A Thought

[Sizzlin22]

As much as it pains me to say it after careful thought I believe that the Red Soxx should consider building a new Fenway Park.

 

I was thinking about my first trip and only trip to Yankee and remembered just how loud it got, and how it never ever even comes close to how loud it was then at Fenway.

 

That in itself shows the huge difference btween the ammount of seats at Fenway and the ammount of seats at Yankee Stadium, which in turn, shows the huge differential in revenue.

 

In making a new Fenway we could keep the great fetures of the park, The Monster with old hand operated score board for example and get rid of the problems like obstructed view seats.

 

Teams in this modern era are grabbing a lot of money out of ticket revenue and The Red Sox in the future could fall behind other teams.

 

By adding more seats, the Red Sox could increaseticket revenu by 50 to 75 to even 100% and at the same time lower ticket prices so all fans can afford to go to games.

 

I love Fenway as much as any other fan, and like all of you, I've been going to Fenway for as long as I've lived, but I believe that it is in the best interest of the team to build a new Fenway (so long as the name stays Fenway).

[riverside sluggers]

dude really red sox signed a long term contract with the city of Boston to keep the Red Sox in Fenway Park and Im glad they did it since Fenway Park has long been a staple of Boston's history. When they do so in the future, rather not have them call it Fenway also, just like Fleet Center will never be the Boston Garden!!

[CrespoBlows]

As much as it pains me to say it after careful thougt I believe that the Red Soxx should consider building a new Fenway Park.

 

I was thinking about my first trip and only trip to Yankee and remembered just how loud it got, and how it never ever even comes close to how loud it was then at Fenway.

 

That in itself shows the huge difference btween the ammount of seats at Fenway and the ammount of seats at Yankee Stadium, which in turn, shows the huge differential in revenue.

 

In making a new Fenway we could keep the great fetures of the park, The Monster with old hand operated score board for example and get rid of the problems like obstructed view seats.

 

Teams in this modern era are grabbing a lot of money out of ticket revenue and The Red Sox in the future could fall behind other teams.

 

By adding more seats, the Red Sox could increaseticket revenu by 50 to 75 to even 100% and at the same time lower ticket prices so all fans can afford to go to games.

 

I love Fenway as much as any other fan, and like all of you, I've been going to Fenway for as long as I've lived, but I believe that it is in the best interest of the team to build a new Fenway (so long as the name stays Fenway).

 

Problems that stand in the way

 

1. John Henry wants the city to help pay for the ballpark

 

2. Where are you going to put it?

 

3. The proposed site is on a residental area, which would cost the team millions to buy them out.

 

Other than that, I agree with you that a new Fenway would help the fans, and team out.

[riverside sluggers]

a new park wont be built anytime soon!!!

 

Red Sox planning to remain at Fenway

Launching effort to revitalize area

By Steve Bailey and Sasha Talcott, Globe Staff | March 22, 2005

 

The Boston Red Sox tomorrow will announce that the team is staying put in Fenway Park, baseball's oldest and smallest stadium. The announcement will mark the beginning of an effort to revitalize the neighborhood and is expected to include in the future a push for public financing for improved streets and sidewalks, a new MBTA train station at Yawkey Way, and one or more garages, say Red Sox executives. The team also wants to have a say in development decisions around the park that could affect the Fenway experience, the executives said yesterday.

 

The team's plans to remain in Fenway Park are not contingent on securing city and state aid for improvements, the executives said. But the Red Sox ownership, which has made considerable changes inside the park since buying the team three years ago, will be looking for the city and state to finance major improvements in the neighborhood. The team is ''looking for various government entities to step up," said one team owner, who asked not to be identified. The team's owners will ''step up, and are hoping that others will step up, too." Charles Steinberg, the team's executive vice president of public affairs, said a news conference scheduled for tomorrow is part of the team's plans for an annual walk-through to showcase improvements to the ballpark. He would not comment on whether the team would be staying at Fenway.

 

''What we're focused on now, as we are usually, is the description and depiction of what fans can look forward to this coming year," he said. The announcement would end a long cat-and-mouse game by the team's ownership, which has every year made considerable improvements in Fenway such as expanded seating and concessions but refused to commit to staying long term. It is also a dramatic reversal from the Red Sox's stance just five years ago, when the previous ownership argued that the team needed a new ballpark to be financially competitive in the league.

