Spotlight On: Caroline O’Connor, President of Business Operations, Miami Marlins

Spotlight On: Caroline O’Connor, President of Business Operations, Miami Marlins

2023-04-28T15:30:57-04:00April 19th, 2023|Miami, Sports, Spotlight On|

2 min read April 2023 In an interview with Invest:, Caroline O’Connor, president of business operations for the Miami Marlins, discussed the recent successes of the team, including increased attendance due to new marketing packages. O’Connor also highlighted the Miami Marlins’ role in South Florida’s sports and entertainment arena, and becoming an international destination for sports events such as the World Baseball Classic.

What have been some of the key highlights for the Miami Marlins over the past year? 

We had a really good year overall in 2022, so our attendance was up double digits last year. We went out to the market aggressively to come up with packages and offers that would appeal to the fan base. We introduced family four-packs, which we had done previously. We also created some packages that we thought would appeal to young professionals, such as Taco Tuesday and Burger and  Beer Friday, to attract the after-work crowd. We reviewed our marketing approach and tried to make sure we were getting Miami’s attention by making them feel welcome and showing that there was something exciting for them at our ballpark. During the offseason, we had several big events, but the most notable was the World Baseball Classic. This event is like the World Cup of baseball and usually happens every four years. This year, it was off-schedule because of COVID, but we had the opportunity to host all three rounds of the tournament, making history. We had a total of 15 games, with many of them sold out. During the 11-day tournament, we had almost half a million fans through our ballpark, and more than 60% of them were local. It was a great opportunity to connect with baseball fans across South Florida, and we’re making efforts to invite them back for a Marlins game.

How would you describe the current state of sports and entertainment in South Florida? 

Sports are popular and Miami is a sports town where people want to spend their free time enjoying them. You see young kids playing lots of sports in Miami and rooting for local teams. People are going out on nights and weekends to sporting venues, and Miami is being selected for very prestigious events like the World Baseball Classic. I was at the NHL All-Star game and the Miami Grand Prix. We’re becoming an international destination for sports, and the vibrancy of Miami helps. No one needs a reason to come to Miami, and with multiple things to do here, in addition to the culture and food, it makes sense for international events to come here.

What is the role of the Miami Marlins in terms of economic impact for the region? 

The World Baseball Classic had a lot of impacts on hotels, flights and transportation. We had international travelers coming to Miami to root for their teams, and within Florida, people were coming to watch the games and stay in hotels, making a trip out of it. Even the Brightline saw huge growth from our relationship and the number of people taking it down from Palm Beach and Broward counties. The feedback we’ve had from the Brightline is amazing, and the dedicated shuttle to and from loanDepot park transforms a night out in Miami for people in those upper counties. They have a great level of service, and the connection they have to the stadium makes it a great night out for families.

What is the franchise’s role in the region’s growth and development? 

I think we’re in a very special location, given some of the events that we’ve brought here. If you look at all the development in Miami, we are right on the Miami River. We see all the development coming up out of Brickell, and it’s right at our doorstep now. If we look down the street, we see the number of residential towers that are here versus just five years ago. The number of people within walkable distance to our ballpark has drastically changed in recent years. I think it’s great because people are always looking for things to do, and they can walk over to our ballpark. They can walk to some of the great restaurants that are popping up. We’re seeing our neighborhood really grow, whether it’s on this side of the river or across the river at River Landing. We’re seeing a lot of development and activity take place in this neighborhood, and we’re really excited about it.

How would you describe the importance of membership for the Miami Marlins? 

We believe in our season ticket members being year-round members of the Marlins. We try to make it a year-round relationship and give them opportunities to interact with the organization and our players. The Home Run Rewards program gives them opportunities to connect with the Marlins, and it rewards them for being loyal fans and coming out to the games. It ties us together more deeply, and we think it’s great for people who come to 81 games and for Members who come to at least 10 games. We want to get to know them better, and we want them to get to know us better. That’s what we try to achieve through Home Run Rewards and our Club 305 kids club. We have fun things for kids when they come out, like prizes for each game that they attend, and great events where the kids get to run the bases on the field after the games on Sundays. We really want everybody to have a memorable experience when they’re here.

How are you incorporating technology and innovation into the park? 

Miami is a technology city, and loanDepot park is no different. Our consumers have high expectations because of the big technology boom that Miami is seeing. One of the things that has been really successful for us and really helped with the huge crowds that we had for WBC and for Opening Day is mobile ordering. Now people can order from their seats, and they don’t have to miss time away from the game standing in line. They can put in their order, get a text message when their order is ready, and then just run up and grab it. We’ve also gone to free-flow parking, so it’s much easier to get into the parking garage and get into the stadium. We’ve integrated the PayByPhone app and tried to make the overall experience more frictionless for our fans. We just want them to be able to get here, get into the ballpark, and enjoy the game. With the actual game presentation, we have a lot of great interactive features for our fans, and technology is fueling that. For example, people can be part of the segment during the game, and they can broadcast their phone camera onto the big screen. There are really fun ways for the audience to interact, and we recognize that everybody has a phone in their hand. 

What are some of the key partnerships the franchise has in place? 

Our largest partner, in general, is our naming rights partner, loanDepot. And since we named our ballpark after them, it’s been a pretty historic partnership for us. MLB also started a jersey patch program, and we’re proud to say that our jersey patch will be with a local company, ADT, which is based out of Boca Raton. They will be with us both in loanDepot park and when we’re on the road, so we’re excited about that for a local partner. However, we have many other local partners such as AutoNation, who have been great partners to us since they’re based up in Fort Lauderdale. We also have our AutoNation Alley in the park, which is a great space for large groups to come out during the games. UHealth is another fantastic partner who provides medical care to our players as well as being a great partner for us in the ballpark and out in the community. We do a lot of community programs together, and we also have other growing partnerships such as PNC Bank. We feel very fortunate for the support that we have from the community.

What impact did the World Baseball Classic have on your franchise, and how significant were the attendance records you set during the event?

The World Baseball Classic was definitely a significant event for our franchise, as we set many attendance records, including a daily attendance record. During one day, we had a doubleheader, and we had over 72,000 people through the building. We are on the former site of the Orange Bowl, and I would say that not since the Orange Bowl days have that many people visited this site in a single day. We’re definitely excited about that. Looking forward, we’re hoping to get the World Baseball Classic back in 2026, and we appreciate the support that GMCVB, the Florida Sports Foundation, the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County have given us in bringing that large international event here.

For more information, visit: 

https://www.mlb.com/marlins 

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