Marlins have also partnered with the The Clevelander, a classic South Miami Beach hotel to create a pool area in left field which will be called “The Clevelander”.  It will hold up to 150 fans (in groups of 20 or more) and features a poolside bar and grill.  The area will also be available for private events on non-game days.

If you’re planning a visit to Miami to see a Marlins game, TheRealPlaces.com has the web’s most popular guide to hotels near the new Miami Marlins Ballpark.

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