186 replies to this topic

[Reverend]

What's with the fucking hate for Fenway Park? What the fucking fuck fuck? Who the fuck doesn't love Fenway Park??

It's Fenway. Fucking. Park. It's awesome. You should love being at Fenway Park. If you're at a game at Fenway Park you should be like, "Holy shit, I'm watching a ballgame at Fenway Park. This is fucking awesome! To whatever small degree, my life has turned out, at least for the moment very, very, good, beause I'm fucking watching a ballgame in Fenway fucking Park."

Most people don't get to go to ballgames at Fenway Park. Most people will never go to a ballgame in Fenway Park. And some day, nobody ever will again. And it will suck. Because there won't be any more Fenway Park and Fenway Park is awesome.

Think about Yankee Stadium. Gone. I fucking love that. Love it. Know why? Because I fucking hate the Yankees. And Yankee fans loved Yankee Stadium. Gone. HA!! The new place has the same name, but it sucks. Even for the Yankee fans it sucks. Imagine, heaven forfend, being a Yankees fan. Gone! HA!! A very close friend of mine is a Yankees fan and he's so incredibly pissed. He's also very, very happy that Fenway Park was renovated because that means it will stay open longer and he has yet t go to a game at Fenway Park. Which he wants to. Because it's Fenway Fucking Park and it's awesome.

I'm pissed off that I didn't go see Phish at Fenway this summer. I was in town and I was offered a ticket but I had already made other plans to be out of state and y'know what? I'm already pissed off. And I know I'm going to be pissed off about not going forever. And I'm pissed off about that too. Because I didn't go see Phish at Fenway Park. And I don't even listen to the band anymore. But what the fuck was I thinking?? It was Phish at Fenway Fucking Park!!!

Years ago, I brought my then girl friend to her first baseball game at--you guessed it--Fenway Park. Red Sox-Dodgers. Hottest ticket in town. Even though our seats were farther down past first base, I walked us around so that when we entered the seating area from the concession area she would see the field unfold with the Monster in the back ground and she could take it all in as the scene developed. She got chills. I got chills watching her get chills. Fenway Fucking Park! She loved it. She was hooked. The only thing she could compare it too was her conversion to Christianity. Here's the thing, though. Three weeks after she found religion, she decided that they had tricked her into it with a set of emotive experiences not unlike those used at a concert, and she quit. Long after we broke up, though, she still had a Red Sox license plate frame on her car. Fenway Fucking Park!

And I'm kind of irritated I brought her, because we broke up and someone else would have liked that ticket. Somebody out there died without seeing the Dodgers play in Fenway Fucking Park because I brought that girl. Fucking tragic. At least she now walks in the light.

My brother scored four seats for Opening Day at Fenway Park 2005. It was fucking awesome.

Could it have been more awesome? I say no. Because the 2004 season could not have been written any better, and the banner could not be unfurled any place better than Fenway Park. And we knew it would be awesome. It was so awesome, the burden of figuring out what to do with the two other tickets was itself awesome. We could invite my sister who, while not following the team in the same way, has a special place in her heart for the team. But did that mean we'd have to invite her long-time boy friend who wasn't a baseball fan? Would that be a crime? Only a privileged few would have the opportunity to be in the best possible place on the planet for those precious moments; was it right to make him one of them at the expense of someone who might cherish the experience?

We brought him. They better not fucking break up.

What is the problem with Fenway Park? It boggles my mind that people don't love that place. This isn't like music or cuisine where you might not like certain styles. This is a baseball message board. People here like baseball. People who like baseball like ballparks. And some of them don't love Fenway Park? Why? It's mildly uncomfortable in certain ways? There are SoSHers who are huge who manage. And, as per above what's a few hours mild discomfort when weighed against the opportunity to watch the Fucking Red Sox in Fenway Fucking Park. Which also as per above, is awesome!! Awesome. Versus mild discomfort for a few hours. I mean, sure, it's not like I would want to live there or anyth--

Actually, you know what? I would like to live there. I would fucking love to live in Fenway Fucking Park. Can you imagine how fucking awesome that would be? I could have a laptop and get a job where I submitted my work on line, so I wouldn't starve and I could have things I needed delivered. And I'd live in Fenway Park! I could use Manny's toilet in the monster. Shower in the locker rooms. I mean, how awesome would it be to live in Fenway Park??

