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Speaker 1: Fish Unfiltered, Episode number eighty seven. I'm your host, Isaacha Zoo,

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Speaker 1: joined today by Eli Sussman, founder and managing editor of

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Speaker 1: Fish on First, and we've got a really special guest

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Speaker 1: for you guys today. The president of the Miami Marlins.

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Speaker 1: Is not her first time joining the show, hopefully it's

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Speaker 1: not her last. Caroline O'Connor is Caroline. We really appreciate

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Speaker 1: the time.

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Speaker 2: How are you doing, Thanks, Isaac, I'm great, Hi, Eli,

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Speaker 2: thanks for having me.

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Speaker 3: This podcast is brought to you by jet Ski Rentals

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Speaker 3: of South Florida, offering you Miami's best jet ski and

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Speaker 3: hundred and twenty votes, there's something for every style and

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Speaker 3: oh five nine nine zero two one ninety two or

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Speaker 3: online at sf jetsk Rentals dot com.

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Speaker 1: I'm surprised you're able to join. It's so busy time

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Speaker 1: of year for you for everyone. And we'll start with

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Speaker 1: we'll get right into it with FanFest. I believe that's

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Speaker 1: on February seventh. For those who don't know, you can

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Speaker 1: go to the ballpark for free, get pictures, selfies with

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Speaker 1: your favorite Marlins players that are on the forty man roster, Caroline,

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Speaker 1: if you want to touch on the other things that

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Speaker 1: Marlins fans can expect on that day.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Fanta's a really special day for us. So it's

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Speaker 2: the kickoff, you know, to the season. A lot of

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Speaker 2: excitement in the air. Our players stop by, they're just

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Speaker 2: about on their way to spring training, so they're excited too,

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Speaker 2: and we love to see all of our fans after

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Speaker 2: a little bit of winter. So it's a great day.

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Speaker 2: There's a lot to do for everyone inside the ballpark.

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Speaker 2: Outside the ballpark, it's a complete takeover, so lots of

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Speaker 2: players running around, special things that you can do with

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Speaker 2: the players, and particularly for our season ticket members, so

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Speaker 2: they have great access of signing up and seeing all

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Speaker 2: the players, getting those autographs and really getting special time

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Speaker 2: with them, see who's the best Jengle player, all those

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Speaker 2: kinds of things. So a special day for us, Saturday,

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Speaker 2: February seventh, and we hope to see everybody out here.

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Speaker 2: One of our favorite things is, you know, we really

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Speaker 2: start off fast with our Miracle League game with our

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Speaker 2: partners at the Special Olympics, So great day for us,

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Speaker 2: and we really use the field NonStop during that time.

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Speaker 2: So it'll be from four pm to eight pm fan

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Speaker 2: Fest and then we're going to close it out with fireworks,

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Speaker 2: which is always fun. So everybody should have an opportunity

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Speaker 2: to get on the field, take a few swings, and

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Speaker 2: have a fun throughout the belt Park.

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Speaker 4: Caroline FanFest was an idea that was a tradition that

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Speaker 4: was inherited from prior to the current ownership's arrival and

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Speaker 4: your arrival here. I'm curious about what particular modifications from

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Speaker 4: back then to now do you think have been most

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Speaker 4: important that the lessons learned through the years to make

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Speaker 4: it more as successful as possible.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I think access has been a big thing for us,

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Speaker 2: so making sure there's enough activities for everyone to be

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Speaker 2: occupied the whole time. So we work really hard to

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Speaker 2: get people access to the players and the different activities

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Speaker 2: and make sure that we have enough opportunities for people

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Speaker 2: to spend their time and be busy the whole time.

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Speaker 2: So that's a lot of it. On Fireworks, I think

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Speaker 2: are a new thing that we've out of the past

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Speaker 2: few years, if people really enjoy and it kind of

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Speaker 2: gets us excited. And actually this year we're going to

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Speaker 2: have fireworks on opening Day too, so it'll be a

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Speaker 2: little bit of a precursor to that, but just getting

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Speaker 2: you know, the fans out. We will be doing State

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Speaker 2: of the Marlins, which will be you know, Clayton and

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Speaker 2: Peter myself. We'll have a lot of great surprise announcements there,

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Speaker 2: but really you know, giving everybody kind of a peak

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Speaker 2: behind the curtains of what we've been working on for

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Speaker 2: the past few months and what's going to be really

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Speaker 2: exciting for you know, the twenty twenty six season. It's

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Speaker 2: really I think we're really lucky to have our beautiful

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Speaker 2: ballpark and our Miami weather. You know, a lot of

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Speaker 2: teams can't have their fan fest at their ballpark. They

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Speaker 2: have the convention centers and other places because it's cold out.

