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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.
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.
| Red Sox planning to remain at Fenway Launching effort to revitalize area By Steve Bailey and Sasha Talcott, Boston Globe | March 22, 2005 |
