A NEW FENWAY PARK?

A NEW FENWAY PARK?

Annual pilgrimages to Fenway Park are mandatory for fans to remain in good standing in Red Sox Nation, and I made mine on June 4^th to witness the BoSox host the Toronto Blue Jays.

The historical edifice remains special—the only venue in the American League where the likes of Babe Ruth, Tris Speaker Walter Johnson, Lou Gehrig and other legends actually took to a field of dreams.

Fenway has its charm, of course, but it can also be a field of nightmares for plus sized people—of which there is no shortage in modern-day America. My problem is trying to fit a 6-foot-4 frame into a seat made for Dustin Pedroia. Those with ample derrieres wider than 18 inches face different challenges.

I paid a couple hundred bucks for two relatively decent seats where we could see the infield, even if our seats faced center field. But the people to our right had their view of home plate obscured by a pole/girder. They eventually went to standing room to watch, where they couldn’t see the message board behind center field. But then again neither could we.

We could have parked relatively close to the park for $40, which I refused to do. I WAS able to find parking for only $33 at a garage on Newbury Street, which meant a half hour walk to Fenway. But it was a nice day and I celebrated with a libation. It only cost $9.75.

Fortunately, we saw a good game as Boston prevailed, 6-4. But what a drag it would have been to pay all that money to see your team get lose. (Toronto won every other game in the series to knock the Sox out of first place.)

Per usual, I wore my #8 Yastrzemski jersey, but had to chuckle when I saw my first Babe Ruth #3 Red Sox shirt—historically inaccurate chutzpah. While the Bambino indeed played for Boston from 1914-1919, he never wore a number for the Red Sox, much less #3. Teams didn’t start using numbers until 1929.

REBUILD FENWAY!

Will the BoSox EVER move to a better park, as has every other non-Cub team in baseball? 

Numerous proposals have them moving south or west of Boston—or even to New Hampshire. The Patriots certainly flourish in Foxborough.

If the Sox didn’t want to move, they COULD do what the Yankees did and renovate their existing park. The Yankees left the old Yankee Stadium for two years, playing at Shea Stadium in 1974 and 1975 while the Stadium was gutted and renovated. The team returned to a revitalized Bronx venue in 1976 and won three straight pennants. The revamped structure served the Yankees well for three more decades. Then they moved into a brand new Yankee Stadium in 2009—and won that year’s World Series.

Joe Martino is a native New Englander who is now Chief Operating Officer for Shangri-La Construction, owned by billionaire mogul Steve Bing.  Martino built the AT&T Center, where the Spurs play in San Antonio. He thinks renovating Fenway might be a great idea.

“What’s amazing is how fast everyone will forget about [the Sox playing elsewhere for a year] when they are back in Boston playing in a newly renovated but historic and legendary home like Fenway.”

But where would the Red Sox play for a year if Fenway was renovated?

The answer is Pawtucket, Portland, Manchester, and—mostly—Montreal.

I noted with interest that the blue-clad Jays fans sitting behind us at the Toronto game were speaking French, indicating they were Quebecois—as opposed to Ontarians. And some Expo jerseys were to be seen as well, even though MLB left Montreal for Washington over ten years ago.

Playing a year at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium would fill a baseball void and garner the BoSox new legions of fans while sharpening the Toronto rivalry. And while the aforementioned minor league venues have limited seating capacities, playing at least one home series in Pawtucket, Portland and Manchester would certainly energize the greater New England baseball universe as well.

Meanwhile, Fenway should be completely gutted. Put in an upper deck behind home plate. Put in bigger seats. Put in luxury suites—that’s where the real money is. Increase capacity to 45,000. Build a parking garage.

Sure, keep the exterior brick façade with the “1912” on top. And keep the Green Monster. Landsdowne Street isn’t going anywhere. And keep the dirt, upon which trod Ruth, DiMaggio, William, and Gehrig. The best of all worlds.

And it occurs to me that the Babe DID wear #3 in Boston, when he finished his career in Beantown with the Braves in 1935. So let’s go ahead and retire #3 for the Bambino, at a future Opening Day in the NEW Fenway Park—against the Yankees, of course!