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Speaker 2: So we're really lucky to give the fans kind of

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Speaker 2: free reign to run around the ballpark, you know, special tours.

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Speaker 2: They're going to get to see our weight room this year,

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Speaker 2: which we invested quite a bit of money last year

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Speaker 2: to give our players the I think it's the first

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Speaker 2: or second largest club out of weight room in all

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Speaker 2: of MLB, so this would be the first time where

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Speaker 2: they can get a peak of it because last Fan

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Speaker 2: Fast it was still under construction.

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Speaker 5: So a lot of cool things where we really try

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Speaker 5: to you know.

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Speaker 2: Get give the fans of behind the curtains of everything

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Speaker 2: that goes on at when people.

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Speaker 4: Park, Caroline, we need a bit of an update from

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Speaker 4: you on the TV situation as far as you can

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Speaker 4: correct me if I'm wrong, But as of this moment,

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Speaker 4: aren't the Marlins technically TV rights free agents after being

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Speaker 4: in partnership with main Street Sports Group for a number

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Speaker 4: of years at this moment kind of I'd love for

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Speaker 4: you to update us in terms of exactly what you

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Speaker 4: know and what options are out there that the team

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Speaker 4: is considering in terms of how they're actually going to

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Speaker 4: make games accessible just as much as they have been

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Speaker 4: under previous TV distribution models.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, top of mind for us is you know, giving

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Speaker 2: our fans access to our games. So we have a

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Speaker 2: lot of great options, you know, one of them we

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Speaker 2: you know hope will be main Street Sports Group, but

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Speaker 2: we're really not sure at this point, you know, undergoing

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Speaker 2: a lot of conversations. But for us We're really fortunate

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Speaker 2: in that Major League Baseball has a distribution network and

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Speaker 2: we've got a number of clubs that have been on

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Speaker 2: the MLB distribution.

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Speaker 5: For a few years now with really good results.

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Speaker 2: So we are in active conversations with Major League Baseball

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Speaker 2: about you know, getting ready for all the things that

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Speaker 2: will kind of shift the model on if we are

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Speaker 2: sort of the producer of our games, so you know,

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Speaker 2: talking with people like Kyle and Kelly and all the

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Speaker 2: faces that you guys love to see, making sure that

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Speaker 2: you know they feel good and that they're ready to

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Speaker 2: get out to our fans kind of regardless of who

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Speaker 2: the broadcasting partner is.

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Speaker 5: But yeah, we have really.

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Speaker 2: Good relationship with both Main Street, with MLB and you know,

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Speaker 2: anybody else that we're coming. I think the good news

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Speaker 2: is that there's a lot of interest in you know,

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Speaker 2: having the Marlins games, and we're so please last year

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Speaker 2: with the first time ever of simulcasting the game. So

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Speaker 2: we did fifteen of our games over the air with

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Speaker 2: our partners at CBS Miami, and that was a great

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Speaker 2: experiment for us. We had great ratings on those games

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Speaker 2: and it was really nice, I think for people to

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Speaker 2: tune in and see those Marlins games, So we'll see

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Speaker 2: what we do this year. Probably be some aspect of

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Speaker 2: the simulcasting this year as well, So we're excited and

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Speaker 2: we'll probably have those plans solidified in the next few

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Speaker 2: weeks here.

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Speaker 4: And one more thing on that. A handful of teams

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Speaker 4: have made the transition to MLB just in the past

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Speaker 4: few years due to similar circumstances. There are even more

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Speaker 4: of those that are in your exact same situation where

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Speaker 4: they were partnered with Main Street Sports Group as as

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Speaker 4: recently as last year, and now they're kind of weighing options.

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Speaker 4: Is that a topic where you actually have conversations with

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Speaker 4: executives from other organizations. I'm curious to that that relationship

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Speaker 4: between you and the presidents of the other Major League franchises,

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Speaker 4: does there feedback help you when it comes to trying

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Speaker 4: to finalize it.

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Speaker 5: To this, Yeah, definitely.

