Previewing WBC, Marlins FanFest & 2026 season with Caroline O'Connor

[Isaac Azout]

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With the start of spring training barely a week away, Miami Marlins president of business Caroline O'Connor joins Isaac Azout and Ely Sussman for an exclusive interview. They discuss what to expect from this year's FanFest at loanDepot park, where games wil be televised in 2026, how to boost the franchise's ticket sales, what makes the stadium an ideal host site for the World Baseball Classic and when the Miami Live! entertainment development will finally be ready.

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O'Connor is entering her ninth season with the Marlins, but likely her first without the franchise having a traditional television rights agreement with a regional sports network. Last month, the Marlins terminated their deal with Main Streets Sports Group, the struggling parent company of FanDuel Sports Network Florida.

"We are in active conversations with Major League Baseball about getting ready for all the things that we'll kinda shift the model on if we are sort of producer of our games," O'Connor said. "We're talking to people like Kyle (Sielaff), Kelly (Saco) and all of the faces that you guys love to see, making sure that they feel good and they're ready to get out to our fans, regardless of who the broadcasting partner is."

"We were so pleased last year with the first time ever of simulcasting the games—we did 15 of our games over the air with our partners at CBS Miami, and that was a great experiment for us," she added. "There'll probably be some aspect of the simulcasting this year as well. We're excited and we'll probably have those plans solidified in the next few weeks here."

Previously expected to be operational for next month's WBC, the timetable for Miami Live! has been pushed back.

"We'll have some smaller elements like an enhanced stage and some outdoor elements, but the full delivery of it will be in the 2027 season," O'Connor said. "We're hearing great things about it from the fans, from our partners and we really wanna give it a chance to be everything we think it can be and making sure that we get the concepts right and get all of the elements to the right level to make it a first-class experience that we want for our fans."

Follow Isaac (@IsaacAzout), Ely (@RealEly and Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) on Twitter. Join the Marlins Discord server! Complete Miami Marlins coverage here at FishOnFirst.com.

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