There are several rumors about the potential relocation of MLB teams in Tampa Bay and Oakland, but there’s a city in a major American market that isn’t doing all too well either.
Miami may not be a baseball market, according to David Samson, former president of the Miami Marlins, who spoke on the Front Office Sports Today podcast.
The city was hoping to replicate the success of the World Baseball Classic held in Miami last month that saw record breaking attendance. But the Marlins are second to last in attendance so far this year, and have been one of the bottom four franchises in attendance since 2013. They also own the lowest franchise valuation in the MLB at $1.07 billion according to Sportico.
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“I think it’s a very misleading market,” Samson told Front Office Sports. “The demographics of Miami would indicate that it’s a wealthy city, but it’s got one of the lowest incomes of any major city … You think there’s more fans, but the truth is those fans who come out for WBC who have that sense of patriotism … that exists for the front of the jersey which has their country for it … but it doesn’t translate [to the MLB].”
Samson, who was president of the Marlins from 2002 to 2017 and won a World Series with the franchise in 2003, said he thinks a lot of it may be the timing of the baseball season being in the summer.
“What I’ve found is that all of the wealthy individuals -- they didn’t spend their summers in Miami,” Samson said. “They would go north for the summer so they would be around in the winter. They would be [in Miami] for six months and a day for tax purposes”
He also said that Miami doesn’t have the same corporate base as some other smaller markets cities like Kansas City, Minnesota or Tampa Bay.
“The lack of corporate support in Miami is staggering,” Samson said.
Unlike the Oakland Athletics or Tampa Bay Rays, the Miami Marlins are going to have to solve their issues in the market because they cannot move for the next two and half decades due to a naming rights deal with mortgage lender loanDepot.
