Derek Jeter has been serious about his plans to remove the home run sculpture from Marlins Park as soon as he bought the Miami MLB team. Any plans to remove the statue would be complicated and require Miami-Dade County approval, but it sounds like Jeter has some political backing.
Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Gimenez toured Marlins Park on Tuesday and expressed openness to getting rid of the sculpture.
“I just don’t think they’re all that crazy about it,” Mayor Carlos Gimenez said, via the Miami Herald. “I’m not a fan. We’re looking at it. …We’ll see if anything can be done.”
This afternoon @MayorGimenez toured @MarlinsPark with the team's new management. The mayor looks forward to working w/Mr. Jeter & @Marlins pic.twitter.com/43EbpyHO8L
— Mike Hernández (@HernandezMA5) January 16, 2018
There are some obstacles in removing the statue that would require political maneuverings. The stadium is county property, and The Herald says the sculpture is too because it was “purchased as part of an Art in Public Places program that requires builders of county-owned buildings to install art works for the public.”
Removing the statue would require plumbing, electrical, and much more work. The entire statue cost $2.5 million and was paid for from the sum of money the Marlins pitched in for the stadium.
