Making it easier to get to the game
Team partner Brightline offering reduced fare rates
MIAMI — Driving to Marlins Park from Broward or Palm Beach during rush hour can be a grueling experience.
Between relentless I-95 congestion to tight roadways near the stadium, making an hour-plus drive to the stadium can often be a deal-breaker for many from the start.
The Marlins are hoping their new partnership with Brightline will help alleviate some of those issues — and potentially attract more fans to the ballpark. Beginning July 26, Brightline, which is being rebranded as Virgin Trains USA, will offer discounted rates for fans in Broward and Palm Beach.
Using promo code “MARLINS,” fans will receive 30% off SMART ride passes and 20% off SELECT and SMART PLUS ride passes. Brightline prices vary based on time and demand. The high-speed train, which moves at 79 mph, has stations in West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
“One of the things we have to make sure is that [Marlins Park] is accessible to all of our fans,” Marlins vice president of corporate partnerships David Oxfeld said.
“We understand there’s a fan base in
Palm Beach and Broward that need to be able to get down here and figuring out mass transportation angles is certainly a focus of ours.”
Once fans arrive at Brightline’s Miami station — located 1.7 miles east of Marlins Park — they can take a Miami-Dade transit bus for the 10-minute ride to and from the stadium. Brightline also has a partnership with ride-share app Lyft as well.
Oxfeld said delivering additional transportation options to the ballpark came from its listening campaign as part of its ‘Dimelo’ strategy under its new ownership group, led by Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter.
By targeting Palm Beach and Broward, the Marlins are making more of a push to engage the two northern counties after focusing their offseason marketing push toward the area surrounding the stadium.
“I think for us, we have to worry about obviously getting the fan base that’s closest to us, whether that’s Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, Brickell [or] Pinecrest,” Jeter said before the season. “All these areas, we really have to focus on marketing toward them and getting them to the park and experience this Marlins brand of baseball now.
“I think we need to focus on what’s closest to us and then build out. We need to focus on the community that’s closest to the park.”
The Marlins will kick off their partnership with a pep rally on Thursday, July 25 at the Miami and Fort Lauderdale stations.
Beginning at 4 p.m. in Miami, the event will feature the Marlins Mermaids, Billy the Marlin, former reliever Antonio Alfonseca and a DJ. The rally will continue at 5 p.m. at the Fort Lauderdale station.
The partnership coincides with the Marlins’ “Throwback Weekend” from July 26-28, where the team will don its classic mid-’90s teal colors.
While the current Brightline partnership is a oneyear deal, the Marlins are hopeful they’ll extend the agreement beyond the 2019 season. In the future, they could potentially package both tickets together, making it a more seamless purchase.
If the Brightline partnership continues, the plan is apply similar discounts for Marlins spring training games next season at Jupiter’s Roger Dean Stadium.
The West Palm station is roughly 15-20 minutes from the Marlins’ spring facility. Grapefruit League play runs from late February to late March.
The Marlins are the second professional South Florida team to partner with Brightline, joining the Miami Heat. The Marlins have partnered with Brightline on discounted rates for fans from Broward and Palm Beach.