Diligence and disinfectant drones: How Marlins are getting ballpark ready for Opening Day
Step inside Marlins Park, and so much looks the same.
That’s exactly how the Miami Marlins want it as Opening Day for the 2021 MLB season, April 1, against the Tampa Bay Rays inches closer.
After having to play in an empty ballpark during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, a season in which the Marlins reached the playoffs for the first time since 2003, the Marlins are set to have a reduced-capacity crowd at their home ballpark. The plan to begin the season is to cap attendance at about 25 percent capacity for the 37,446-seat ballpark and, pandemic conditions permitting, slowly increasing as the season goes along.
“There are going to be some differences from the last time fans were here,” Marlins head of experience and innovation Michael Shaw said, “but our goal is to not have to compromise on the experience and the fun. We’re going to have to walk that balance.”
The Marlins have been doing their due diligence behind the scenes and around the ballpark to ensure the fan experience remains as authentic as possible.
They also have collaborated with the other pro teams in the South Florida market — the Miami Dolphins, Miami Heat and Florida Panthers — that have already welcomed fans back to games.
“We had the benefit of observing the operation of other teams throughout their seasons,” Marlins chief revenue officer Adam Jones said. “I’m sure there’s many things through their initial setup to how they either finished the year or are continuing through the year that they would change, so we’re certainly looking to apply as many of those lessons to our initial configuration here. There are a lot of unique aspects, though, to a baseball game and how experience the ballpark that we also had to account for, so our ability to work with our peers in Major League Baseball, the commissioner’s office and local health officials was critically important to how we formed our initial plans.
Disinfectant drones
Before fans even enter Marlins Park, the latest attempt at innovation and use of technology is at work.
The Marlins partnered with Rentokil, a global leader in disinfection, hygiene, and pest control services, to use drones in order to disinfect the ballpark.
John Myers, president and CEO of Rentokil North America, explained that it said the Marlins are the first MLB team they have attempted to use this technology with.
“They’re a very innovative organization,” Myers said of the Marlins, “so it was a perfect match of saying ‘We could do it the old fashioned way or we could do it through an innovative way.’”
Licensed pilots use FAA-approved drone technology and flight path programming to cover large open areas like the Marlins Park seating bowl. The disinfectant spray dries after four minutes and attacks the coronavirus, norovirus, H1N1, SARS, MRSA, swine flu, E. Coli and Salmonella, among others. The formula leaves behind no harsh fumes or visible residue.
The drone can carry up to three gallons of disinfectant per flight. That’s enough to cover about 10,000 square feet per flight, equivalent to about 1,000 seats at the ballpark.
For a nearly 40,000-seat stadium like Marlins Park, it will take about half a day to disinfect.
Basic measures
The Marlins will be applying a lot of the basic principles that have been in place for social gatherings during the pandemic.
Face coverings need to be worn at all times when not eating or drinking for everyone older than 2. Cloth masks, gaiters and masks with exhalation valves are not permitted.
Signs reminding for social distancing are implemented throughout the stadium.
All Marlins Park parking garages will feature contactless mobile payment in order to “eliminate the person-to-person contact of stopping and rolling down the window and hand-to-hand paying of cash or credit,” Shaw said. Jones said parking in the four garages around Marlins Park will be $15 per game this year.
Tickets will also be digital and accessed by guests through the MLB Ballpark App. Ticketed guests will receive a time and gate location to enter the ballpark, which will be listed on each game ticket. Bags will not be permitted inside Marlins Park unless for medical or infant purposes; all bags are subject to inspection. Personal food items will not be permitted inside Marlins Park unless due to specific dietary restrictions.
The seating configuration has also been arranged to provide proper distancing between ticketed groups.
Mobile ordering
The Marlins plan to have all their main concession stands open and are introducing mobile ordering in order to reduce foot traffic and long lines at the food stands. Fans will be able to order food from their seat by scanning a QR code on the back of the chair in front of them, which redirects them to the Marlins’ mobile ordering website. They will receive a text message when their food is ready.
If already on the Promenade Level (the main concourse of Marlins Park), QR codes are available for scanning at the front of select concession stands.
“It’s going to reduce time in line that you’re waiting,” Shaw said, “so it’ll reduce frustration and give more time to watch baseball, but most importantly we know it’s safer.”
Just about all food options will be served in closed containers. While fans are allowed to walk around the ballpark, all food must be eaten at a person’s ticketed seat.
As for the Biscayne Bay Brew Hall, which was supposed to make its Marlins Park debut last season? It is expected to be ready for Opening Day, but Jones said capacity pregame and postgame will be limited to start the season.
.JPG)