Reyes Leaning Toward Marlins, But Wants To See More Offers

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• 86mets November 12, 2011 at 10:25 am

  On one hand you have to admire the Marlins for being so aggressive in going after players they want with a willingness to spend to get that player. On the other hand you have to wonder when that strategy will blow up in their face. Since their inception the Marlins have never been a good draw in Miami even when winning two World Series and developing exciting talent (Miguel Cabrera and Hanley Ramirez). Part of that can be attributed to the fire sales following their Championships because ownership said they couldn’t afford the players. Part of it can be blamed on playing in a football stadium not really designed for baseball. So, is this new ballpark going to infuse them with the cash to spend $15-20 million on Reyes another possible $8-10 million on Buherle, and possibly still try to land Pujols or Fielder or some other marquee free agent this winter? They really must believe that their revenue stream is going fill their bank account and allow them to spend like the Red Sox, Yankees, and Phillies.

  The question in my mind is will the new ballpark make such a huge impact on attendance? Likely they’re hoping the new park combined with a marquee signing or two COMBINED will sell out their new park. Maybe it will. But maybe it won’t. Who knows? Could it be that in Florida you need new state of the art ballparks to attract fans? It could be seeing as how poorly the Rays have drawn since 2008 even though they’ve been to the WS, and been to the playoffs 3 out of the 4 years. Or could it be that Floridians really don’t care that much about baseball? I guess 2012 will be the test of that with the Marlins whether they sign Reyes or Pujols or both.
  • Metsie November 12, 2011 at 10:31 am

    “The question in my mind is will the new ballpark make such a huge impact on attendance? ”

    It’s not the attendance thats key to the new stadium.
    Its the fact that anything you buy, park, eat they get a cut of now that they NEVER got in the old stadium because all that money went to the Miami Dolphins!

    They now not only make the attendance Which may even stay the same if Reyes doesnt’t make it go up, but they will get all the concession money they never got before!

    And that money is being used to get some star power free agents that will ensure not only that Attendance goes up but that the concessions they never got before come out to a hefty sum!

    Like I have said about Reyes with the mets…Reyes practically pays for himself in attendance and concessions!
  • Drew November 12, 2011 at 8:50 pm

    Metsie makes a great point about concessions and parking, but on your point about attendance numbers, they won’t go up. After the initial honeymoon period, the team’s actual fanbase (located in Palm Beach and north Broward counties) will not make the 90-120 minute drive to the games. They’ll sell out the cheap seats (as they did at Sun Life Stadium), and they’ll sell out the stadium for any playoff games, but no one will buy season tickets in the money sections.

    It’d be like the Mets moving to Trenton if no one in New Jersey wanted to pay more than $6 for a ticket and even then only if the team was winning.
    • gary s. November 13, 2011 at 1:29 am

      I checked out the new ballparks ticket pricing.Good seats downstairs available for 40-50 per game.Seems like they followed the phillies pricing model,Not the idiotic mets with their 500 dollar seats behind home plate.
      • Drew November 13, 2011 at 2:21 am

        (Brace yourself, this is a long post…sorry)

        The Marlins have always done Buy One, Get One bullpen box seats just past the infield dirt (essentially, 2 for $26 or $36, I forget which) and they STILL couldn’t draw 10,000 a game (and never sell out even those sections). I’m just saying that, as someone who attended games at Sun Life Stadium for about 16 seasons (1993-2008 when I moved away), I can tell you from experience that the fan base who shells out for the non-dirt-cheap tickets isn’t in Miami, it’s north and north by a good bit.

        Fish Tank seats (started out as last row upper deck, then became right-center field when they closed the upper decks in 2007 or 2008, except for Friday-Saturday) went for $6 each. I’ll say it again, $6 each. Those tickets sold. BOGO bullpen box seats? Not even close. And forget about the seats between 1st and 3rd.

        The new stadium looks great, it does, but it’s in the wrong location. To further the point, and if you’re really that interested, compare what seats sell at Florida Panthers games (played in northern Broward county) to what seats sold at Florida Marlins games. Neither team has traditionally drawn very well, and both offer similar deals. But the Panthers lower level fills out better than the uppers (2 for $60 tickets lower level) while the Marlins can only really consistently sell outfield seats (the equivalent of uppers). Why? Because the people who decide to pick up and go to a sporting event that night in Broward/Palm Beach/St. Lucie county would prefer to spend the extra cash and get better seats, while the people in Miami-Dade go because it’s cheap (not all, just going by the numbers).

        The only reason the stadium is where it is is because Loria got paid big bucks by the city of Miami to re-brand, while the city of Sunrise (where the Panthers play) wouldn’t pay a lot towards building a new stadium.

