BLOW IT UP - Fenway

[Rdsxmbnt]

The seats are 100 years old, there are poles, and we're basically at maximum capacity. The Yankees are getting a new stadium, the Twins are getting a new stadium, the RAYS are a getting a new stadium! Blow it up, keep the green monster up and turn it into a HOF or whatever, it's time!

[yeszir]

I disagree.

 

At this point, the Red Sox could lose 162 games and Fenway would be full. They could host WNBA games and Fenway would be full. Fenway is a draw in and of itself. Not even 10 years ago you could find the stands half empty, but now that it is truly the last of its kind (f*** Wrigley), it needs to stay.

 

Going to Fenway feels like you're going to a baseball game, not some sort of mega mall mass entertainment sterilized experience. I don't care if the guy at the urinal 1 inch away from me pees on my shoes or if I need to pull my knees in closer.

[redsoxrules]

I disagree.

 

At this point, the Red Sox could lose 162 games and Fenway would be full. They could host WNBA games and Fenway would be full. Fenway is a draw in and of itself. Not even 10 years ago you could find the stands half empty, but now that it is truly the last of its kind (f*** Wrigley), it needs to stay.

 

Going to Fenway feels like you're going to a baseball game, not some sort of mega mall mass entertainment sterilized experience. I don't care if the guy at the urinal 1 inch away from me pees on my shoes or if I need to pull my knees in closer.

 

I agree 100%

[Rdsxmbnt]

After a couple games a season the 'charm' starts to wear off. The ownership has done a great job with the bleachers but the rest of the park is like walking through an underground bomb shelter. Outside of sitting in the bleachers the grandstand is the next best place for the average person since they are still close and aren't 3 billion dollars. But even then there is still a (great) possibility you can't see homeplate or the pitchers mound. Look at the idea proposed way back, it would have been so much better. Keep the Fenway look, keep the old green monster, but make the capacity bigger:

http://nationofone.mlblogs.com/photos/uncategorized/bosbpk01.jpg

http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/bosbpk04.jpg

http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/bosbpk03.jpg

[yeszir]

This is the same argument that's been made for 15 years. The save fenway park thing passed, it's saved, and it's gonna stay saved for at least a while.

 

If you're going to make a new park, why make Fenway II? It just shows that you didnt really want to tear down Fenway I but you did anyway. If they want a new park, make it a NEW park, not a new OLD park. That's a cop out that would just be worse than the original in every way.

 

But it damn well better be the best baseball park ever designed, oozing charm and class.

[YAZMAN]

The seats are 100 years old' date=' there are poles, and we're basically at maximum capacity. The Yankees are getting a new stadium, the Twins are getting a new stadium, the RAYS are a getting a new stadium! Blow it up, keep the green monster up and turn it into a HOF or whatever, it's time![/quote']

 

Don't like it?

 

Then don't go.

[Rdsxmbnt]

Don't like it?

 

Then don't go.

 

That'll show them!

[YAZMAN]

After a couple games a season the 'charm' starts to wear off.

 

How old are you? I've been going to Fenway for well over 30 years, and get goosebumps every time I get close to Yawkey Way. The 'charm' is alive and well.

[yeszir]

How old are you? I've been going to Fenway for well over 30 years' date=' and get goosebumps [i']every[/i] time I get close to Yawkey Way. The 'charm' is alive and well.

 

Every time I get close to Yawkey Way I start to dread the mass of people that you have to wade through ever since they tried to clone the idea they had down in Baltimore.

 

It's a LOT better now with the express "no bags" line, but waiting in that crowd in anything over 85 degrees is torture.

[Rdsxmbnt]

Depending on what way you are coming in, Gate D is a nice option and still gives you access to Yawkey Way if you choose to.

 

I can't say I've been going to Fenway for 30 years, but IMO I think it'd be a lot less stressful if people had some room to walk, could see the whole field, etc. The Yankees are basically rebuilding a model Yankee Stadium and I can probably guarantee that it is going to be amazing. I don't see why you can't keep the charm and history of the Red Sox into a new Fenway.