Fenway Fucking Park!!

Edited by Reverend, 31 August 2009 - 12:46 AM.

[mabrowndog]

Width of Fenway Park Seat:
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[William Robertson]

Damn, I wish it wasn't against the rules to say ^^"What he said."

Edit: although, Dog's ass point cannot be altogether gainsaid. I think it may be to a degree a matter of local versus non-local.

Edited by William Robertson, 30 August 2009 - 12:49 PM.

[AlNipper49]

Width of Fenway Park Seat:
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Width of BrownDog's Ass:
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I like Fenway Park more than I like Mark's ass. So there

[redsoxstiff]

I now fit into a seat at Fenway...I have no desire to fit into Mark's seat...

Less seating more ... more ass room per fan...beer delivery to the alky's by force pumping ...every seat equipped with a sterilized catheter for piss calls...

Actually , tear the fucker down...

[Monbo Jumbo]

Width of Fenway Park Seat:
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Leg Room in Feway Park.............................Monbo's knees


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Edited by Monbo Jumbo, 30 August 2009 - 02:11 PM.

[Lose Remerswaal]

I loved watching the Patriots in Foxboro/Schaefer/Sullivan stadium

Watching them at Gillette is like being born again.


I loved watching the Celtics in the Garden.
I don't love watching the Celtics (even with the new Big Three) in the New Garden.

If they do it right, and I bet this ownership would, a new Fenway could be better than sex.

[UnfrozenCavemanGrebeck]

Although I do love the idea of Fenway, I think we need an upgrade. I sat in Section 21 (behind the plate) last Tuesday and I had an intense fucking line across my knees for the entire next day from being pressed up against the row in front of me. Also, each seat needs to have their own set of arm rests. Some 10 year-old jerk was hogging the armrest to my left for the entire night. I couldn't even edge him out because he was all too comfortable to be arm to arm. Another thing, cup holders! It sucks beyond words that I have to keep my beers on the ground in front of me and pick them up every time someone needs to get up. Thanks for the memories Fenway, but I think its time to get a little more high-tech.

[curly2]

If they do it right, and I bet this ownership would, a new Fenway could be better than sex.

Absolutely. I think a new Fenway, done right, would be something a lot of people would hate until the first time they went there. Then they would love it.

By the way, Reverend, judging by your photos from Opening Day 2005, I must have been sitting near you, and it was the place to be, since it was about 20 degrees warmer in the bleachers thanks to the sun. What an amazing day, seeing them raise the banner, get their rings, give Mariano Rivera a big hand. Unforgettable (except for the Terry Cashman song, which I keep TRYING to forget).

[PortlandSoxFan]

Looks like they addressed a lot of issues in the lower bowl seats that they redid in the offseason. Sitting in Section 22 today before the game started and the park was still pretty empty, it struck me how much space there appeared to be between rows. They made the walkway separating the lower seats from the grandstand a bit narrower. Wonder if they'll be able to do something similar for the upper level seats...

[Rough Carrigan]

I loved watching the Patriots in Foxboro/Schaefer/Sullivan stadium

Watching them at Gillette is like being born again.


I loved watching the Celtics in the Garden.
I don't love watching the Celtics (even with the new Big Three) in the New Garden.

If they do it right, and I bet this ownership would, a new Fenway could be better than sex.

If you pay a courtesan $700 million for sex, it better be one mind blowing fuck. But just try and leave that much money on the dresser.

I'd rather my team have financial flexibility and tell a few SoSHers to lose some weight.