 

The announcement, however, will shift the discussion on the future from inside the park to outside the park, and is sure to renew speculation about whether the city or state will want to spend money on infrastructure and other improvements. In 2000, when the previous Red Sox management was focused on building a new ballpark, the state agreed to provide $100 million for infrastructure construction, and the city agreed to spend $140 million for acquisition and cleanup costs for the land. The team's new owners ''remember that, too," said the Red Sox partner. ''They have read the papers." But the fiscal situation of city and state government has deteriorated considerably since then, and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has been recently discouraging any idea that the city is in a position to provide financial assistance. Red Sox lobbyists have been on Beacon Hill recently letting key legislators know of their goals.

 

The team will be looking for support for such things as a train station at Yawkey Way, improved streets and sidewalks, and cleaning up the tiny Muddy River in Kenmore Square. Parking garages are also high on the wish list. The Red Sox efforts to develop more of the Fenway neighborhood, largely under wraps until now, have begun to surface. Earlier this month, the Red Sox confirmed they were in discussions to buy three relatively small properties around Fenway Park that would allow them to continue to move offices out of the ballpark and make more room for revenue-generating fan activities.

 

Under the new ownership of John Henry and his limited partners, the Sox have made a variety of renovations to the park, expanded concessions, and boosted ticket prices substantially, as they tried to wring additional revenue from the park. (The New York Times Co., parent company of The Boston Globe, owns 17 percent of the Red Sox.) The Sox added roofbox seats along the first base line, and they carved out spots on the Green Monster and close to the field near the dugouts. They also plan to renovate the glassed-in .406 Club, expand seating there to 816 seats from 606 seats, and are shopping for a naming-rights sponsor to that remodeled area. The team also added a new concourse area near Gate E.

 

Mike Dee, the Red Sox's chief operating officer, said last week that the Sox would like to ''activate" the perimeter of Fenway, as part of attracting crowds year round. ''I don't want to be an 81-day-a-year facility," he said. The team also has been in discussions with Boston developer John Rosenthal, who holds the air rights to three parcels over the Massachusetts Turnpike just behind Fenway Park. The Red Sox had objected to Rosenthal's plans for two residential towers because they feared the buildings would obscure the views from inside the park. But the relationship has improved lately.

 

''We're having ongoing discussion and planning together," Rosenthal said yesterday. One possibility being discussed could shift Rosenthal's development to another nearby turnpike parcel.In addition to Henry, Red Sox owners Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino are scheduled to spell out their plans to keep the team at Fenway tomorrow morning to an invitation-only meeting of the executive committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. The city's public improvements committee on Thursday will take up a proposal that would allow outdoor seating on Lansdowne Street.

 

After revealing plans to stay at Fenway, the Red Sox are expected to launch a series of meetings with the city and neighborhood groups to develop a comprehensive plan for the neighborhood. That would likely include new restaurants, housing, and parking.

[Sizzlin22]

a new park wont be built anytime soon!!!

 

Red Sox planning to remain at Fenway

Launching effort to revitalize area

By Steve Bailey and Sasha Talcott, Globe Staff | March 22, 2005

 

The Boston Red Sox tomorrow will announce that the team is staying put in Fenway Park, baseball's oldest and smallest stadium. The announcement will mark the beginning of an effort to revitalize the neighborhood and is expected to include in the future a push for public financing for improved streets and sidewalks, a new MBTA train station at Yawkey Way, and one or more garages, say Red Sox executives. The team also wants to have a say in development decisions around the park that could affect the Fenway experience, the executives said yesterday.

 

The team's plans to remain in Fenway Park are not contingent on securing city and state aid for improvements, the executives said. But the Red Sox ownership, which has made considerable changes inside the park since buying the team three years ago, will be looking for the city and state to finance major improvements in the neighborhood. The team is ''looking for various government entities to step up," said one team owner, who asked not to be identified. The team's owners will ''step up, and are hoping that others will step up, too." Charles Steinberg, the team's executive vice president of public affairs, said a news conference scheduled for tomorrow is part of the team's plans for an annual walk-through to showcase improvements to the ballpark. He would not comment on whether the team would be staying at Fenway.

 

''What we're focused on now, as we are usually, is the description and depiction of what fans can look forward to this coming year," he said. The announcement would end a long cat-and-mouse game by the team's ownership, which has every year made considerable improvements in Fenway such as expanded seating and concessions but refused to commit to staying long term. It is also a dramatic reversal from the Red Sox's stance just five years ago, when the previous ownership argued that the team needed a new ballpark to be financially competitive in the league.