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Speaker 2: I think it's a great partnership amongst MLB teams. So

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Speaker 2: both for the six clubs that are already on MLB

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Speaker 2: is a distribution partner, and then there's nine of us

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Speaker 2: that you know would potentially be moving over from Main Street.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, we get together and we talk about first

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Speaker 2: lessons learned. It's nice that those six have gone through

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Speaker 2: the transition. Some of them, you know, like the Padres,

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Speaker 2: had to go through it pretty much overnight. So we

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Speaker 2: have a lot more benefit from both you know, a

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Speaker 2: lot of teams going through the process, but also MLB

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Speaker 2: having a lot of practice at this point of broadcasting

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Speaker 2: all those games.

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Speaker 5: So yeah, we talk a lot.

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Speaker 2: We want to give a great service to our fans,

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Speaker 2: and as you guys know, we do you know a

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Speaker 2: lot of the content capture at fan Fest, So really

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Speaker 2: talking amongst ourselves and what's that planning for fan Fest.

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Speaker 2: We should do a full day you know, content capture

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Speaker 2: on Friday. So I want to make sure that we

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Speaker 2: get everything that we need for the year, whether it's

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Speaker 2: us through main Street capturing all that content so that

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Speaker 2: you know, you have really fun broadcasts for our fans.

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Speaker 1: It's funny. Last time we spoke, we were going into

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Speaker 1: the twenty twenty five I was asking you about the

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Speaker 1: difficulty of maybe selling tickets. So clearly a developmental year

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Speaker 1: and you guys ended up being in the playoff race

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Speaker 1: up until the very last week of the season. Guys

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Speaker 1: improved by seventeen games last year, very impressive. We saw

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Speaker 1: what it did to attendance last year. I'm curious that

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Speaker 1: that performance increase season ticket sales for twenty twenty six

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Speaker 1: at all.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So yeah, thanks for pointing that out, Isaac. It

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Speaker 2: was a really fun year, and just to have meaningful

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Speaker 2: games in September is you know, one of those things

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Speaker 2: that you know, Peter said we were going to have

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Speaker 2: and we did so really happy for the fans and

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Speaker 2: appreciative of the fans really supporting us through that.

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Speaker 5: So that was great.

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Speaker 2: Going into this year, we have a lot of excitement

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Speaker 2: around the team, you know, can see the sentiment on

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Speaker 2: social media and us watching ticket sales.

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Speaker 5: You know, we're looking really positive for the twenty twenty

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Speaker 5: six season.

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Speaker 2: So going to have that crowd you know that our

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Speaker 2: players deserve, and we'll continue on that growth and attendance

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Speaker 2: that we've seen, you know, over the past four years here.

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Speaker 2: So we're very excited about season opening looking great. People

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Speaker 2: are sometimes trying to get out of work or out

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Speaker 2: of school to get it over to the ballpark, and

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Speaker 2: we thought it'd be wonderful to have opening day be

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Speaker 2: a Friday night game where you know, school the next

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Speaker 2: day and I worked the next day. Such a special day.

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Speaker 2: You've seen some of our graphics that are out there,

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Speaker 2: but the large flag on the field, the bunting, the fireworks,

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Speaker 2: like that's just you know, wonderful baseball memories for me

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Speaker 2: and for so many other people. And we're excited that hopefully,

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Speaker 2: because of you know, the time and day of week,

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Speaker 2: we'll be able to give so many more people the

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Speaker 2: opportunity to come.

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Speaker 5: To Opening Day.

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Speaker 1: I couldn't agree more. I asked because it would make

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Speaker 1: perfect sense to make it on Friday night, but Opening

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Speaker 1: Day really has been on Thursdays for the last few years.

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Speaker 1: I'm curious if you guys tried to make it on Friday,

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Speaker 1: because a four o'clock game on Thursday, especially next to

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Speaker 1: that high school close to the ballpark, makes it alm

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Speaker 1: possible to attend. So I'm curious. Is this the first

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Speaker 1: time you guys tried to change opening Day.

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Speaker 5: It's the first time where there was flexibility for it.

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Speaker 2: So, you know, in a lot of past years, all

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Speaker 2: teams have opened up on Thursday, and then it's sort

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Speaker 2: of the start of MLB doing the Internet games, where

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Speaker 2: some teams had their opening Day actually you know, before

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Speaker 2: the Thursday, because they were doing it, you know, in

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Speaker 2: another country or this year, you know, the Yankees are

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Speaker 2: having their opening Day on Netflix on the Wednesday. So

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Speaker 2: introduced sort of like a little you know, change in

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Speaker 2: the schedule where there's more flexibility. Where everybody wasn't opening

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Speaker 2: up on the same day. We just happened to get

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Speaker 2: an original schedule where we had an opening day on

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Speaker 2: Thursday and off day on Friday. And so that's where

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Speaker 2: us and two other teams actually went back and said, hey,

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Speaker 2: can we have Opening Day Friday night?