Edited by Rough Carrigan, 30 August 2009 - 06:40 PM.

[snowmanny]

If you pay a courtesan $700 million for sex, it better be one mind blowing fuck. But just try and leave that much money on the dresser.

I'd rather my team have financial flexibility and tell a few SoSHers to lose some weight.

There is nothing more important in the world than the Red Sox having lots of dough and spending it wisely. If it means cutting the budget, I'd rather keep the old place. But....

Most of the seats at Fenway suck. MOST OF THEM. I hate every RF seat. These seats are so horrible: they face LF, you can't see the plate, and they cost $50. I hate buying a box seat and having aisle traffic block my view. I hate arguing about who is going to have the grandstand seat which has a view of a pole. I hate having some fat sweaty person's blubber seeping onto me. I hate that its depressing down in the concession areas, and there's no way to keep a real-time eye on the game.

The Pirates have a better park than the Red Sox.
The Pirates have a better park than the Red Sox.
The Pirates have a better park than the Red Sox.
Think about that.

[Reverend]

There is nothing more important in the world than the Red Sox having lots of dough and spending it wisely. If it means cutting the budget, I'd rather keep the old place. But....

Most of the seats at Fenway suck. MOST OF THEM. I hate every RF seat. These seats are so horrible: they face LF, you can't see the plate, and they cost $50. I hate buying a box seat and having aisle traffic block my view. I hate arguing about who is going to have the grandstand seat which has a view of a pole. I hate having some fat sweaty person's blubber seeping onto me. I hate that its depressing down in the concession areas, and there's no way to keep a real-time eye on the game.

The Pirates have a better park than the Red Sox.
The Pirates have a better park than the Red Sox.
The Pirates have a better park than the Red Sox.
Think about that.

Did you not read RC's post?

Why in holy fuck would we want to be like the Pirates?

EDIT: Fenway Fucking Park!!

Edited by Reverend, 30 August 2009 - 08:10 PM.

[snowmanny]

Did you not read RC's post?

Why in holy fuck would we want to be like the Pirates?

EDIT: Fenway Fucking Park!!

I'm sure that it is a failing on my part that I have no earthly clue what you are talking about.

[Tony the Pony]

I have no earthly clue what you are talking about.

Fenway Fuckin Park

Fuck. Even I get that.

[Reverend]

Fenway Fucking Park!!

[Reverend]

Fuck. I'm predictable.

[Archer1979]

I'm sure that it is a failing on my part that I have no earthly clue what you are talking about.

Pittsburgh fans would settle for standing on their heads nose-deep in their own filth if it meant having a winning season now and again.

[amh03]

No amenity could ever replace the sense of history that exists every...single...time...I walk into Fenway Park. I don't care if they add cup holders or wider seats...tv's in the seat in front of me...f'ing foot stools or even toilets under the seats! Those can exist in some other team's park. For my Red Sox - I want Fenway &^#*&$% Park!

[Fratboy]

You okay, Rev? I don't think we've seen you this profane (or emphatic) before. PNC Park is an absolutely beautiful, gorgeous park, and do a nice job of keeping the attention on the game, though they do have activities and promotions between innings. It's a fantastic fan experience, and the fans that do show up are really into the game, even in the chi-chi $47 seats.

Did I mention pitchFx data on the scoreboards? It's heaven for the statheads.

I go there and I sigh, "why can't we have a palace like this?"

Fenway Park is a shithole, but it's our shithole, and yes, it's fucking awesome. I have never seen a park throb they way I've seen Fenway throb.

[OilCanShotTupac]

Pittsburgh fans would settle for standing on their heads nose-deep in their own filth if it meant having a winning season now and again.

I think both of them have given up by now.

[snowmanny]

Fratboy's throbbing point is well-taken.
But I'd still take PNC.

[mr_smith02]

Moving out of or tearing down Fenway would bring great regret down the road.

