Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Marlins attendance nearing new lows.
MIAMI — Attendance has long been an issue for the Miami Marlins. Under new ownership and CEO Derek Jeter this season, it remains one.
Entering Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Marlins ranked last in baseball by drawing 10,676 fans per home game at Marlins Park. The number would be the lowest across baseball since the Montreal Expos averaged 9,369 fans in their final season before moving to Washington.
The figure is staggeringly low, in part, because the team changed the way it reported attendance figures. Instead of counting all tickets distributed (including giveaways and heavily discounted ones), the Marlins are announcing tickets sold.
“We’re going to continue doing that, but we’re not happy with the number of people in here,” Jeter said. “A lot of that goes with how we’re doing on the field, too. We’re going to constantly try to increase the attendance here and constantly try to improve the performance on the field.”
The change in procedure has resulted in four announced crowds smaller than 6,000 fans. On April 30, the team drew just 5,415 people.
The Marlins carried a 15-26 record into Wednesday night, the second-worst mark in the National League. The team would be on pace for 103 losses, which would be the second-worst season in franchise history.
On Wednesday morning, the Marlins announced three newly hired executives who will be responsible for boosting fan support and attendance. They hired Elisa Padilla to be the senior vice president of marketing and community relations, Travis Apple to be the vice president of ticket sales and service, and Michael Shaw to be the vice president and head of customer engagement.
“We’re adding to our group,” Jeter said. “We wanted to improve. We had some quality individuals that we’ve added to this organization.”
Padilla once served as the chief marketing officer for the Brooklyn Nets and has also worked for the NBA and the New York Knicks. Most recently, she was the vice president of marketing for the Howard Hughes Corporation.
Apple spent the last two years working as the senior director at NBA Team Marketing and Business Operations but also has experience with the Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers.
Shaw comes from Amazon Tickets and also worked at Groupon and ESPN.
Jeter said the team was making progress on the business side of the organization.
“We have over 20-plus new partners, like I told you guys before,” Jeter said. “I spend a great deal of time out in the community speaking to existing partners, new partners, seasonticket holders, potential season-ticket holders and we’ve got a positive reception. People understand what we’re trying to do, but we have to prove that we’re going to do it. Bottom line is we want more people to come here.”