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Speaker 5: So I think it'll be a great experiment.

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Speaker 2: We'll watch it very closely and play back to MLB

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Speaker 2: you know what our findings are with it, but maybe

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Speaker 2: you'll see, you know, this is more of an opportunity

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Speaker 2: for teams in the future.

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Speaker 4: One thing about Opening Day that comes to mind from

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Speaker 4: me is the very high frequency with which the Marlins

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Speaker 4: gets to host opening day games. And I think it's

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Speaker 4: kind of understandable because for whether concerns that affect a

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Speaker 4: lot of other teams across the country, those that aren't

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Speaker 4: inside or even those that maybe in reasonable places of

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Speaker 4: the country, but you just never know when. And the

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Speaker 4: league obviously wants things to go as scheduled as much

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Speaker 4: as possible. Is that ever something that is negotiated or

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Speaker 4: like actually openly spoke about the fact that the Marlins

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Speaker 4: wind up with opening Day almost every single.

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Speaker 1: Year, or is it?

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Speaker 4: Do you think it's just kind of everybody being on

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Speaker 4: the same page about the importance of getting the game

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Speaker 4: in as scheduled, rather than given any sort of preference

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Speaker 4: to the Marlin specifically.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, I think we have.

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Speaker 2: You can probably imagine how complex the scheduling process is,

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Speaker 2: and it's really difficult to fit all these schedules together

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Speaker 2: and it takes MLB quite a while. I mean, we

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Speaker 2: have a system, you know where we can kind of

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Speaker 2: put in our preferences every team can, and then MLB

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Speaker 2: balances everything comes up with a proposal. For us, like

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Speaker 2: we find that being part of the official opening day

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Speaker 2: is really special and something that we love to deliver

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Speaker 2: to our fans. You can always have your home opener,

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Speaker 2: you know, a week after the official opening day, but

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Speaker 2: for us, we find that celebration, you know, with our fans,

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Speaker 2: that's just like kind of the first day of spring

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Speaker 2: training when you feel it in the air with like

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Speaker 2: opening Day is really similar. So for us, in addition

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Speaker 2: to having the weather advantage, we've always kind of pushed

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Speaker 2: to have opening.

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Speaker 5: Day at home.

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Speaker 4: It would be remiss on the attendance front if I

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Speaker 4: didn't just put things into perspective that even with the

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Speaker 4: growth that the Models have had in that standpoint through

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Speaker 4: the years, and even from one year to the next

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Speaker 4: twenty twenty four to twenty twenty five, outside of the

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Speaker 4: teams that played in minor league parks last year, the

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Speaker 4: team still had the lowest average attendance overall. And that

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Speaker 4: has been the case for so much of this franchise

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Speaker 4: is history since well before you guys arrived, and even

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Speaker 4: at the previous ballpark that they had. From your vantage point,

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Speaker 4: what are the remaining steps needed to close that gap

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Speaker 4: in some way? And I'm curious how how much you

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Speaker 4: think about comparing yourself to other teams, whether that even

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Speaker 4: comes into play, or whether it's just about continuing the

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Speaker 4: trends relative to the Marlin's history in terms of growth there.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, no, those you know, across the whole marketplace, and

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Speaker 2: actually fortunate for MLB, like every team you know saw

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Speaker 2: pretty much increases in their attendance last year. There were

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Speaker 2: a couple playing in smaller facilities, but you know, it's

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Speaker 2: been a great few years for Major League Baseball, and

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Speaker 2: we certainly want to be part of that growth that

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Speaker 2: we're delivering.

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Speaker 5: To the sport as a whole. So for us, you know, we.