This organization can win World Series titles without building a new ballpark that will not represent the history, passion and uniqueness of the Boston Red Sox and their fans. I don't mind giving up the Lazy-Boy experience of these new ballparks for a few hours of soaking in the atmosphere Fenway.

Nearly every great player to play this game has graced this field at some point...no matter how good this ownership group is, they cannot recreate that. And, think of the generations of fans whom have watched a game at that ballpark.

I love sitting in Fenway and knowing my grandfather saw his first game there in 1928, that I saw my first game in 1975, and that my daughters saw their first game at Fenway in 2004.

Yup, I don't mind putting my cup on the ground for a few hours to preserve all that Fenway is to me and millions of others.

Put me firmly in the, It's Fucking Fenway crowd!

Edited by mr_smith02, 30 August 2009 - 09:03 PM.

[Fratboy]

Fratboy's throbbing point is well-taken.

Most of the time, yes.

[ngruz25]

I've been to two games at PNC since moving to Pittsburgh. It truly is as great of a park as everyone makes it out to be. The sightlines, the awesome view of the city, the clean concessions and non-claustrophobia-enducing walkways and exits, the intimacy (it somehow feels really small, even when there's tons of room to walk around), the cheap and easily available tickets (okay, that's not really related to the park I guess), and the aforementioned Pitch-FX-laden scoreboards... it's wonderful.

But it's no Fenway. It just... isn't.

[mikeford]

At least at PNC they dont sing fuckin' Sweet Caroline.

Worst shit.

[staz]

nm

Edited by staz, 31 August 2009 - 07:56 PM.

[Rocco Graziosa]

For years I fought the Save Fenway crowd to get a ballpark in here worthy of such a fanbase. I lost and you won. This park isn't going anywhere.......at least for the next 100 years or so.

If you enjoy that place, good for you. For those that think its a piece of shit, and go to other new ballparks and wonder "why can't the Red Sox build one of these"........I feel sorry for you. I think most people who go to the ballpark often side with me, while those who make annual (or bi annual) pilgrimages feel the "pain" (often times literal if your a large person) is worth it.

At least they built a state of the art football stadium.

[DannyHeep]

If you pay a courtesan $700 million for sex, it better be one mind blowing fuck. But just try and leave that much money on the dresser.

I'd rather my team have financial flexibility and tell a few SoSHers to lose some weight.

How about the height? Saw off some feet?

[Rough Carrigan]

Get an aisle seat.

[Ed Hillel]

There was an awesome brawl there on Friday night between America and Canada. Unfortunately, Canada took an umbrella and rained many fists down upon America as American fans cheered on. All of Canada was then booted out of the section to chants of "USA." Funniest part was that the section next to us started the wave because they thought we were attempting to start it since we were all standing up.

And Aaron Neville sang the National Anthem, which was beyond amazing. "Oh-oh...say can you see-ee-ee-eee-ee-oo-aa-ee--uu-ee..."

[Spacemans Bong]

For years I fought the Save Fenway crowd to get a ballpark in here worthy of such a fanbase. I lost and you won. This park isn't going anywhere.......at least for the next 100 years or so.

If you enjoy that place, good for you. For those that think its a piece of shit, and go to other new ballparks and wonder "why can't the Red Sox build one of these"........I feel sorry for you. I think most people who go to the ballpark often side with me, while those who make annual (or bi annual) pilgrimages feel the "pain" (often times literal if your a large person) is worth it.

At least they built a state of the art football stadium.

I grew up going to ballgames at a stadium that really was a god-awful dump and I can't help but feel it rings a little hollow when people say they hate going to Fenway Park when they'll bite your hand off for tickets. Even when the Giants were good they drew shit on weekday night games because nobody and I mean nobody wanted to go to Candlestick Park.

As for the literal pain, I'm 6'3" and 285 lbs and I can fit into those seats*. Is it the most comfortable seat ever? No. But the last row of the grandstand is the press box in a lot of stadiums. I could call strikes from it, which matters most to me.

