The first sporting event held at Marlins Park was a high school baseball game between Belen Jesuit Preparatory School and Christopher Columbus High School on March 5, 2002. The stadium would host its first Marlins game the next day when the Marlins played an exhibition game with the Miami Hurricanes during Spring Training. Marlins Park hosted its first regular season baseball game when the St. Louis Cardinals came to town on April 4, 2002. The St. Louis Cardinals would win the game 4-1.
Marlins Park is the home of several unique features that help separate it from the other professional baseball stadiums. The most unique is the home run feature located in center field. The home run feature stands 75 feet tall, and it was designed to celebrate the culture of Miami. A marlin dives into a pool of water surrounded by palm trees and flamingos every time a player for the Miami Marlins hits a home run.
The Clevelander bar is another unique feature of Marlins Park that is extremely popular with the fans. The Clevelander is designed to replicate a Miami nightclub. It features dancers and DJs for entertainment along with a full menu. Fans can also watch the game from a swimming pool at the Clevelander bar.
Marlins Park is also the home of a bobblehead museum. Bobbleheads are popular giveaways at professional baseball games, and you can see all of them in one place at Marlins Park. If a Major League Baseball team created a bobblehead to giveaway to their fans at a game, then one of the them will also be at the museum in Marlins Park. The museum is constantly updated to add more bobbleheads each season. Despite the exuberant design of the stadium, Marlins Park is still dedicated to preserving the environment. Marlins Park was named the greenest stadium in Major League Baseball by the Leadership in Energy and Design (LEED) in 2012. This was partially achieved by installing retractable glass panels in the outfield that allow a natural breeze to cool the stadium.