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Speaker 2: Think that the fans are there right and we're really

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Speaker 2: energized by the attendance increases that we've seen over the years,

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Speaker 2: but we know there's much much more out there, and

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Speaker 2: I think that's what gets us really excited. So we're

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Speaker 2: constantly finding, you know, pockets of people that haven't come

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Speaker 2: out and experienced a Marlin's game, and so we think

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Speaker 2: there's a lot of opportunity for us. You know, we

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Speaker 2: have a new Chief brand Officer, Alex Parker, and we've

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Speaker 2: really been making an effort of getting out to you know,

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Speaker 2: our fans and really talking to them and making sure

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Speaker 2: that you know, they know we're here and that they

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Speaker 2: know a lot about it our schedule, they know a

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Speaker 2: lot about our special events, and really curating every game

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Speaker 2: to make sure there's something special for everyone there. So

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Speaker 2: I think you'll see some new exciting game themes from

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Speaker 2: us this year, but we're constantly going to be pushing

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Speaker 2: to give people a lot of reasons to come to

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Speaker 2: a lone depot Park, and for us, you know, it's

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Speaker 2: really helpful when the fancy, you know, the great players

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Speaker 2: that we have and start to come out and cheer

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Speaker 2: for them. I think we've got a really exciting roster

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Speaker 2: this year, and I think what we saw at the

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Speaker 2: end of last season is going to carry forward. But

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Speaker 2: we think there's a lot of opportunity out there, and

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Speaker 2: we feel the excitement when we're out in the community

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Speaker 2: and we think it's going.

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Speaker 5: To be a great season.

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Speaker 1: You mentioned the addition of Alex Parker. I'm curious what

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Speaker 1: made you guys believe that we could use a change

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Speaker 1: in the in game entertainment, all the changes that are

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Speaker 1: expected to happen at the People Park. What made you

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Speaker 1: guys say let's hire a chief brand officer?

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Speaker 2: What we saw us We saw a lot of things

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Speaker 2: moving really quickly, and we wanted our brand to all

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Speaker 2: come together as one. So I think you guys know well,

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Speaker 2: how you know digital meta is changing and how integrated

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Speaker 2: that is with everything you know that we're doing. And

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Speaker 2: Alex had actually whichally come in as a consultant. He

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Speaker 2: you know, was a specialist in digital media and we

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Speaker 2: sort of grew out from there. So him really getting

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Speaker 2: very involved with our ticketing strategy and that being part

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Speaker 2: of our digital marketing plan. And then you know, it

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Speaker 2: goes into how do we craft every game and every

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Speaker 2: game experience to be something special. So eighty one special

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Speaker 2: events the year is what we're trying to deliver to

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Speaker 2: the fans. So it all kind of just hung together,

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Speaker 2: and I found that he was great at curating every

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Speaker 2: single piece of it. You know, he'll be involved in

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Speaker 2: our food and beverage conversations, our transportation conversations, really understanding

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Speaker 2: that kind of street to see fan experience and that

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Speaker 2: every single bit of that is part of our brand.

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Speaker 2: So I think he, you know, understood that concept of

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Speaker 2: putting the fan first and really making sure that, you know,

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Speaker 2: everything hangs together very tightly.

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Speaker 1: The last time we spoke, I believe we did subtly

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Speaker 1: touch on the dynamic between you and President Baseball Operations

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Speaker 1: Peter Bendix. I'm just curious, for example, how often you

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Speaker 1: guys really have to speak to one another, for especially

353
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Speaker 1: we're in an off season where there's so much uncertainty.

354
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Speaker 1: You've mentioned the TV revenue, We don't exactly know what

355
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Speaker 1: that's going to look like. We've mentioned the CBA set

356
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Speaker 1: to expire at the end of this year, and when

357
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Speaker 1: the Marlins make a great move, for example, signing Pete

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Speaker 1: Fairbanks to a one year, thirteen million dollar deal, the

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Speaker 1: most lucrative free agent deal that Peter Bendix has given

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Speaker 1: out so far. I'm curious that does he have to

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Speaker 1: go and tell you how much money and do you

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Speaker 1: give him a budget? How does that dynamic work? You

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Speaker 1: can shed some light behind the scenes if possible.

364
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Speaker 2: Yeah, Peter's a great partner. We talk all the time,

365
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Speaker 2: and both of us work really closely with Bruce. So

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Speaker 2: you know, the way that we work here is you know,

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Speaker 2: baseball decisions or Peter and Bruce.

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Speaker 5: But you know, we're a.

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Speaker 2: Tight partnership and we know that, you know, we've got

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Speaker 2: to communicate as well to the fans, and so we're

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Speaker 2: constantly in the loop of what's going on in the

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Speaker 2: basebook side. And Peter, Bruce and I meet together quite often,

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Speaker 2: and then Peter and I meet together quite often. But yeah,

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Speaker 2: I think, you know, Peter's a great communicator and he's

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Speaker 2: a great partner. He really understands the fan experience and

376
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Speaker 2: he wants, you know, everything for the.