*I do have a 32 leg though, so I empathize with people who have long legs.

[Alcohol&Overcalls]

You okay, Rev? I don't think we've seen you this profane (or emphatic) before. PNC Park is an absolutely beautiful, gorgeous park, and do a nice job of keeping the attention on the game, though they do have activities and promotions between innings. It's a fantastic fan experience, and the fans that do show up are really into the game, even in the chi-chi $47 seats.

Did I mention pitchFx data on the scoreboards? It's heaven for the statheads.

I go there and I sigh, "why can't we have a palace like this?"

Fenway Park is a shithole, but it's our shithole, and yes, it's fucking awesome. I have never seen a park throb they way I've seen Fenway throb.

There are exactly two places where you walk into a baseball game and realize it is bigger than you are. One of them, that feeling is entirely for the wrong reasons - obviously that's Wrigley, the world's largest pontoon boat. The other is an actual cathedral, where the first time you see the monster you get the tingle, and hopefully you get it every other time you walk in, assuming the Sox are still in contention. I can't envision a replica.

[Sille Skrub]

I've always thought PNC was a tad over-rated. It is very nice, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't have that one thing that makes it stand out amongst the top tier of ballparks. I'd argue that the GABP is as good, if not better than PNC.

My favorite ballpark is Pac Bell. Fenway is a close second though.

[ngruz25]

I'd argue that the way the park opens up to the Pittsburgh skyline/Allegheny River/6th Street Bridge in the background is their "one thing" that makes it stand out. I can't think of another park with a better surrounding area "look" than PNC. It feels like you're sitting in the middle of the city, not the middle of a giant ballpark. It's a very cool effect, and it's probably better felt in person than on TV.

That said, I haven't been to many of the newer parks. I do know that Nationals Park is nice and dull.

[Sille Skrub]

It's a very cool effect, and it's probably better felt in person than on TV.

The backdrop was the one thing I couldn't wait to see when I planned my trip to PNC.

I was underwhelmed.

Out of the "new" parks, I'd take Camden Yards, Pac Bell, GABP and maybe even Petco over PNC. From what I hear about the new Toilet, I'd probably like it better as well.

[ngruz25]

But there's a pierogi race! A pierogi race!

[SeanBerry]

I grew up going to ballgames at a stadium that really was a god-awful dump and I can't help but feel it rings a little hollow when people say they hate going to Fenway Park when they'll bite your hand off for tickets. Even when the Giants were good they drew shit on weekday night games because nobody and I mean nobody wanted to go to Candlestick Park.

People aren't going to Red Sox games to see Fenway Park. They are going because the team is good.

Look at September of 2007. How about the backend of 1997? 1992? 1993?

You couldn't give seats away in September of 2007 and that was a good team overall that finished above .500.

I always find it hysterical here when people who don't live in this area and don't go to multiple games year in Fenway tell us that do go to the lyric bandbox several times a year how great Fenway is.

[Gunfighter 09]

I always thought PNC was a tad over-rated. It is very nice, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't have that one thing that makes it stand out amongst the top tier of ballparks. I'd argue that the GABP is as good, if not better than PNC.

My favorite ballpark is Pac Bell. Fenway is a close second though.

You cant put a value on the feeling you get in Fenway. Petco, Safeco, Pac Bell and Camden all have the amenities/ambiance/comfort thing over Fenway, but they certainly dont have the history and the fan effects that Fenway brings. That feeling of the seeing the monster when you first walk in or the fans who actually know what the fuck is going on and understand why a line drive down the line in right or a high fly to left is important is not replicated elsewhere and would certainly be drown out by the additional 15K seats in a new stadium.

That said, I still think Chavez Ravine is better in terms of fan comfort, baseball experience and just being a fundamental part of the city. The O'Malleys were really really lucky that they tried to build the best stadium possible in 1961 rather than the early part of the century. Caveats- the version of Dodger Stadium I am promoting features Vin Scully you can faintly hear in the lower seats from the concourse, the friendliest and best support staff in sports, the organ rather than the stupid music and the thursday night crowd that is actually there to watch in the first and ninth innings.

