NEW YORK -- The Marlins are planning to make changes to Marlins Park in the offseason, and among the ideas being considered is replacing the home run sculpture with a party deck.
The Marlins are seeking to move the mechanical sculpture, which operates after a Miami player homers, outside the ballpark. And the organization wants to include Red Grooms, the New York-based artist who designed the sculpture, in the process.
The Marlins want the sculpture to join three other pieces of art already outside the park that are part of Art in Public Places. The area the organization hopes to add would have a view of the field, as well as of downtown Miami.
According to the Miami Herald, Marlins chief executive officer Derek Jeter met two weeks ago with Grooms, when his club faced the Mets in New York.
"[Jeter] was very nice," Grooms told the Herald. "He was sensitive about everything. I very much liked him. I'm sorry we have opposing views of this situation."
The Marlins want to relocate the sculpture called "Homer" outside the ballpark, where it can be viewed by all who pass by. Public art is protected in the county. The club contends that the sculpture would truly be in a public place outside of the ballpark, where everyone with or without a ticket could enjoy it.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez has asked the Marlins to get Grooms, 81, to be on board with relocating the county-owned sculpture.
The Herald notes: "Without an artist endorsement, Miami-Dade risks the piece being devalued if Grooms exercises his right to 'disavow' the work for being ripped from its original setting."
The Marlins plan on making changes inside the park in the offseason, and relocating Homer would allow them to add a new standing-room area beyond the outfield wall near center field.
Chip Bowers, the Marlins president of business operations, told the Herald that area would be aimed toward younger fans, with tickets priced less than $12.
"A lower price point for single-game buyers really attracts [the] millennial market," Bowers said. "We want to come up with a seating plan that appeals to a different demographic."