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Speaker 5: Marlins that all of us want.

378
00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:16,080
Speaker 2: So you know, building that sustainable franchise we both know

379
00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:18,480
Speaker 2: is the only way forward, both from the business side

380
00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:22,439
Speaker 2: and the baseball side, so we, you know, feel really aligned.

381
00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:26,479
Speaker 2: We took a trip to Jupiter, Peter, Bruce and I

382
00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:29,720
Speaker 2: to tour the construction about a week and a half ago,

383
00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:32,119
Speaker 2: and it was great. You know, we went through and

384
00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:34,199
Speaker 2: really talked about the vision for all the new areas

385
00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:37,919
Speaker 2: that we built, some of the reimagined areas, and I

386
00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:41,359
Speaker 2: think just the excitement from Peter, from Bruce, and just

387
00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:44,280
Speaker 2: you know, great appreciation for the investment that our ownership

388
00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:46,479
Speaker 2: is making in this franchise. I think you guys are

389
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Speaker 2: going to see something really special and we're excited for

390
00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:50,800
Speaker 2: you guys to see Jupiter as well.

391
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Speaker 4: A few questions related to the WBC, the World Baseball

392
00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:58,960
Speaker 4: Class that coming up in barely a month from now,

393
00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:01,320
Speaker 4: and Miami's wants and going to be at the center

394
00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:05,119
Speaker 4: of that tournament. It had been in Miami for parts

395
00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:07,600
Speaker 4: of the previous couple iterations, but twenty twenty three was

396
00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:10,680
Speaker 4: the real moment to shine and to host more games

397
00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:15,119
Speaker 4: than ever, and the popularity to the contest, even across

398
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Speaker 4: all corners of the world was greater than ever. So

399
00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:21,119
Speaker 4: what were some of the lessons learned from that? I

400
00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,600
Speaker 4: think just the general understanding is that things went smoothly

401
00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:28,080
Speaker 4: and overall were very successful with it. But because it

402
00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:31,399
Speaker 4: was a volume of games and size of crowds that

403
00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:34,920
Speaker 4: were even surpassing what the tournament had previously brought in,

404
00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:38,600
Speaker 4: how do you feel perhaps even more prepared for this

405
00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:39,800
Speaker 4: version three years later?

406
00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:43,320
Speaker 2: Yeah, twenty three was definitely a breakout year, I think

407
00:18:43,359 --> 00:18:46,960
Speaker 2: for the tournament itself, but also you know, for our

408
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:49,679
Speaker 2: team here, there were some less that had done it previously,

409
00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:52,919
Speaker 2: but largely it was a new experience for definitely a

410
00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:56,520
Speaker 2: lot of our leadership team, so we definitely learned a lot.

411
00:18:57,160 --> 00:18:59,520
Speaker 2: You know, we learned a lot about the fan experience,

412
00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:02,160
Speaker 2: and we always like to over prepare, so I'll say

413
00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:04,960
Speaker 2: we went into it pretty prepared. But I think what

414
00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:08,800
Speaker 2: everybody was pleasantly surprised by was the market reaction.

415
00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:11,359
Speaker 5: To the tournament. So once you get into.

416
00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:13,440
Speaker 2: Those later rounds and you know the matchups are determined

417
00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:15,719
Speaker 2: by the success of the tournament and what teams are

418
00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:19,240
Speaker 2: making it through, it's really exciting to watch that and say, Okay, who,

419
00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:21,439
Speaker 2: what's the turnout going to be for this game? Or

420
00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:22,960
Speaker 2: what are the key points that we're going to want

421
00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:25,600
Speaker 2: to focus in on from a game experience perspective.

422
00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:27,360
Speaker 5: So it really pleased what we.

423
00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:29,879
Speaker 2: Did in twenty twenty three, but you know, then it

424
00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:32,560
Speaker 2: just raises the bar for twenty twenty six, and you know,

425
00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:34,720
Speaker 2: it is a very competitive bid process to get this,

426
00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:36,760
Speaker 2: so it's not a given that it comes to Miami.

