Key West Day returns to loanDepot Park, benefits PAL

Key West families will see more than a ballgame when the Miami Marlins bring back Key West Day at loanDepot Park. Every ticket sold through the city’s promotion will send $5 to the Key West Police Athletic League, putting direct support behind youth sports, educational programming, after-school activities and the kind of supervised space PAL uses to build confidence and trust between kids and law enforcement.

The game is set for Saturday, July 11, at 4:10 p.m. against the Cleveland Guardians in Miami. The City of Key West said each ticket also includes a special Key West Day shirt, turning the trip into both a fundraiser and a visible show of island pride on a Major League Baseball stage.

City officials said this is the fourth year the Marlins have supported PAL with a special Key West Day. City Manager Brian L. Barroso said the outing will also serve as a belated Fourth of July-style celebration tied to the nation’s 250th birthday, giving the Southernmost City a chance to mark a national milestone while raising money at home.

PAL is the real beneficiary here. City materials describe the program as a safe place for children after school and on weekends, with officers and staff helping through sports, computers, camps and other structured activities. The city says those programs are designed to strengthen teamwork, self-esteem and positive relationships between young people, police and the broader community.

The partnership has become familiar in Key West. In August 2023, the city proclaimed Miami Marlins Day and said that game marked the third straight year the team had supported PAL with a special Key West Night. Then-City Manager Al Childress was scheduled to throw out the first pitch, and the Marlins again offered discounted tickets for Keys residents along with free Key West Day shirts around the stadium.

This year’s event adds another layer of local identity. Florida Keys Media Group General Manager Rick Lopez worked with the Marlins front office on a playlist that will feature Key West songs across generations, a small but deliberate reminder that the community’s voice will travel with fans into the ballpark.

For Monroe County residents, the payoff is concrete: a summer outing in Miami that helps finance youth programs in Key West, gives PAL another year of support, and keeps the island’s civic identity visible far beyond the Keys.