loanDepot Park Retractable Roof

OWNER

Miami Marlins

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Project Details
Construction Cost: $600 million
Completion Date: 2012
Project Size: 300,000 SF retractable roof

Sustainability
LEED Gold®

loanDepot Park Retractable Roof

Miami
Florida

Nestled in the south Florida neighborhood known as “Little Havana,” the $515-million, 37,000-seat loanDepot (formerly Marlins) Park is a meticulously-engineered piece of art. Serving as the home for the Miami Marlins, the ballpark ushered in a forward-looking era of professional stadia in the U.S.

To encourage attendance in the humid Miami climate and to eliminate costly rainouts, the 37,000-seat loanDepot Ballpark features a one-of-a-kind three-panel moving roof that has become the signature architectural feature of the park. The 17-acre roof spans up to 560 feet.  It moves atop a giant concrete column frame, parking above and providing shade for the main outdoor plaza where fans gather before and after games. 

In designing their sixth U.S. retractable roof, Walter P Moore collaborated with mechanization consultant Uni-Systems, who provided mechanization design and supply. The team innovated to reduce the roof cost by $4,000,000 and eliminate costly weather seals between the roof panels altogether. By carefully evaluating the performance of the roof in the severe hurricanes that frequent south Florida, Walter P Moore designed the roof to survive the hurricane with the roof panels in a slightly open, or “gapped” position. This simple but groundbreaking departure from the tightly-sealed roof storm strategies of other retractable-roof venues in hurricane zones yielded savings of over 1,000 tons of steel in the 8,000-ton roof.

The completion of loanDepot Park represents a leap forward in the engineering of professional stadia. Among its achievements, the ballpark is the first retractable roof facility to garner LEED Gold® certification. From the first foundation to the highest roof truss, loanDepot Park represents a wildly successful project—one in which innovative engineering solutions contributed to a facility completed on time and on budget, which has exceeded all expectations from the owner and re-invigorated the fans.