New Marlins Ballpark

Lots of little details have been leaking out about the New Marlins Ballpark. The dome is progressing quite nicely as you can see in this webcam capture below.



Another detail that leaked this week is the figural row ends for the ballpark. With no naming sponsor for the park yet, the Fish seem to be going with their new "M" logo for the ends:
Image Per Uni-Watch

Also released this week is the Marlins new "Home Run Celebration" art piece. The Mets' apple is great. I like the Phillies' neon bell, Bernie's slide etc, but this thing is weird. Judge for yourself...

Per Biz of Baseball
I lived in Miami for four years (undergrad at U of Miami) and as strange as the new logo and HR celebration seem, they really do represent the city quite well. The park is set to open on April 4, 2012 vs the Cardinals. I hope to get down there sometime in the first few months of the season.

Check out construction progress: Here
Check out renderings: Here

Figural Row Ends - Volume 1 - NL East

"Figural Row Ends" (aka Figural Seats) are the logos that are cast on the end of a row at a ballpark. I'm sure they go unnoticed by most fans, but they're an interesting touch that really personalizes the ballpark. Sometimes they have the park's logo and sometimes the team's logo. While a lot of the multipurpose stadiums from the 60's and 70's did not have this feature, the tradition goes back to baseball's beginnings. They were seen in parks as far back as Cincinnati's Crosley Field and New York's Polo Grounds.

In this blog entry, I'll go through the figural row ends of the National League East.


Citizens Bank Park

Starting with the three-time defending champs of the NL East, the Citizens Bank Park row ends feature the team's logo. With the ballpark's large neon liberty bell that rings for home runs, it was natural for the Phillies to use the liberty bell logo on the seat ends. Along with the bell is the Phillies script logo.


Citi Field

The NL East's newest ballpark, Citi Field, features two different row ends. The two logos alternate from row to row. One row has the Mets logo and the next has the Citi Field logo. Unlike most of the row ends in the league, Citi Field's are actually just a blank circle on the iron with a big sticker on it. While it seems cheap, its probably a good idea to have replacable logos when your naming sponsor is basically under government control.


Turner Field

The row ends at Turner Field in Atlanta are very interesting. The red script Braves logo catches the eye, but behind it seems to be a silhouette of the great Hank Aaron in a home run swing. Behind Hammerin' Hank is the outline of a baseball field. Its all cast in iron right on the row end.


Nationals Ballpark

Nationals Ballpark keeps it pretty simple. A simple version of the Nationals' "Curly W" logo is cast onto the side of the seat post.


SunLife Stadium

At SunLife Stadium (formerly Dolphin Stadium and Landshark Stadium), the row ends feature the logo not of the stadium or the Marlins, but the logo of Marlins current landlord the Miami Dolphins. With the Marlins slated to open their new park in 2012 this will change.

Check out these and many other images at StadiumPage.com.