The kitschy home-run sculpture at Marlins Park can’t be removed by Derek Jeter or anyone else who might buy the team, according to its owner: Miami-Dade County.
Standing 73 feet tall, the mechanical display sends marlins and flamingos whirring whenever the Marlins hit a home run. It was commissioned as part of Miami-Dade’s Art in Public Places program, which requires construction of county buildings to include art as well. The sculpture, named “Homer,” cost $2.5 million and, like Marlins Park, belongs to Miami-Dade’s government.
Derek Jeter and partners reportedly floated interest in removing the center-field sculpture, which some mock as garish and decidely un-Miami, while others find it a fun, irreverent way to celebrate a home-team dinger.