Area of fair territory: 115,000 sq. ft.

Area of foul territory: Above average.

Fences: 8 feet, except for the scoreboard in

            left-center, where the fence is 33 feet

Elevation: 10 feet

Formerly called Joe Robbie Stadium

Who plays here: Florida Marlins, of the National League; the Miami Dolphins  of the NFL.
First opened: August 16, 1987, for the Miami Dolphins (they lost to the Bears, 10-3).
First Marlins game: April 5, 1993

Surface: Tifway 419 Bermuda grass. Pro Player Stadium is equipped with the Prescription Athletic Turf (PAT) system which provides drainage for its natural grass. The stadium also features a synthetic warning track designed to absorb water.

Capacity: 74,916 for football. There is some question as to what the capacity is for baseball - depending on the source it's either 47,662, 42,531 or 35,000. The official number is 47,662.

Cost: $115 million. 

Private financing: 100% - from the sale of 10-year leases of executive suites at $30,000 to $90,000 per year and club seats from $800 to $1,800 a year.

Concession Stands: 43 stands, 264 service lines. 1 TV monitor per stand.

Restrooms: 40 men, 40 women

Drainage: A $1 million system was installed in 1996 Firm Playing Surface Within 30 Minutes of a 3" per hour rain

History

   In 1987, Joe Robbie Stadium was built for the Miami Dolphins.  The $115 million state-of-the-art, open air facility played host to its first ever Marlins game on April 5, 1993 between the Marlins and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Before that, the stadium played host to 13 spring training games. The stadium has played host to a World Series, the Super Bowl, a Blockbuster Bowl, and the Orange Bowl.

   The construction was privately funded, and in March of 1990 H. Wayne Huizenga (then CEO of Blockbuster Video) bought 15% of the Dolphins and 50% of the stadium in order to bring an expansion baseball team to Miami. The National League granted him a franchise in 1991, and in 1994 he bought out the rest of the Dolphins and the stadium.

   On August 26, 1996, Pro Player, the sports apparel division of Fruit of the Loom, sponsored the renaming of Joe Robbie Stadium as Pro Player Stadium.

   Huizenga, who also owns the Florida Panthers of the NHL, went on a shopping spree in 1997 to bring pitchers Alex Fernandez and Dennis Cook, plus Bobby Bonilla, Moises Alou and Jim Eisenreich to his World Series champions. Like a dot-com CEO, he proudly announced that even if the team sold out every home game, they still would have lost $10 million - and when fans didn't flock to the Stadium like he thought they would, he had to sell off his stars. Kevin Brown, Al Leiter, Robb Nen, Livan Hernandez and Rick Helling have all thrived as ex-Marlins since leaving in 1998.

   Huizenga spent another $10 million to renovate the stadium in 1999 to accommodate Major League Baseball. Renovations include retractable seating on the north side of the stadium, new baseball dugouts, 660 additional lights for suitable night play, and an electric disappearing pitcher's mound.

   He is looking to sell the team, which was why he cut the payroll. Reportedly, Huizenga is also considering moving the Marlins into a new ballpark with a retractable dome, built next to a new hockey arena as part of a proposed 500-acre entertainment complex.

Location

Miami, FL. The stadium is located at 2269 N.W. 199th Street in Miami, only one mile south of the Dade-Broward County Line. The 160 acre site stands midway between downtown Miami (16 miles) and downtown Fort Lauderdale (18 miles). Center field faces out to the east, towards the Florida Turnpike; the third base faces north, towards NW 203rd Street & Snake Creek Canal. Home plate is due west, facing Carl F. Barger Boulevard & NW 27th (University) Avenue. First base, facing south, is towards NW 199th Street & Honey Hill Road.

Seating Chart

Dimensions - History

Left field: 335 ft., 330 ft. (1994)

Power alleys: 380 ft., 385 ft. (1994)

Center field: 410 ft., 404 ft. (1994)

Right field: 345 ft

Backstop: 58 ft.

Analysis

   The stadium may be a beautiful facility, but hitters can't wait to leave it. The stadium depresses scoring more than any other ballpark in the majors except for Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego and Shea in Queens.  In it's first year as a ballpark, it threw sabermetricians a little head fake by being a relatively easy place to score, but since then it has become apparent that that was a one-year aberration.

   The roomy outfield stretches 434 feet away in the furthest part of center field, a distance no other ballpark can match (Tiger Stadium used to be listed at 440 feet, but it was really much shorter than that). The power alleys are 385 feet away, and more than one pitcher has breathed a sigh of relief as a result.

The Bermuda Triangle: In left center, the fence is 385 feet away from the plate. Rather than curving into center field like most outfield fences, the fence in left center is straight and continues to run away from home plate, stretching to 434 feet at it's most distant. The wall then breaks at a 90-degree angle and comes back to meet the center field wall at about 408 feet, resulting in an odd little triangle of field in center-left.

   A well-hit ball can get caught in here and give base runners extra time to round the bases. As a result, Pro Player routinely has among the highest triples factors in the majors.

The Teal Tower: The 28-foot scoreboard that occupies most of left-center seems to attract leather like a magnet. It takes a moonshot to clear the scoreboard in left-center. Some fans have taken to calling this the "Teal Monster," and they should all be shot. Twice.

Defense: The outfield wall has many nooks and crannies that make for interesting bounces and tough angles for outfielders, and odd caroms off the Tower often baffle outfielders, resulting in one of the higher error factors in the majors. The Stadium also has a reputation for poor lighting and erratic scorekeeping, which may also increase the number of errors.

Who benefits: Flyball pitchers like Alex Fernandez, Jesus Sanchez and Ryan Dempster. In 1998, closer , Antonio Alfonseca (a ground ball pitcher) held opponents' batting averages 48 points lower at home, and in 1999 he had a home ERA of 1.98 and a road ERA of 5.53; in 2000, however, he did better on the road.

   In 1999, Dempster allowed just 5 of his 21 home runs at home, and was 4-2, 3.33 ERA at home versus 3-6, 5.90 ERA on the road. In 2000, Sanchez had an  ERA over 2 runs per game lower at home, while Dempster was better at home by almost a run. 

Who gets hurt: Anyone with a bat. The right field fence is 15 feet further away than the left field fence at the foul pole, but left-handed batters don't really suffer because right-handed batters have a 28-foot high scoreboard in left center to deal with, as well as the Bermuda Triangle. 

Park Factors

Fun Facts

• Third-lowest home run factor in NL in 2000
• Third-lowest LHB home run factor in NL in 2000
• Highest error and infield-error factors in NL in 1999
• Second-lowest home run factor in NL in 1999
• Second-lowest LHB home run factor in NL in 1999
• Second-lowest RHB home run factor in NL in 1999
• Second-lowest LHB batting average factor in NL in 1999
• Third lowest run factor in NL in 1999

• "Sportstown" is a cool little hangout located on the south side of the Stadium at Gate G. It features interactive games for fans, food, souvenirs, etc.  It opens two hours before the first pitch of any baseball game and three hours prior to all football games.
• All second-deck outfield seats are covered by canvas and are not used for baseball