427
00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:39,119
Speaker 2: So I think we really had a leg up based

428
00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:41,600
Speaker 2: on that strong delivery in twenty twenty three, and we

429
00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:44,280
Speaker 2: try to make this turnkey for MLB as possible. I

430
00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:46,960
Speaker 2: think they know that operations are going to go really

431
00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:49,520
Speaker 2: smooth and then they'll be allowed to, you know, focus

432
00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:51,760
Speaker 2: on what they need to focus on. So I'm not

433
00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:54,200
Speaker 2: sure if you guys have met Anthony Favado. He's a

434
00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:59,640
Speaker 2: senior vice president of operations here and he is super organized,

435
00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:02,440
Speaker 2: really a tournament like clockwork. He's the guy that just

436
00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:05,720
Speaker 2: put down a hockey rink, so you know, really proud

437
00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:07,760
Speaker 2: of him and just the way that he represents us

438
00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:10,600
Speaker 2: to MLB in the World Baseball Classic. I think they

439
00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:13,160
Speaker 2: know that, you know, when they talk to Anthony that

440
00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:14,760
Speaker 2: they are going to get what they need out of

441
00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:17,520
Speaker 2: the entire lone depot Park team. So we're doing the

442
00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:20,159
Speaker 2: marketing for the tournament. We're you know, loading the merchandise

443
00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:22,320
Speaker 2: in right now, but we try to you know, make

444
00:20:22,359 --> 00:20:24,800
Speaker 2: them really proud of the product that we deliver, because

445
00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:27,359
Speaker 2: you know, really is a first class tournament and to

446
00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:29,760
Speaker 2: you know, have the semifinals in the finals here is

447
00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:31,960
Speaker 2: a real honor for us and honor for our city.

448
00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:35,400
Speaker 2: So we want to continue to deliver. But the response

449
00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:37,680
Speaker 2: has been huge for World Baseball Classic. So I think,

450
00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:40,080
Speaker 2: first it was a great event, but also you know

451
00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:42,360
Speaker 2: it's usually every four years and this time it will

452
00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:44,720
Speaker 2: be three years. I think there's a lot of memory

453
00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:47,040
Speaker 2: of the tournament, a lot of people that wish they

454
00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:49,280
Speaker 2: had gone. So I think that really helped us with

455
00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:51,800
Speaker 2: these strong ticket sales that we're seeing this year in

456
00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:53,400
Speaker 2: that you know, it's top of mind for a lot

457
00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:56,560
Speaker 2: of people. So we're really excited to have those big

458
00:20:56,600 --> 00:21:00,920
Speaker 2: crowds and energy here in the ballpark and we're counting.

459
00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:01,200
Speaker 5: Down the days.

460
00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:03,880
Speaker 4: So on a related note, we had you on this

461
00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:07,760
Speaker 4: platform about ten months ago, and that was relatively off

462
00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:12,760
Speaker 4: the news about Miami Live coming, the entertainment setup that's

463
00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:15,720
Speaker 4: going to be on the plaza right outside the Ballpark,

464
00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:18,240
Speaker 4: and at that moment you would kind of circle the

465
00:21:18,359 --> 00:21:21,240
Speaker 4: WBC or early twenty twenty six at a time when

466
00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:24,639
Speaker 4: we'd be seeing the fruits of this project. So if

467
00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:27,640
Speaker 4: you could just update us whatever you feel is appropriate

468
00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:30,919
Speaker 4: about how the process is coming along at this point.

469
00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:32,960
Speaker 4: As of so we get to the end of January,

470
00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:34,399
Speaker 4: beginning of February.

471
00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:37,399
Speaker 2: Yeah, we're still full steam ahead on Miami Live. In

472
00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:41,919
Speaker 2: looking at our events calendar, having the NHL Winter Classic

473
00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:44,359
Speaker 2: here at the World Baseball Classic, we'll sort of have

474
00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:46,600
Speaker 2: to look at how we put in the different elements

475
00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:49,480
Speaker 2: of it and how we keep a great fan experience

476
00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:53,760
Speaker 2: during the construction time. So for us, Miami Live is

477
00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:57,400
Speaker 2: going to be twenty twenty seven delivery, but you'll start

478
00:21:57,440 --> 00:21:59,520
Speaker 2: to see the construction going.

479
00:21:59,280 --> 00:21:59,920
Speaker 5: On for it.

