Marlins Park home run sculpture won't be operational until Opening Day

You're going to have to wait until Opening Day to see the Marlins' new home run sculpture light up.

President David Samson said Sunday he misspoke when he told reporters earlier this month the sculpture would be operational for the two exhibition games against the Yankees. Now, Marlins fans will have to wait until Wednesday, Opening Night against the Cardinals to see it.

But if you really want to see it anyway, here's a link to our blog from last week with the thing in action.

> With field temperatures reaching into the mid 80s this morning, the Marlins decided to close the roof for today's game, schedule for a 1:05 p.m. first pitch.

"For us it's always a weather thing," Samson said of when the Marlins will decide to keep the retractable roof open or closed. "We saw it was 85 degrees and hot so we decided to close the roof."

The plan for Monday night's game is to keep the roof open. Odds are unless the Marlins are playing a day game in September or October and temperatures are in the 70s, the roof is going to be closed often around here.

> In case you missed Barry Jackson's buzz, here's a link to the news on Juan Carlos Oviedo -- the closer formerly known as Leo Nunez -- facing a six-week suspension once he receives his visa. The Marlins were hoping heading into spring training Oviedo could serve as their setup man to new closer Heath Bell. That job now appears to be Edward Mujica's, Oviedo's close friend.

> On Saturday, the team announced the addition of 3,000 off-site parking spaces -- less than a mile to two miles away from Marlins Park: Kristi House Lot, 1355 NW 12 Ave, Civic Center Jury Lot, 1255 NW 11 Street, Civic Center Lot 26, 1355 NW 12 Street, Mahi Shrine Parking,1480 NW North River Dr, Highland Park Garage, 1801 NW 9 Ave, Park Plaza East Garage, 901 NW 17 St, RAD Property, 1001 NW 7 St, Lyons Lot, 1250 NW 7 St, Cardona Medical Center, 1390 NW 7 St, Robert King High, 1401 NW 7 St, Walgreens, 1699 NW 7 St, St John Bosco Church, 1358 NW 1 St, Suntrust Bank, 100 NW 12 Ave, Magic City Casino, 450 NW 37 Ave.

The closest off-site parking lot -- the nearby Walgreens -- cost $25. Other lots ranged from $20 and up. It costs $15 to park in the reserved on-site lots, which house 5,700 spaces.

The Marlins say there are roughly another 8,000 spots in the surrounding neighborhoods. One man from Kendall who came to Sunday's game with his son said he paid $20 to park on a lawn four blocks north of the stadium. "The traffic wasn't bad," he said. "It was stopping and trying to find out how much they were selling spots for. Not too many people were holding up signs."

Two fans wearing Yankees shirts said they received an email Wednesday from the Marlins telling them additional parking was available in the on-site lots. Within 24 hours, parking for both Yankees exhibition games were sold out. The only other game where on-site parking is currently sold out is Opening Night against the Cardinals.

> Fans interested in checking out The Clevelander at Marlins Park without gameday tickets will have to wait 30 minutes after the game to get-in. Marketing manager Anna Whitlow said there will be a $10-$20 cover charge post-game to get in. Marlins closer Heath Bell is scheduled to come help serve beers after Sunday's game against the Yankees.

Whitlow said single game tickets are available for The Clevelander after opening day. Tickets start at $50 and are available at Marlins.com. The Clevelander features a pool and food items ranging from $5 (fries) to $16 (barbecue chicken pizza).