Boston’s venerable Fenway Park is undergoing more renovations. Above is a view of the suite construction from under the grandstand at the ballpark.
When the Boston Red Sox meet the Seattle Mariners on opening day in April, there will be standing room for a few hundred more fans at Fenway Park.
The creation of additional capacity in the oldest and smallest venue in the major leagues is the latest in a series of upgrades for the storied ballpark. While this year’s improvements won’t match the addition of seats atop the Green Monster – where a mere 18-inch ledge separates fans from leaning too far for a baseball and landing next to Manny Ramirez in left field – this offseason will bring a new concourse behind the third-base grandstand seats and a host of other renovations.
“Our goal has been to commit to Fenway Park, make it as fan-friendly as possible and boost the number of seats,” said Douglas Bailey, a team spokesman. “We’re well on our way with more than $100 million spent already.”
Perhaps the biggest attraction in the 2007 season will be a tavern under the center-field bleacher seats in an area formerly occupied by the batting cages. The bar and grill will sit under the bleacher section and open onto Lansdowne Street, with a view into the ballpark as well.
Originally, the team wanted to create a pub that would look out onto the diamond during game time. But Sox officials worried that glare from the restaurant could have an adverse effect on batters. Bailey said the restaurant may have a view onto the field when games are not being played. It is expected to open at the All-Star break.
Among the other improvements fans will find this season are a spacious new third-base deck located behind the grandstand seats in left field with a standing-room-only section, renovations to 26 luxury suites, a staircase adjacent to the 24 Yawkey Way door and new escalators to the EMC Club from a renovated 20 Yawkey Way lobby.
In addition, there will be a new women’s restroom on the third-base side and renovations to the men’s room at the 95-year-old park. Field-box patrons will find cup holders for their seats. New escalators will be installed at the luxury club, as well as vending machines that dispense MBTA “CharlieCards,” the new way to pay for the T.
When the renovations are completed this spring, fans sitting behind catcher Jason Varitek will have an easier time navigating to the top of the grandstand concourse behind home plate. The construction of a new staircase from Yawkey Way to the back of the grandstand at Section 22 will improve vertical circulation. The area inside Gate D has long been one of the most crowded areas on the concourse, in part because all fans had to enter through the lower sections at the field level. The new staircase resurrects one of the elements of the 1934 architectural plans allowing fans to go directly from the Yawkey Way entrance to the grandstand seats.
‘Open-Air’ Experience
A total of 26 private suites, 13 on both the left- and right-field sides, are undergoing extensive renovations for 2007. Those include reconfigured exterior seating and completely remodeled interiors and bathroom facilities. With a new front-window design, suite holders will be able to enjoy a complete “open-air” experience for the first time. The suite construction is the first phase of a two-year process to renovate all of the suites at Fenway Park.
Less visible to fans are infrastructure improvements including an increased power supply and upgrades to safety codes that allow for greater seating capacity in future years. Red Sox officials previously have stated that their goal for the capacity of Fenway Park is 39,928 in seats and standing room, a 10 percent increase over the decades-long 36,298 occupancy. The team also is revamping the press box to add space and conveniences and to accommodate the larger international media contingent expected this season. The signing of Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka is expected to attract worldwide media attention.
A new batting tunnel for the Olde Towne Team’s opposition will be near the visitors’ clubhouse, representing the first time in Fenway history that players will not have to walk across the playing field to warm up in a batting cage. A batting cage for the Red Sox was constructed adjacent to the dugout by excavating under the field-box seats in 2005.
Fenway has been upgraded each offseason since the team was sold to a group that includes John Henry – then the owner of the Florida Marlins – television producer Thomas Werner, former Baltimore Orioles executive Larry Lucchino and George Mitchell, a former U.S. senator from Maine. The winning bidders paid $720 million for the Red Sox, a record price paid for any major league baseball team.
The sale put an end to plans to build a new ballpark nearby or on Boston’s waterfront. Instead the buyers outlined plans to preserve the venerable structure with various ideas to rebuild and expand Fenway where it is rather than build elsewhere.
One thing won’t change, and that’s the availability of tickets. As of last week, a month before pitchers and catchers report to Florida for spring training, the Red Sox are on pace for another record-setting year at the Fenway Park turnstiles.
So far, Red Sox Nation has purchased more than 2 million tickets for the 2007 season, and are more than 135,000 tickets and 6 percent ahead of last year’s record-setting pace, according to the club’s Web site. That number represents a 6.4 percent increase through the same date in 2006, when fans had purchased 2.1 million tickets. Last year, the team sold out every home game with an average attendance of 36,180.
