Miami Marlins Adding Entertainment Complex to LoanDepot Park Stadium
By Julia Echikson January 15, 2025 5:22 pm
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The Miami Marlins baseball franchise is adding an entertainment development to the county-owned LoanDepot Park stadium in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, in a bid to turn it into a year-round destination (and boost the MLB team’s popularity and ticket sales).
Called Miami Live!, the project will include indoor and outdoor dining and entertainment spaces, replacing the 3.5-acre West Plaza, though the development’s precise details remain unclear. Construction is expected to be completed in 2026.
The development is a partnership with Baltimore-based The Cordish Companies, which built similar entertainment developments connected to MLB stadiums in Arlington, Texas, and Kansas City, Mo.
“This investment is an important example of our commitment to providing an elevated experience for all at LoanDepot Park,” Caroline O’Connor, Miami Marlins president of business operations, said in a statement.
Entrance to Miami Live! will be free and will not require a ticket to a game at LoanDepot Park.
Unlike the baseball stadium — which cost over $600 million to build, with most of the funds controversially coming from the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County — Miami Live! will be privately financed. The Miami Marlins did not provide a cost estimate for the project.
The 1 million-square-foot LoanDepot Park, which includes a retractable roof, was completed on a 16-acre site in 2012, following the demolition of the historic Orange Bowl outdoor stadium.
Since the stadium’s opening, the Miami Marlins have had only two winning seasons. Last year, attendance ranked second to last of all MLB teams, according to ESPN.
Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.
