land shark stadium guide
Land Shark Stadium is the way too big, never crowded home of the Florida Marlins. Formerly known as Dolphin Stadium, the Marlins are consistently one of the teams with the lowest attendance in baseball. If you are one of the few going to a game there, you have decent bargaining power when it comes to buying tickets.
parking
Land Shark Stadium has ample parking for baseball, and the lots open 2 hours before the game, which really isn’t early enough in my opinion. However, the official team lots surrounding the stadium cost $10, and you really should park there.
The Marlins are building a new ballpark opening in 2011, at which time they will rename themselves the Miami Marlins, which has a better ring to it. Right now, Land Shark Stadium is surrounded by concrete parking lots, and was built for and is still used as the home of the Dolphins. So when a facility built to accommodate 50,000+ Dolphins fans has to hold 5,000 Marlins fans, there are no parking issues.
The only place I know where people have parked for free at a Marlins game is to park at the nearby Wal-Mart. On NW 27th Ave. You do run the risk of getting towed I guess, but if you walk in and buy some snacks to take to the game you are technically a patron. I can’t personally recommend this option, I would just assume fork out $10 rather than walk 15 minutes in the Miami heat.
Traffic in and out shouldn’t be too bad of a problem, given the well documented lack of attendance. So any stadium lot will do.
parking
Land Shark Stadium has ample parking for baseball, and the lots open 2 hours before the game, which really isn’t early enough in my opinion. However, the official team lots surrounding the stadium cost $10, and you really should park there.
The Marlins are building a new ballpark opening in 2011, at which time they will rename themselves the Miami Marlins, which has a better ring to it. Right now, Land Shark Stadium is surrounded by concrete parking lots, and was built for and is still used as the home of the Dolphins. So when a facility built to accommodate 50,000+ Dolphins fans has to hold 5,000 Marlins fans, there are no parking issues.
The only place I know where people have parked for free at a Marlins game is to park at the nearby Wal-Mart. On NW 27th Ave. You do run the risk of getting towed I guess, but if you walk in and buy some snacks to take to the game you are technically a patron. I can’t personally recommend this option, I would just assume fork out $10 rather than walk 15 minutes in the Miami heat.
Traffic in and out shouldn’t be too bad of a problem, given the well documented lack of attendance. So any stadium lot will do.
tickets
Where to start?
I always recommend planning ahead for finding good value at a baseball game. That is never truer than with a Marlins game. Quite honestly, I was shocked when I saw their regular ticket prices. They are pretty expensive and more costly when you don’t buy in advance.
You will pay around $20 for an upper deck ticket, and the upper deck just feels further away at Land Shark Stadium. The cheapest tickets are in the “fish tank” which in the outfield, but they will end up costing around $12 a piece as well.
The Marlins do offer a number of promotions, and if I were in the Miami area and going to go to a game, I would make sure and take advantage of a special offer or occasionally look on eBay for a good deal. I am going to run down some highlights that might interest you.
The Marlins offer a unique voucher program where you get 10 vouchers and can just walk up and redeem them whenever you want. The only exclusion is Saturdays, but I still think this is a decent deal as you get season ticket-like discount which starts at $85 for 10 Fish Tank vouchers.
The Marlins do a half raffle on Sunday games, where they give away half money that comes in in a drawing and the rest goes to charity. Check out a Sunday game to get a little gambling fix with your baseball.
The 4 for $54 deal includes 4 tickets, 4 dogs, 4 drinks, and 2 programs to any Friday game. This saves you some pretty good money for taking in a Friday game.
Saturdays are the best all around experience if you are going to Land Shark Stadium. Most Saturdays include both a fireworks show and a post game concert. There is also a drawing on Saturdays where one fan wins $2,500 to pay toward their mortgage or rent.
Here is another cool one, Monday home games mean free tickets if you are unemployed. You just need to show government documentation of that status, and you get 4 tickets free. This is valid for at least the 2009 season.
Tickets can always be found on eBay as well, and many times at below face value. Here is my advice for ticket buying on eBay; wait until the last minute. I know that sounds crazy, and you would think that closer to the event the prices would shoot up; but that is not the case. I have bought and sold plenty of tickets on eBay and I have found that when I sell them early I get top dollar because there is less competition. As the event gets closer, everybody in America who is selling tickets begins to list them at auction. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that when the market is flooded with supply the price is driven down. I don't know if there are any published numbers to back me up, but I have seen it time and time again. So if buying on eBay, buy late. Here are a couple of auctions ending soon with a current bid under $50.
food
You can bring in small bags and snacks into Land Shark Stadium. You can also take in sealed plastic bottles of soda or water. This is always a great way to save money at a Marlins game. There is a Wal-Mart nearby which I mentioned earlier, or you could just bring some stuff from home. Unfortunately there isn’t a correlation to team performance and concession prices, so they are outrageous in Miami as well.
The ballpark food at Landshark Stadium is lacking for originality as well, which is all the more reason to not buy it. Another option that I consistently recommend is Restaurant.com Here you can buy $25 gift certificates to local restaurants for $10. You can also do a google search for "Restaurant.com coupon codes" and almost always get an extra 60 - 80% off that. I often buy these $25 certificates for $2. That is the best way to eat a decent meal before or after the game and save a chunk of change. When you follow the link, just type in the zip code of Land Shark Stadium (33056) to see what restaurants are nearby.