        The pricing of the tickets isn’t the problem, it’s the location of the ballpark. You build in the geographical center of your fanbase (think about it, Flushing is easily accessed from downtown and Jersey AND from Long Island). They instead moved to the southern-most tip of the fanbase, completely alienating fans in Palm Beach county (no one who leaves work at 5:00 in Palm Beach could make it to the new ballpark for a 7:05 first pitch now), Broward (would have to leave BY 5:20 to get there for first pitch), and St. Lucie (home of the St. Lucie Mets and a big baseball fanbase, would have to leave by 4:30 to have a shot at getting there in time for first pitch).

        Now tell me, when you play a majority (should be about 2/3) of your games Monday-Friday night, does it make sense to build your stadium where 2/3 of your fanbase can’t get there after work in time for the game to start?

        Sorry about the length of the post, just a lot of info to pass along…I feel like t agee or Metsie making a post like this
        • Joe Diaz November 13, 2011 at 5:11 am

          Everything you say Drew seems to be accurate since I have a friend that just moved into my developement from that area and they say the same thing.The location of the new stadium is a mistake according to them.they’ll likely draw fairly well the 1st year or two but once the novelty of the new park wears off then it will be back to 10,000 fans a night.
        • gary s. November 13, 2011 at 9:51 am

          I visit friends in fort lauderdale and have seen the mets play at sun lite vs the marlins.Your points are valid about travel from points north of ballpark.A more northern location would have made more sense, but as we have seen with the Wilpons, owners are looking to stuff their greedy pockets first and make the fans happy a distant second.Maybe thats why Loria is looking to sign Reyes and another free agent,He won’t draw flies without some name recogntion
    • Metsie November 13, 2011 at 8:43 am

      I don’t know Drew
      The old Orange Bowl site never seemed to have issues selling out when the Phins were there!

      Granted they had a perfect season and couple of SB titles to help with that!
      And I also note that Florida is one hell of a football loving state!

      They may lose some of the folks who are buying tickets now but I think they will still increase attendance if they get the stars they are targeting.
      • Donal November 13, 2011 at 9:35 am

        And there were only 8 games a year there.
      • Drew November 13, 2011 at 12:40 pm

        The Dolphins haven’t played at the Orange Bowl site in over 20 years (1987). The last time the Dolphins played at the Orange Bowl, the Panthers, Marlins, and Heat did not exist. I don’t think using that as a comparison is valid anymore.
• D.C. November 12, 2011 at 1:03 pm

  Don’t go there Reyes. Please Stay!
• theonlymaskman November 13, 2011 at 10:41 am

  Here goes Mets fans criticizing the Marlins for the siting of their new stadium. How silly! Stop criticizing other teams and recognize that they are making a serious effort to sign Jose’ Reyes while we are not. Once again we have duscussion that is no more than whistling in the dark. WAKE UP! Jose’ is leaving and with him any hope at competing in this league. Yeah, laugh all you want at the Marlins. All I know is that once Jose’ is gone, I will be a cold day in h_ll when I’ll attend another Mets game. However, should Jose’ be a Marlin, I will make the trip to Miami to see him play when I vacation in the Port St Lucie area. I vacation there every spring and I won’t be fretting over the commute. If Jose’ signs with the Marlins, I will attend some Marlins games but nary a Mets game. Now, don’t go and blame ME for this situation. I’m just telling you how I will respond to this developing events. I will probably wave a “former Mets fan” sign at those games as well.
  • Drew November 13, 2011 at 12:51 pm

    As someone who has been a Mets fan since birth and moved to south Florida as a five-year-old in the same month the Marlins started playing (April, 1993) I not only have a right to criticize the Fish but also the ability to share some insight into another team in the Mets division that many Mets fans may not have. A simple side conversation about the Marlins new stadium doesn’t mean we still aren’t focused on wanting Reyes back.

    Enjoy that two-hour commute. You may be willing to do that a few times a year (I, living in north Mississippi, drive 4 hours each way to attend Nashville Predators games a few times each year) but you certainly won’t be a season ticket holder.

    Oh, and if losing a star player to another team is enough to make you a “former Mets fan”, then you were never a fan to begin with. Darryl Strawberry was my favorite player as a little kid (my first glove had his facsimile signature on the palm), and even as a pre-teen I didn’t start cheering for the Yankees because I noticed that my favorite player was playing in the Bronx. You either bleed orange and blue or you don’t, period.
• Sach November 13, 2011 at 4:40 pm

  I think I feel ill- Acc. to DINOCOSTA on twitter and other sources, Jose Reyes has signed with the Marlins.
• Sach November 13, 2011 at 4:42 pm

  Deal pending on Hanley moving to 3B.
• Sach November 13, 2011 at 4:44 pm

  I guess there really weren’t any other offers out there that topped the Marlins.
  • Bayonne Mets Fan November 13, 2011 at 4:49 pm

    We’ve all seen Jose around here for years and I’m not surprised he didn’t wait for any other offers. Jose just wanted to play in FLA. Personally i thought MIL would’ve had a shot.

    Nonetheless, nice job Sandy. Nice job “waiting” for Jose to come crawling back looking for an offer.

    Marlins Wined and Dined and Win. Sandy sends a text msg