Caribbean Series coming back to loanDepot park in 2028

[Ely Sussman]

This past February, the event was held at a major league team's home ballpark for the first time and drew hundreds of thousands of fans.

As announced on Tuesday, loanDepot park will be hosting the Caribbean Series again in 2028.

Miami Marlins president of business operations Caroline O'Connor released the following statement (via Daniel Álvarez-Montes, El Extrabase): “We are thrilled to follow on the immense success of the 2024 Caribbean Series and bring the prestigious international tournament back to Miami in 2028 in partnership with LIDOM. This year’s tournament was a marquee event for our community, and we thank LIDOM for an outstanding partnership that once again brings the best of winter baseball to loanDepot park.”

From February 1-9, loanDepot park hosted the 66th edition of Serie del Caribe, featuring the champions of seven professional baseball leagues. Venezuela's Tiburones de La Guaira won the tournament, managed by former Marlins skipper Ozzie Guillén.

The Marlins went all out to amplify the Caribbean Series stateside. They struck a multi-year deal with the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation for exclusive broadcast rights, which included English language television coverage of every game via Bally Sports. The Final drew 36,677 fans to Miami, setting a tournament record.

Overall, the 25 Caribbean Series contests drew an average of 13,613 fans. O'Connor said that the many of them were South Florida residents and she was hopeful they'd return to the ballpark during the MLB regular season. Alas, the Marlins have averaged only 12,496 fans per game, not only the second-lowest mark in the majors but a 13% decrease from their 2023 season. The club's unambitious offseason moves and subsequent non-competitiveness—they fell out of the playoff race almost immediately—certainly made it more difficult to "convert" them.

In between the 2024 and 2028 tournaments, loanDepot park will also be a host site for an even bigger international event: the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

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