Marlins Pres. Says Fans Should Expect Long Lines For Big Games
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Miami Marlins have complained in the past of poor attendance at games. But when a record crowd shows up for Opening Day and massive lines for concessions ensued, the team had a message for disgruntled fans…get over it.
"I really do not like long lines at concessions, but any time you have 30,000 people all trying to eat at once, there will be lines," Marlins president David Samson told CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald. "We're never going to have 35,000 people in here and not have complaints. For soccer, concerts, whatever; it won't happen. I'm sorry for the fans. I want every fan to have a perfect experience."
Samson said ideally the wait time for concessions with a packed stadium should be 14-18 minutes, but on Monday admitted there were some in the 21-25 minute range. Samson also said that a traffic accident near the stadium caused major traffic problems for fans coming in from the Dolphin Expressway.
"We tell people there are so many different ways to get to this ballpark," Samson said. "But everyone was taking the same way. So there was so much more load into the area from two choke points."
Samson said multiple lane closures on I-95 following the conclusion of Monday's Miami Heat game combined with the ending of Marlins game caused major issues leaving the stadium as well, according to the Herald.
"When I go to a Heat game, we have the best parking spots and best seats in the entire arena," Samson said. "I sit in traffic and that's it. So you choose to come early, park and eat around there. You can do the same thing here. My wife got here at 5:45 and didn't have one issue."
Samson told the Herald the team had only 47 complaints about Opening Day problems, which he said was much better than when Marlins Park opened in 2012.
Problems didn't persist into Tuesday, but neither did the crowds. The Marlins played in front of just 15,906 fans, or 42.5% capacity, for the second game of the season.
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