480
00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:04,280
Speaker 2: We'll have some smaller elements like enhanced stage and some

481
00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:07,480
Speaker 2: outdoor elements, but the full delivery of it will be,

482
00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:10,880
Speaker 2: you know, for the twenty twenty seven season. But we're

483
00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:14,000
Speaker 2: hearing great things about it from the fans, from our partners,

484
00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:15,680
Speaker 2: and the thing we want to give it a chance

485
00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:18,000
Speaker 2: to be, you know, everything we think it can be

486
00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:20,800
Speaker 2: and making sure that you know, we get the concept

487
00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:24,600
Speaker 2: right and you'll get all of the elements delivered at

488
00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:27,040
Speaker 2: the right time into the right level of you know,

489
00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,280
Speaker 2: really being a first class experience that we want for

490
00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:32,200
Speaker 2: our fans. And then a great thing about World Baseball Classic.

491
00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:34,040
Speaker 2: What you saw, you know when you were if you

492
00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:36,760
Speaker 2: were out there last time, is that you do a

493
00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:40,480
Speaker 2: great job of putting your music and your real festival

494
00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:43,560
Speaker 2: environment out there on the West Plaza. So we want

495
00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:45,000
Speaker 2: to make sure that we still have you know, the

496
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,600
Speaker 2: space to do that and everything. So we went with,

497
00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:50,480
Speaker 2: you know, putting the fan experience first from the perspective

498
00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:52,320
Speaker 2: of coexisting with construction.

499
00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:53,639
Speaker 5: But we're really.

500
00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:55,720
Speaker 2: Excited about Miami Live and we think it's going to

501
00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:58,080
Speaker 2: be wonderful for our fans, and we should have some

502
00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:02,199
Speaker 2: more more announcements about it and some specific details I

503
00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:04,800
Speaker 2: think later during the season, but I think fans are

504
00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:06,399
Speaker 2: going to find there's a lot of exciting things to

505
00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:07,840
Speaker 2: do there that's awesome.

506
00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:10,720
Speaker 1: And the last one from us really quickly. You obviously

507
00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:12,800
Speaker 1: have you have the ability of traveling to other ballparks

508
00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,480
Speaker 1: around the league. Miami Live, you could maybe resemble something

509
00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:18,159
Speaker 1: what's outside of Really Field. Is there any same in

510
00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:21,639
Speaker 1: particular ballpark experience that you really liked that you'd like

511
00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:23,480
Speaker 1: to incorporate into lone Depot Park.

512
00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:27,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think so many teams do great jobs with

513
00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:30,000
Speaker 2: their ballpark experience, and you know, when we started to

514
00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:33,440
Speaker 2: concept what we wanted around the ballpark, we did visit

515
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:36,399
Speaker 2: another place, a number of places, and we really honed

516
00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,440
Speaker 2: in on the places where you know, our partners, who

517
00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:42,919
Speaker 2: are you know, the Courtish companies had put uh, you know,

518
00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:47,000
Speaker 2: their their entertainment center. So I really love Texas Live

519
00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:51,160
Speaker 2: and the ballpark village at Saint Louis. Portions of the Battery,

520
00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:53,520
Speaker 2: you know, are our Courtash as well. So I think

521
00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:56,640
Speaker 2: it's really about both what they built but also how

522
00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:59,000
Speaker 2: it's been curated. So I think they really curated in

523
00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:01,360
Speaker 2: a way that both game days and non game days

524
00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:03,600
Speaker 2: there's a lot for the fans to do. So there's

525
00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:06,880
Speaker 2: really that excitement and energy that we liked. So this

526
00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:09,080
Speaker 2: past season, I was at the All Star Game, which

527
00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:11,520
Speaker 2: was in Atlanta, and it was great to see you know,

528
00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:14,480
Speaker 2: all the different aspects of you know, the Courtish properties

529
00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:16,960
Speaker 2: there and the way that they had carried them for

530
00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:19,359
Speaker 2: the All Star Game. So I think that was great

531
00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:21,600
Speaker 2: to see that vision kind of come to life. Particularly

532
00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:22,800
Speaker 2: during a duel event.

533
00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:28,000
Speaker 1: Well fan fast Spring Training, opening day, repair. Yeah, a

534
00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:29,919
Speaker 1: lot of what's going on, so we really appreciate the

535
00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:32,000
Speaker 1: time and we hope to do this again maybe ten

536
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:32,600
Speaker 1: months from now.

537
00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:34,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks for having me, guys. Look, we're to seeing

538
00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:37,199
Speaker 2: you soon, probably fantast if not in Jupiter.

539
00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:40,439
Speaker 1: Absolutely for Caroline, for Eli, for myself, thank you for

540
00:24:40,480 --> 00:25:00,760
Speaker 1: listening and as always, go Fish