Your guide to 2025 Marlins FanFest

[Kevin Barral]

Another season of Marlins baseball officially begins this Saturday with this free event at loanDepot park.

The Miami Marlins are set to hold their annual FanFest on Saturday, February 8 from 4:00-8:00 pm. We take fans through some tips on what they should do (and shouldn’t do) this year.

In 2024, FanFest took place on a Friday farther in advance of spring training, but the event is back to its traditional schedule this year. Although traffic shouldn't be as bad on a Saturday, it is still recommended to arrive on time to make sure you can be there for the full experience.

You can claim tickets for free here (up to six free tickets available per person). Tickets will be delivered to your Ballpark app account, so make sure you can see them there. A personal suggestion for my fellow iPhone users would be to add them to your wallet to ensure that you can quickly scan your ticket and go inside to keep the line moving as fast as possible.

Parking is complimentary for this event, so you will be able to park for in any of the four garages at no additional cost.

 

Who Will Be There?

The expectation is that most of the Marlins 40-man roster will attend FanFest, headlined by Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez. It will be the first Marlins event involving offseason acquisitions like Liam Hicks, Matt Mervis and Eric Wagaman and the FanFest debut for new manager Clayton McCullough as well as many young players who the club added during the 2024 season, including Connor Norby, Otto Lopez, Agustín Ramírez and Jared Serna.

 

Player Interaction

Just like in recent years, players will be scattered throughout the entirety of the ballpark, including outside in the West Plaza for photo opportunities. The Marlins announced that player selfies will take place in Sections 1, 32 and 205.

For a second straight year, fans will NOT be able to get autographs from players unless they are Marlins Members. For non-members, keep in mind that if you attend spring training in Jupiter, players may be willing to sign for free if approached politely before or after games. For more information on Marlins spring training, Fish On First has a guide for that here.

 

 

Main Stage Events

Clubhouse Convos (4:30 pm & 5:30 pm)—This seems to be a new name for the player group interviews that take place every year.

Special Alumni Announcement (6:25 pm)—The Marlins have a tradition of making announcements at FanFest. In 2023, it was that they were bringing back the old teal jerseys and wearing them for every "Flashback Friday" home game. In 2024, it was adding their blue spring training uniforms to the regular season rotation and editing their black jerseys.

One educated guess about the 2025 announcement is that the Marlins could be retiring the number of a former player, which they've never done before. Jeff Conine's number 19 would make a lot of sense.

2025 Promos and City Connect Announcement (7:00 pm)—The Marlins are required to change their popular red "Sugar Kings" jerseys due to Major League Baseball's contract with Nike. Details about their new City Connects will be unveiled at FanFest. Along with that, we'll get specifics on the schedule for various promotions and ballpark giveaways for the upcoming season.

 

Activities for Fans

Along with player interaction, there is more than enough for fans to do at FanFest. Similar to last year, there will be the arcade trailer on the West Plaza, pitching in the bullpen, taking batting practice, taking pictures with the 1997 and 2003 trophies and the virtual home run derby.

Although it isn't as flashy as it once was, the Marlins museum will be open to anyone who wishes to be there. Also, you'll find new mascots Bobby, Charlie and Pepito, who compete in the Marlins Rooster Race. They will be racing in 2025 at every Marlins home game.

With the event taking place in the late afternoon, expect the roof to be open and at the end of FanFest, there will be a fireworks show at 8:00 pm, which the Marlins have done well in the past.

 

Drinks

Although this event is meant more for kids, the Marlins always find a way to include everyone, no matter how old you are. Like last season, fans 21 and older can get an early taste of one of the Marlins biggest promotions in Beerfest, which will take place from 5:00-7:00 p.m. For $25, you can taste 20 domestic, international and local craft brews.

 

Marlins Youth Academy FanFest Clinics

A new addition to FanFest will be the youth clinics. Kids from ages 5-13 will be able to play on the field with current players on the Miami Marlins. The available time slots for this are 5:00 pm, 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm. These are one-hour clinics which will have certain stations to do a little bit of everything.

 

Fill Out the Waiver!

To ensure that you can participate in all events on Friday, make sure to fill out this waiver in advance. If you are under 18 years old, a parent will have to fill it out for you.

 

Fish On First Special Contest

Last year, Isaac Azout and I went around asking contestants to identify the faces of certain players on the Marlins. In exchange we gave the winners tickets to the Caribbean Series, which was being held in Miami. This time around, Isaac and I are coming with tougher faces to identify on a Marlins team that will be completely new. We haven't decided on a prize yet, but I'm sure it'll be worth it if you can identify four players on the Marlins 40-man roster.

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[rurrusuno]

I haven’t been to a fan fest in years. There’s a small chance I may be able to go at the last minute. Let’s see.
 

I predict the city connect jerseys will be the Marlins rendition of Vice City. Other teams in South Florida are doing it so it feels like the Marlins are next to buck the trend.

For the one Spring Training game I went to, I got a Chris Coghlan signature. I’ve had lots of success in the past getting autographs after Marlins games. I got lucky once and met Jose Fernandez.