 

The announcement, however, will shift the discussion on the future from inside the park to outside the park, and is sure to renew speculation about whether the city or state will want to spend money on infrastructure and other improvements. In 2000, when the previous Red Sox management was focused on building a new ballpark, the state agreed to provide $100 million for infrastructure construction, and the city agreed to spend $140 million for acquisition and cleanup costs for the land. The team's new owners ''remember that, too," said the Red Sox partner. ''They have read the papers." But the fiscal situation of city and state government has deteriorated considerably since then, and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has been recently discouraging any idea that the city is in a position to provide financial assistance. Red Sox lobbyists have been on Beacon Hill recently letting key legislators know of their goals.

 

The team will be looking for support for such things as a train station at Yawkey Way, improved streets and sidewalks, and cleaning up the tiny Muddy River in Kenmore Square. Parking garages are also high on the wish list. The Red Sox efforts to develop more of the Fenway neighborhood, largely under wraps until now, have begun to surface. Earlier this month, the Red Sox confirmed they were in discussions to buy three relatively small properties around Fenway Park that would allow them to continue to move offices out of the ballpark and make more room for revenue-generating fan activities.

 

Under the new ownership of John Henry and his limited partners, the Sox have made a variety of renovations to the park, expanded concessions, and boosted ticket prices substantially, as they tried to wring additional revenue from the park. (The New York Times Co., parent company of The Boston Globe, owns 17 percent of the Red Sox.) The Sox added roofbox seats along the first base line, and they carved out spots on the Green Monster and close to the field near the dugouts. They also plan to renovate the glassed-in .406 Club, expand seating there to 816 seats from 606 seats, and are shopping for a naming-rights sponsor to that remodeled area. The team also added a new concourse area near Gate E.

 

Mike Dee, the Red Sox's chief operating officer, said last week that the Sox would like to ''activate" the perimeter of Fenway, as part of attracting crowds year round. ''I don't want to be an 81-day-a-year facility," he said. The team also has been in discussions with Boston developer John Rosenthal, who holds the air rights to three parcels over the Massachusetts Turnpike just behind Fenway Park. The Red Sox had objected to Rosenthal's plans for two residential towers because they feared the buildings would obscure the views from inside the park. But the relationship has improved lately.

 

''We're having ongoing discussion and planning together," Rosenthal said yesterday. One possibility being discussed could shift Rosenthal's development to another nearby turnpike parcel.In addition to Henry, Red Sox owners Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino are scheduled to spell out their plans to keep the team at Fenway tomorrow morning to an invitation-only meeting of the executive committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. The city's public improvements committee on Thursday will take up a proposal that would allow outdoor seating on Lansdowne Street.

 

After revealing plans to stay at Fenway, the Red Sox are expected to launch a series of meetings with the city and neighborhood groups to develop a comprehensive plan for the neighborhood. That would likely include new restaurants, housing, and parking.

I was aware of this it was actually htis article tha spurred my thought.

[riverside sluggers]

yeah and this is about them putting tens of millions of dollars into renovations to Fenway Park, which I dont think they'll do if a new park is going to be built soon. Besdes I already heard Henry said by 2012 it will be protected by the historical society and claimed as a landmark celebrating its 100th birthday.

[JohnnyDug]

I would just hate to see it go

[sgarceo]

I would just hate to see it go

Me To, and I have been there only once in my life. I am still young so I hope it will be ther for another 100 Years.

[Sox Fan on Cape]

" Red Sox executives are exploring yet another seating addition to antique Fenway Park-hundreds of lower-cost seats atop the adjacent Launfry Building behind the bleachers.

 

....Janet Marie Smith, the team's architecture and development chief, and Larry Lucchion, the Sox chief executive, are weighing plans for a new seating section offering fans a much more modest price tag.

 

....the proposed Laundry Building seating section, which may act as an expansion of the bleachers, might feature perches in the $ 20 to $ 30 range, said Sam Kennedy, a top Sox sales executive "

 

Source : Boston Herald : http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=94516&format=text

[riverside sluggers]

ah very cool I like this idea, exactly what Chicago Cubs do, Id get seats there possibly. With way things are goin, I see no talk about a new Fenway Park until roughly 15 years down the road. And Im glad for that. My grandafther took me to my first game when I was 3 in '86 for a game that Roger was pitching. And hoping someday when I have kids, Id like to get the chance of taking them to Fenway Park.

[Sox Fan on Cape]

I did, so will you. By the way, if you go to the link, at the bottom there are a couple of other links concerning projected cost for improvement $ 100 million and the new luxury seating ( replacing the 406 Club ).

