Miami Stadium

Coordinates: 25°47′57″N 80°12′40″W / 25.79907°N 80.210978°W / 25.79907; -80.210978

Miami Stadium
Full name	Bobby Maduro Miami Stadium (1987-2001)
Location	2301 Northwest 10th Avenue, Miami, Florida 33127
Opened	August 31, 1949
Demolished	2001
Owner	José Manuel Alemán (1949-1950) José Braulio Alemán (1950-1958) City of Miami (1958-1999) St. Martin Affordable Housing Inc. (1999-2001)
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	US$2,200,000
Capacity	13,000
Field dimensions	Left - 330 ft. Center - 400 ft. Right - 330 ft.
Tenants
Miami Sun Sox (FIL) (1949-1954) Miami Marlins (IL) (1956-1960) Baltimore Orioles (AL) (spring training) (1959-1990) Miami Marlins (FSL) (1962-1970, 1982-1988) Miami Orioles (FSL) (1971-1981) Miami Amigos (IAL) (1979) Gold Coast Suns (SPBA) (1989/1990)

Miami Stadium (also known as Bobby Maduro Miami Stadium) was a baseball stadium in Miami, Florida. It was primarily used for baseball, and was the home field of the Miami Marlins minor league baseball team, as well as other minor league teams. It opened in 1949 and held 13,500 people. It was also used as the Spring Training home of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950-1958 (for most of their "A" games). The Dodgers played their first game as the Los Angeles Dodgers at the ballpark when they opened their 1958 spring training schedule against the Phillies on March 8, 1958 in front of 5,966 fans.^[1] It was used during the spring by the Baltimore Orioles from 1959-1990. At the time of its construction, Miami Stadium was remarkably modern and well-appointed, although in time it would be surpassed by later designs.

On June 6, 1958, Orioles president James Keelty Jr. reached agreement with Miami Marlins president George B. Storer to move the Orioles spring training home from Scottsdale, Arizona to Miami Stadium for the 1959 spring training season.^[2] On May 25, 1990, the Orioles announced that the team would move their spring training home games from Miami Stadium to Bradenton and Sarasota in 1991. The Orioles had trained at Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota prior to spring games in 1989 and 1990.^[3]

The stadium was located on the block bounded by Northwest 23rd Street (south - first base), Northwest 10th Avenue (west - third base), and Northwest 8th Avenue (east - right field), with an open area behind left field extending about a block north.

A distinguishing feature of the ballpark was a high arched cantilever-type roof over the grandstand, in contrast to the typical styles of either flat and slightly sloping, or peaked like a house. This design enabled the ballpark to have a roof that covered most of the spectator area without any posts blocking the spectators' view. Al Lopez Field in Tampa, Florida employed a somewhat similar design with a less dramatic curve and less coverage.

When the Florida Marlins were established in 1993, the new club opted for Joe Robbie Stadium, the home of the Miami Dolphins football team, a much larger facility than Miami Stadium.

The City of Miami had proposed razing the stadium and selling the property for warehouses. But a sale price of $1.6 million plus demolition cost of $725,000, scared away would-be developers. The City rezoned the property in 1998 for housing. St. Martin Affordable Housing Inc. purchased the 12.6-acre (51,000 m²) property from the City of Miami for $2.1 million in 1999 to raze the stadium and build a rental housing project.^[4] A large apartment complex (called The Miami Stadium Apartments) now stands where the stadium was.

Estadio Quisqueya, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (built in 1959) is an almost exact replica of the stadium.

A PBS documentary, White Elephant: What Is There To Save?, was produced in 2007 about the stadium's history. [1]

Bobby Maduro Miami Stadium appears in the EA Sports game MVP 06: NCAA Baseball as "Seaside Stadium".

References

1. ^ Gordon S. White Jr. (1958-03-09). "Phillies Triumph Over Dodgers, 7-4". New York Times: p. S1. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00E11F7385D1A7B93CBA91788D85F4C8585F9. 
2. ^ Associated Press (1957-06-07). "Orioles Select Miami in Spring". St. Petersburg Times. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19580607&id=K_INAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TXYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5305,3286327. Retrieved 2009-06-09. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Associated Press (1990-05-27). "BASEBALL; Orioles to Switch Spring Training Sites". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/27/sports/baseball-orioles-to-switch-spring-training-sites.html. Retrieved 2009-06-09. 
4. ^ Paola, Isupa (2001-04-19). "Maduro Stadium nearer demolition for apartment complex.". Miami Today. http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/010419/story7.shtml. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 

External links

• Digital Ballparks: Miami Stadium
• An article about Miami Stadium