Going, going ... it’s out of the park
In this 2012 file photo, the home run sculpture at Marlins Park lights up after a home run. On Tuesday, the team received county permission to move the statue out of the stadium. The sculpture will be placed in the plaza outside the stadium, and will continue to move when a Marlins player hits a home run. It also will move at 3:05 p.m. — Miami’s area code is 305 — on game days, and perhaps after victories.
Whether you loved it or hated it, one thing is now certain — you won’t be seeing the gaudy 76-foot home run sculpture residing in Marlins Park anymore.
On Tuesday, the team received county permission to move the statue out of the stadium. The sculpture will be placed in the plaza outside the stadium, and will continue to move when a Marlins player hits a home run. It also will move at 3:05 p.m. — Miami’s area code is 305 — on game days, and perhaps after victories.
“We appreciate the support and collaboration for our proposal from the county and the Art in Public Places trust,” the Marlins said in a statement. They added the new location “will allow the piece to be enjoyed year manner.”
The Marlins plan on replacing the home run sculpture with standing room-only section.
President of business operations Chip Bowers said in August that implementing those sections and high-top bars at a lower round in
amore publicfacing
price would be part of an effort to reengage with the Miami and millennial audience.
“We have not done a great job of marketing toward Miami,” Bowers said.
“We haven’t paid enough attention to people a little bit closer to us — so Wynwood, Brickell. You see how Miami has evolved so much over the past five years. How do we embrace the millennial segment? How do we embrace Coconut Grove, Coral Gables? We feel there’s an opportunity to do something at a low price point.”
One of the last visible pieces from the Jeffrey Loria era, the sculpture was created for $2.5 million ahead of the team’s 2012 move to Marlins Park. Created by artist Red Grooms, the sculpture has been a fixture inside the stadium for the past six seasons.
“[The] design for the Home Run Sculpture depicts an elaborate tableau of bright colors, stylized water and LED lights,” the Marlins previously wrote on the team website. “Dotted with clouds, pelicans, seagulls and plenty of Florida-inspired flair, the design incorporates jumping marlins, a pair of flamingos that flap their wings, jetting streams of water and rolling ocean waves that activate when Marlins home runs are hit.”
After Loria sold the team last year, new owners of Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter were reportedly not keen on keeping the sculpture inside Marlins Park.
When asked for his thoughts on the sculpture in February, Jeter was coy on matter, saying “It’s big” and that “It’s unique.”
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.