[Mr Crunchy]

i hate the place but you'll never get closer to the action than at fenway.

the seats are built for the 1912 ass which makes it difficult for me to sit in when i go with 3 other men who weigh 250-300.

its not going anywhere

they had their shot when mccourt was going to build his stadium in southie,now mccourts son is going to jail for over charging for labor and theyre shortpaying me 20.00 for freight invoices.

this ownership group did a great job pimping out every inch of real estate from landsdowne to ipswich over to yawkee way and brookline ave...but i dont care if they blow it up...ive seen the garden and schaefer stadium replaced without crying,as long as they win people will go,the sell out streak has less to do with the novelty of fenway than it does with their success on the field.

[CalvnHobs6]

the sell out streak has less to do with the novelty of fenway than it does with their success on the field.

It also has to do with the capacity at 38,928, and that includes the overpriced standing room. They sell out every game because all of New England wants to see the Red Sox.

[yeszir]

I've always wondered what the true demand for sox tickets is. At the current price level, what's the maximum amount of people that would attend each game? If the ownership were maximizing ticket profits, it would probably be right at where they stand now, but who knows.

[Rdsxmbnt]

They could EASILY fill up a 45K stadium and the demand would still be extremely high. People are paying 65-70 bucks a ticket for bleacher seats vs. teams like the Rangers.

[CalvnHobs6]

Well, there's somewhere around 10 million people in the Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts region of New England, and they are as devoted to the Red Sox as any other state is devoted to their team (ie, not everyone in Georgia is a Braves fan, but the clear majority are). Add half of Connecticut (1.7 million), and there are 11.7 million people who are somewhere in the region of Fenway.

 

Let's say we had a 50,000 seat stadium. With 81 home games, there would be 4.05 million DIFFERENT seats to be filled over the course of a season. Currently, we have 3.23 million different seats to be filled.

I bet they'd continue to sell out every game.

[Mr Crunchy]

part of the success is knowing youre f***ed if you want seats without buying them within 24 hours of going on sale...

now i can tix to any game i want any time i want but its expensive.

they could fill a 55,000 seat stadium for the yankees or angels or other 1st place teams but they would struggle to do so against the royals and the other scatine of the league,its the knowledge of getting shut out that keeps the demand up...if they had a 55k seat stadium in southie they would draw less over time i bet...

[CalvnHobs6]

Well, there's somewhere around 10 million people in the Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts region of New England, and they are as devoted to the Red Sox as any other state is devoted to their team (ie, not everyone in Georgia is a Braves fan, but the clear majority are). Add half of Connecticut (1.7 million), and there are 11.7 million people who are somewhere in the region of Fenway.

 

Let's say we had a 50,000 seat stadium. With 81 home games, there would be 4.05 million DIFFERENT seats to be filled over the course of a season. Currently, we have 3.23 million different seats to be filled.

I bet they'd continue to sell out every game.

 

By the way, I'm pro keeping Fenway in tact.

[BoSox21]

this entire topic is moot since ownership continues to renovate Fenway, clearly erasing any chance a new stadium will be built anytime soon

[yeszir]

By the way' date=' I'm pro keeping Fenway in tact.[/quote']

 

Also bored at work I see

[Mr Crunchy]

there world champs and with that comes the gravy train

toronto drew 4M a year when they were champs,then the strike came and they havent drawn well since.

its a novelty for out of towners

its a nice trip home for those who moved away

its a nice place to take dads brothers and sons

but a sterile new park out of the grime of fenway really wouldnt be the same effective selling tool.

if the bathrooms arent ankle deep in urine and the streets filled with the stench of stale beer,burnt pork and popcorn you dont have a ball park as far as im concerned...

the 55k stadium would sell out this year and as long as theyre winning and the sox have drawn 2+M every year since 1975 i believe ....but getting 4M in this area isnt going to happen consistantly...it cant due to population and economics...

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

this entire topic is moot since ownership continues to renovate Fenway' date=' clearly erasing any chance a new stadium will be built anytime soon[/quote']

Agreed, but if the Sox were to start building a new stadium, I think it would be cool to have a semi-indoors retractable roof stadium like the Astros or D-Backs. That kind of setup would look pretty cool in conjunction with the Monster and the Budweiser/Coke stands high above the foul poles, in my opinion. I'll probably get killed for saying that though. =/

[jacksonianmarch]

America as a whole is getting wider and the seats in Fenway cannot accomodate your middle aged, overweight guy. It will be an issue within the next 20 yrs when america sees its biggest obesity crisis of all time

[BigPapiEnFuego]

