MINOR LEAGUE

Sun Life Stadium
Miami, FL

Opening in 1987, Sun Life Stadium (then called Joe Robbie Stadium) was the first stadium built primarily for football, and later used permanently for baseball. Miami Dolphins (NFL) owner Joe Robbie first lobbied for a new stadium in 1984 for the Dolphins. After a site was selected, construction began on December 1, 1985. The first football game was played in August of 1987. Three levels of seats enclose the entire stadium. When the stadium was built for the Dolphins, Joe Robbie insisted on a rectangular grandstand layout that was wider than needed for football believing that baseball would possibly come to Miami. The stadium hosted 13 pre season baseball games prior to having a team and has had several names over the years. Originally known as Joe Robbie Stadium, it was renamed Pro Player Stadium in 1996 and renamed Dolphin Stadium in January 2005. In May 2009, the stadium's naming rights were briefly bought by Land Shark Lager, a beer that Jimmy Buffett markets in a deal with Anheuser-Busch. The facility is now known as Sun Life Stadium after Sun Life Financial purchased the naming rights for $7.5million for five years annually.

In 1991, Major League Baseball awarded South Florida a baseball franchise. In order to accommodate baseball several changes were made at Sun Life Stadium. Retractable seating on the north side of the stadium was added, a baseball press box in the southwest corner of the facility was constructed, dugouts were built, and a hydraulic disappearing pitcher's mound was installed. On April 5, 1993, the Florida Marlins played their first game at the stadium.

Today, Sun Life Stadium is that last multipurpose stadium in the National League. Three main levels, consisting of 75,000 orange and teal seats surround the playing field. The majority of the seats in the upper deck, except behind homeplate are closed, giving Sun Life Stadium a baseball seating capacity of just over 36,000. At various times throughout the Marlins tenure at Sun Life Stadium tarps have covered many of the upper decks to lessen the effect of having empty seats during the baseball season. However, they have since been removed. Built mainly for football, the outfield fence has many quirks and different angles providing for some interesting plays in the outfield. The left field wall stands 33 feet high as seats for football are retracted behind here. Nicknamed the teal monster, an out-of-town scoreboard was located here until 2010 when it was replaced with advertisements. This was because its was cost prohibitive for the team to keep the scoreboard operating since they plan to move into their new ballpark in 2012. Two HD videoboards are located atop opposite ends of the upper deck to provide fans with video replays and scores around the league.

Because of Sun Life Stadium's massive size and its location, the Marlins are currently constructing a new ballpark in the Little Havana neighborhood, two miles from downtown Miami. Scheduled to open in April 2012, the Marlins new ballpark will have a seating capacity of 37,000. Although the Marlins have played at one of the worst stadiums in baseball since 1993, they have had several successful teams, winning the World Series in 1997 and 2003.  

BALLPARK MERCHANDISE

2010 Opening Day Chase Field Poster with Signatures - NEW!
12"x20" Limited to 2,010

Sun Life Stadium Poster
Sizes Vary, Framed or Unframed

Sun Life Stadium Medallion and Infield Dirt Coin
Limited to 5,000

UPCOMING
GAMES