[NoPepper]

ah very cool I like this idea, exactly what Chicago Cubs do, Id get seats there possibly. With way things are goin, I see no talk about a new Fenway Park until roughly 15 years down the road. And Im glad for that. My grandafther took me to my first game when I was 3 in '86 for a game that Roger was pitching. And hoping someday when I have kids, Id like to get the chance of taking them to Fenway Park.

 

The Cubs don't make any money off those seats though (at least last I checked). Last time I went to a Cubs game I tried to get seats like this, but couldn't. I had to settle for being in the friendly confines of Wrigley again.

 

I hope to never hear any "new Fenway Park" talk again (the same for Wrigley Field - I'm a Cub fan too. Until last year, my heart was broken in both leagues each year!) I too plan on getting my son to both Fenway and Wrigley before someone knocks them down.

 

I would still like a new pro ballpark in Boston though. I'd love to see a National League team back in Boston. Tickets to the Sox are hard to come by. Another team would give the city a new ballpark that some people have wanted, home games when the Sox are out of town and home games with tickets available. I think Boston can support 2 baseball teams.

[riverside sluggers]

now that idea of a national league team back in boston does pique my interest, the last being the Braves before they started to move around. only questions being where to put another ballpark in boston, and what national league team to relocate.

[soxie thefangirl]

That'd be very cool. I was actually thinking about it yesterday how cool that would be.

[riverside sluggers]

haha i can picture it now if the Sox and new team boston both lead in their leagues and end up in world series against each other. yankees and mets had the subway series. We'd have the Battle in Beantown

[bigpapi349]

wat possible teams do u think would consider relocating

[riverside sluggers]

only team of the NL I know is closest to finding a new home is the lowly Colorado Rockies. but its all assumptions right now, would be exciting to have two teams in Boston

[bigpapi349]

i think toronto rockies and maybe the marlins who get bad attendance to there games might move in the future

[bigpapi349]

wat about maybe playing games at gillette??

[riverside sluggers]

thats true but not tornoto since they are already in same divsion as us as it is, but yea marlins would be better bet than rockies for team can actually win, haha.

[YanksHater213]

I dont think another MLB team in Boston would work. But I do think having one in maybe either Providence or Hartford would work.

[bigpapi349]

ya id like to see the marlins but i dont think any of this will happen for at least a long time

also, maybe a team could move to Rhode island or coneticut

[soxie thefangirl]

I'd love another one in Boston. I love that about NYC. Real rivalry, too, it's neat.

[YankeesFan2]

im gonna start the

 

+1

 

-too much to read

[YankeesFan2]

but now that i read it...i want the marlins to move to boston cuz Dontrelle Willis is great...

[NoPepper]

What about the next(?) round of expansion. I'm only on my first pot of coffee, so I might not have this right. Doesn't the AL have more teams than the NL?

[ORS]

What about the next(?) round of expansion. I'm only on my first pot of coffee, so I might not have this right. Doesn't the AL have more teams than the NL?

NL-16, AL-14. Could be some switching around of Leagues and Divisions like the Brewers in the last expansion round.

 

They could do like the NFL. 4 Divisions per league, 4 teams per division. 6 playoff teams?

[yeszir]

I love Fenway as it is, we've shown that we can compete (and win) in the current ballpark, so why go the route of the yankees and attempt to knock down history?

 

As for expansion: booo. Look at how the nats have split the O's fanbase. I'm not saying that it would be the same with sox fans, we're a die-hard bunch, but still. I want my attention occupied by the sox and the sox alone. Could New England handle another team? Absolutely. Do we really want one though? Give Portland an AL team and everyone's problems are solved.

[NoPepper]

I love Fenway as it is, we've shown that we can compete (and win) in the current ballpark, so why go the route of the yankees and attempt to knock down history?

 

As for expansion: booo. Look at how the nats have split the O's fanbase. I'm not saying that it would be the same with sox fans, we're a die-hard bunch, but still. I want my attention occupied by the sox and the sox alone. Could New England handle another team? Absolutely. Do we really want one though? Give Portland an AL team and everyone's problems are solved.

 

There is no such thing as too much baseball

 

Part of why I made the suggestion was that one cannot get tickets to Fenway to see MLB. I already watch, via TV etc. many other teams now. So having another one local will not change that.

 

I'll always be a Sox fan. But I go out of my way to see the Cubs on TV or, when I get the chance, in Wrigley or another town. When I visit my folks in FLA, I go see the Marlins etc. No such thing as a bad day at the ballpark.

[soxie thefangirl]

I agree. It would be neat to be able to see some baseball at the park, even if it's not the Sox. Nothing beats that.