The Miami Marlins finally secured a naming rights deal for Marlins Park, now to be officially known as loanDepot Park.
Since Marlins Park opened in 2012, the Miami Marlins have never found a satisfactory answer to the immortal question, “What’s in a name?”.
Until yesterday, when mortgage company loanDepot came up with enough zeros to provide an answer to Derek Jeter’s and Bruce Sherman’s liking.
In what amounts to another huge front office win for the franchise, the securing of a naming rights deal for the stadium provides even more revenue for the small-market Marlins. Coupled with a new television contract, the team is in fine shape heading into 2021 and beyond.
No more onerous contracts being paid off for players no longer with the team. No more league worst position in terms of media money, or in the case of putting a name on the building, just a complete zero. Finally, a strong farm system backing a young roster.
No, the Miami Marlins aren’t likely to ever enter a Francisco Lindor type sweepstakes with a free agent. However, even if Derek Jeter did try to temper payroll expectations during today’s press conference, every Marlins fan should be excited about the organization’s ability to add to their young core moving forward. You won’t find a team in baseball that is simultaneously as close to contending, with so little in future payroll commitments.
As for the name itself…it’s not exactly the stuff of baseball poetry. Absolutely, it has a corporate smack to it. Without question, plenty of fans will take the same approach they took when the home of the Miami Dolphins began its series of name changes in the mid 1990s. Just as the Fins still play at Joe Robbie, the Fish will forever play at Marlins Park.
And yes, there are plenty of jokes to be made based on the past track record of the Marlins playing in a stadium with “loan” in the title. It is almost as if they’re trying to troll the city and the county with that one…but that’s low hanging fruit.
Particularly because it just doesn’t matter what the building is called, short of accepting an offer from an adult film company. I’d rather take a bus than fly American, but that didn’t keep me from cheering on the Miami Heat all these years. Whatever tastefully pays the payroll bills.
If any of the money in this new deal makes it way to the pocket of a player, I’m more than happy to sing the praises of loanDepot Park. Just so long as they start capitalizing the L.