[Sille Skrub]

Moved to main board...

[Gunfighter 09]

The backdrop was the one thing I couldn't wait to see when I planned my trip to PNC.

I was underwhelmed.

Out of the "new" parks, I'd take Camden Yards, Pac Bell, GABP and maybe even Petco over PNC. From what I hear about the new Toilet, I'd probably like it better as well.

If you sit right behind home plate in Petco in the middle of summer, you can see the sun set on the mission in the early innings. Hard to beat.

[sodenj5]

I have to agree withe the tear it down crowd. Fenway Park is a a historical landmark, blahblahblah. The fact is the seats are terrible, especially for the larger folk, such as myself. Fenway Park, the concept is fantastic, but in reality, it was built for the people of the Roarin' 20's. I think that the Yankees have shown you can successfully recreate the look and feel of the classic stadium with all of the bells and whistles of a new palace-like facility.

I don't really care about the flatscreen TVs, or the 5 star restaurants, or any of that other stuff. I just want to go to a game in Boston and not be smashed into my seat, and have to crane my neck 75 degrees the entire team, with my knees jammed into the guy in front of me's head. We pay among the highest price in all of baseball to have the privilege of pulling a contortionist act for 3 hours and pay 10 bucks for a beer. I think that this ownership group would do an amazing job of recreating the Fenway experience in a new ballpark.

[SydneySox]

I always find it hysterical here when people who don't live in this area and don't go to multiple games year in Fenway tell us that do go to the lyric bandbox several times a year how great Fenway is.

Maybe the people that do get back to Fenway only once or twice a year think it's a little sad when those people who get a chance to go to multiple games in the terrible stadium tell them how horrible Fenway is, like getting to go to more games there gives someone a better opinion?

Personally, my only real issue with Fenway is the large number of idiots who go to do things that don't seem to include watching baseball and caring what the people around them think.

In cricket, you're not allowed to move around the aisles at all between overs, and I've found myself wishing for that part of the game to be introduced to Fenway any number of times.

People move around there way too often and it's an issue for many, many people who spend their game experience watching crowds pass by.

[SeanBerry]

Maybe the people that do get back to Fenway only once or twice a year think it's a little sad when those people who get a chance to go to multiple games in the terrible stadium tell them how horrible Fenway is, like getting to go to more games there gives someone a better opinion?

Well it does.

I value the opinion of someone who goes to a sports arena a number of times as opposed to someone who has been there a couple of times. Skrub's take on Gilette holds a shitload more water then mine should. I go to one game a year. He goes to 8.

Not only that, but it gives you a right to bitch if you have to go there a number of times a year. Fenway is a huge pain in the ass for a number of reasons. But if you go there once every couple of years then you don't have to deal with that shit very often.

[Max Power]

I always find it hysterical here when people who don't live in this area and don't go to multiple games year in Fenway tell us that do go to the lyric bandbox several times a year how great Fenway is.

I go to 30+ games a year and think you're wrong. My season tickets are 6 rows from the back in the grandstand and I'm way closer to the action than at a similar seat at a new ballpark. When I'm at the game, I want to feel like I'm at the game, which means being in actual physical proximity to the game. The last of the new parks I visited was Petco, where I got an infield seat a few rows from the back just like my grandstand one at Fenway. It was almost as expensive ($43 vs $50), and at least twice as far from the field. I didn't have to stand up when people walked by, but the added distance was a huge price to pay for a minor nicety.

As for the beer prices, they're $7.25 for Bud swill and $7.75 for the better stuff. That's either the going rate or better than everywhere else I've been. The truly ridiculous concession prices are hot dogs, sodas, and water.

[SydneySox]

Well it does.

I value the opinion of someone who goes to a sports arena a number of times as opposed to someone who has been there a couple of times. Skrub's take on Gilette holds a shitload more water then mine should. I go to one game a year. He goes to 8.

