On a balmy August weekend in Miami, the city’s attention was riveted by the Miami Marlins’ historic sweep of the New York Yankees—a feat that electrified the local baseball faithful and packed loanDepot Park with nearly sold-out crowds. But while more than 32,000 fans cheered from the stands on August 1, an entirely different drama was playing out in the stadium’s exclusive Suite 18, a box meant as a “community benefit” for the city and Miami-Dade County. The suite, according to the Marlins’ operating agreement, is supposed to serve the public and charitable causes—not elected officials and their entourages. Yet, as the Miami Herald reports, that’s not always how things have played out this season.
Miami Commissioner Ralph Rosado, freshly sworn in after a special election in June, attended that August 1 game with his family and staff, making use of more than a dozen complimentary tickets. The group enjoyed the game from the luxury of the “MVP Suite,” which, according to the Marlins’ website, can cost up to $4,566 per game. Rosado’s office would later use the suite again on August 18, and he said tickets for the July 18 game against the Kansas City Royals went to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami. But the question remains: just who is benefiting from this so-called community suite?
It’s a question that’s become increasingly urgent as city officials and their staff—rather than community groups or the broader public—continue to enjoy the perks of Suite 18. City Manager Art Noriega attended a May 17 game against the Tampa Bay Rays with family and two assistant city managers, while staff from Mayor Francis Suarez’s office have used the suite for every game allotted to them this season, including matchups against the Pittsburgh Pirates, LA Dodgers, and Colorado Rockies. Suarez himself, his office says, has not attended a Marlins game in Suite 18 in recent years, though they couldn’t say for certain that he’s never used it during his tenure, which stretches back to 2009.
How, exactly, are these tickets distributed? The process is less than transparent. The city and Miami-Dade County alternate use of the suite for about 40 regular season home games each year, distributing tickets via a spring “lottery” among the offices of the city manager, mayor, and five commissioners. Each office typically receives five to six games per season, with 16 tickets available per game. But after that, oversight is virtually nonexistent. As city spokesperson Kenia Fallat told the Miami Herald, “The City Manager’s Office does not currently maintain a log of the tickets used specifically by each office.” Noriega’s office, for example, had no record of who attended the games assigned to them, nor could they provide a list of charitable organizations that benefited from the tickets.
This lack of oversight has raised red flags among ethics experts and public officials alike. Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins, who receives tickets to about three games per season, insists her office always donates them to community groups such as the Salvation Army and Family Resource Center of South Florida. “Why am I going to take a seat from a bunch of kids or low-income families?” Higgins asked. She’s never used the suite herself, and she’s far from alone in her concerns. Former City Commissioner Ken Russell, now a mayoral candidate, believes the current protocol could violate the city charter, which prohibits officials from accepting free tickets or services on terms more favorable than those available to the general public. “It should be investigated and enforced if it’s being violated,” Russell told the Miami Herald. “Tickets can become political currency. There should 100% be a process to keep track of who is receiving these tickets and how they’re being utilized.”
Mayoral candidate and former City Manager Emilio González also criticized the current system, pledging that, if elected, he would ensure the city follows county guidelines: “No elected official nor anyone in their office should be allowed to use those tickets. It should not be a friends and family program for commissioners.”
The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust has weighed in on similar controversies before, issuing guidelines that recommend elected officials be “entirely removed from the process involving distribution of complimentary tickets.” The Ethics Commission concluded that tickets received by a municipality as a public benefit should be distributed “by an objective, non-political mechanism” to avoid any suggestion of political or personal gain. As the Commission’s guidance states, “the temptations that are inherently likely to cause ethical problems are heightened by any policy that allows such discretionary distribution without oversight or accountability.”
Despite these recommendations, the city has no formal system for members of the public or community organizations to request access to the suite. The only way in is to ask directly through the offices of the mayor, commissioners, or city manager. Commissioner Damian Pardo’s office, for instance, has given its Marlins tickets to two Coconut Grove organizations, the local Special Olympics chapter, and the police union. Neither Pardo nor his staff attended those games, his chief of staff confirmed. Commissioner Joe Carollo said he’s attended just one game this year, briefly hosting a group from the Venezuelan community, but noted that his office doesn’t keep a list of ticket recipients because they were never instructed to do so.
The lack of a public-facing mechanism or formal log means it’s difficult—if not impossible—to know whether the suite is truly serving its intended purpose. The next game on the city’s roster, a matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Miami Marlins, was scheduled for August 20. As of the afternoon before the game, the mayor’s office had no one lined up to use the tickets, raising the prospect that the box might sit empty for the night.
While the debate over Suite 18’s use simmers, the Miami Marlins Foundation has been busy making a different kind of impact in the community. From August 14 to August 19, the Foundation’s annual back-to-school initiative provided essential supplies to more than 10,000 elementary school students across Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties. The effort, organized in partnership with the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana, included four distribution events at local schools. At Kensington Park Elementary School on August 19, Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez, his wife, and baby daughter joined Marlins President of Business Caroline O’Connor, PNC Bank’s Southeast Florida President Cressman Bronson, and a team of volunteers to hand out notebooks, pencils, and even tickets to Marlins games.
“It means a lot, just to see them smiling—it brings back all the emotions from when I was their age,” Lopez told MLB.com. “I want to find ways to help people, so we love being here today.” He added, “It’s important to be here because I want to teach her the value of giving,” referring to his daughter. The events featured the Marlins’ mascot, Billy The Marlin, and lively music, making the occasion especially memorable for the children. Former Marlin Antonio Alfonseca also participated in distributions at Citrus Grove K-8 Center and Lenora B Smith Elementary, while Marlins front office staff and volunteers from sponsors like Amazon and PNC Bank rolled up their sleeves to help.
Jorge A. Fernández, Chairman of the Kiwanis of Little Havana Foundation, expressed deep appreciation for the Marlins’ commitment, saying, “Our shared commitment goes beyond generous donations and sponsorships—it is reflected in our unwavering dedication to the community we share.”
As the Marlins continue to make headlines on and off the field, the contrast between the opaque use of the community suite and the Foundation’s transparent, impactful outreach efforts could not be starker. For Miami’s leaders, the challenge is clear: ensuring the city’s resources truly benefit the community, not just those in power.