Agreed' date=' but if the Sox were to start building a new stadium, I think it would be cool to have a semi-indoors retractable roof stadium like the Astros or D-Backs. That kind of setup would look pretty cool in conjunction with the Monster and the Budweiser/Coke stands high above the foul poles, in my opinion. I'll probably get killed for saying that though. =/[/quote']

 

I agree with you. A retractable roof stadium with the same designs of fenway, just improved upon, would be great. I had a baseball game for xbox once that had "Future stadiums" and one was a fenway which looked basically the same, but had a retractable roof and it was pretty awesome. Fenway is wayyy to cramped, which is its problem. Seats are too small, and even for someone who is tall, its hard to sit there. I hate how my knees are right on the head of the person infront of me

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

Its definitely time for a revamp. I respect all the purists and historians, but there has to be time when you stop living in the past and accept that Fenway is cramped and will fall into disrepair before very long.

[Rdsxmbnt]

yeszir by adding the "-Fenway" to the thread title it messes up the play on Kilo's thread

[yeszir]

yeszir by adding the "-Fenway" to the thread title it messes up the play on Kilo's thread

 

Yea but I was getting sooooo confused. I think it still works?

[CrespoBlows]

They should make a new fenway. The fans deserve it and the current fenway has the amenities of a run-down KFC. The new ownership has done a nice job with the green monster seats, getting rid of the 400 club, etc. etc...but who can afford these seats? The diehard middle class fans? Not so much. I say the ownership follows the Yankees' and countless teams around baseball's lead and build a new park.

 

...but in actuality, it won't happen for some time. Why would they build a new stadium when they can sell out the current one every night of the season? It wouldn't make sense but I can hope.

 

And a new stadium would do what to ticket prices?

 

Those things would probably go for more than what the prices are now.

[Mr Crunchy]

as it stands they have a captive audience that understands that if they dont buy their tix by 2/1 then theyre going to have to buy them at 5xs face value...throw 15,000 more seats into the fray and the captive audience has a little wiggle room that they dont have now.

boston is a small city but there are 5M people inside the 495 perimeter

nyc has 30M people in the same vicinity if you include north jersey and southern ct and i would say the yanx have just as solid fan base as we do yet its easier for us to get tix in the bronx than in the fens.

a new stadium would take the most expensive seats in the game and make them even more expensive.

i gave up my pats season tix due to the unmitigated sodomy Bob""im moving to Hartford""Kraft performed on me when he opened the new stadium...

14 years i had seaon tix for the patriots,when kraft bought the team my seats were 15.00 a pop,when i gave them up after they moved me from the 7th row in the endzone to a place i needed f***ing nasa engineers to find they were 90.00 a pop,today theyre 160.00....service charges,handling fees,10% of the games are exhibitions,playoff money has be paid in full for all possible games and then if they get eliminated they take your money and apply it to next seasons tix...

i have bc seasons now

500.00 for 2 seats,7 games.

bc's venue has a lot to be desired,their product isnt the best in the business,they dont sell booze either but i dont care,i dont like getting screwed..any Pats season tix holders on board?? call foxboro and ask them what the 11.95 per tix ""handling fee"" is and how can they justify it....i never got an answer,they never saw another dime from me...plus foxboro is difficult to enjoy in december when the snow is up to the ass of a 10 foot indian and the thermometer has no reading and add all this misery to the way they dole out their superbowl tix to everyone and their mothers EXCEPT THE FANS and i am wondering how some season ticket holders havent strangled bob and little jon jon kraft with piano wire..

 

theyre in fenway for our lifetimes or as long as these guys own the team

[EX105]

I disagree.

 

At this point, the Red Sox could lose 162 games and Fenway would be full. They could host WNBA games and Fenway would be full. Fenway is a draw in and of itself. Not even 10 years ago you could find the stands half empty, but now that it is truly the last of its kind (f*** Wrigley), it needs to stay.

 

Going to Fenway feels like you're going to a baseball game, not some sort of mega mall mass entertainment sterilized experience. I don't care if the guy at the urinal 1 inch away from me pees on my shoes or if I need to pull my knees in closer.

 

Agreed 100%. I've only had the chance to go to Fenway once, but its an incredible ball park. The best park in baseball without a doubt. Yes, the new stadiums are nice, but Fenway is different. Its classic and should stay.