Not only that, but it gives you a right to bitch if you have to go there a number of times a year. Fenway is a huge pain in the ass for a number of reasons. But if you go there once every couple of years then you don't have to deal with that shit very often.

Dealing with the shit often or once is relative. A few times a year vs every game a year, it all depends on where they're sitting and what happened the night they attended.

[Bellhorn]

I'm 6'4", with 36" legs and over-sized ass, so I find many of the Fenway seats very uncomfortable. But I find that a small price to pay for the almost subliminal feeling of connection to baseball history that a visit to Fenway brings. It's not as if I sit there during a game thinking, "wow, that's the very same infield where Jerry Adair used to turn DPs!" But somehow, something would feel different about watching a game in New Fenway, no matter how well they recreated the tangible attributes of the old. I know this sounds like corny BS, but I bet there are many who feel the same way to some degree.

Also, standing room tickets are a great invention for those of us who are large and/or poor. Being both, I hardly buy any other type of ticket these days.

[Spacemans Bong]

People aren't going to Red Sox games to see Fenway Park. They are going because the team is good.

Look at September of 2007. How about the backend of 1997? 1992? 1993?

You couldn't give seats away in September of 2007 and that was a good team overall that finished above .500.

I always find it hysterical here when people who don't live in this area and don't go to multiple games year in Fenway tell us that do go to the lyric bandbox several times a year how great Fenway is.

You need to re-read what I said. It didn't matter whether the Giants were good or not, people didn't want to go. The Giants won 103 games in 1993 and competed in one of the greatest pennant races ever, and people still didn't want to go on weekday nights because Candlestick was awful.

As I said in the Janet Marie Smith thread, if people truly hate Fenway Park they have a funny way of showing it, happily lining up for hours just to buy the right to stand in the concourses at Fenway Park. It doesn't matter if the team is good, I've seen in San Francisco and Oakland what a truly awful ballpark can mean. The A's could have sold 35-40,000 tickets a game when they were good, it's just that people hate the Coliseum and don't want to go.

[Beomoose]

My preference is to keep the park. I never liked any of the proposals to build a new park, particularly since most of them included "and Fenway demolished 20XX." I don't want Fenway to end up as a fucking parking lot like Comiskey, or a weed-filled lot like Tiger Stadium. If the only way to preserve the last of the great parks, in my Sox-colored glasses the best of them all, is to keep using it then KEEP FUCKING USING IT.

On the other hand, time never stops. One day something's gotta change, and not just because some assholes lucky enough to go to a ton of games every year are bitching that the Magic isn't enough for them anymore. So split the baby: Next round of renovations don't just re-seal the concrete and replace some of the seats. Gut the parts of the Park which aren't worth keeping anymore, keep the parts like The Wall, the Street Facade along Yawkey and Brookline, and the Field that can be kept. Then build your "new" park ship-in-a-bottle style within that.

Providence did something similar not too long ago, turning a busted-ass temple into a swank-ass hotel:

http://www.benchmark...dence-Hotel.htm

Edited by Beomoose, 31 August 2009 - 12:53 AM.

[Rocco Graziosa]

People aren't going to Red Sox games to see Fenway Park. They are going because the team is good.

Look at September of 2007. How about the backend of 1997? 1992? 1993?

You couldn't give seats away in September of 2007 and that was a good team overall that finished above .500.

I always find it hysterical here when people who don't live in this area and don't go to multiple games year in Fenway tell us that do go to the lyric bandbox several times a year how great Fenway is.

And to further your point, the "beatnpot" of baseball doesn't even come close to selling out the joint even though people can come to the "cathedral" and watch a game for peanuts.

People will fill the park if the team is good. And in Boston, they'll probably fill it if they aren't.

Edit: I'm getting sucked back into this argument again. Fuck.

Edited by Rocco Graziosa, 31 August 2009 - 01:07 AM.