America's Most Beloved Ballpark still has warts

For 5 years now since the ownership change, the Red Sox have been calling Fenway Park "America's Most Beloved Ballpark". Look I will be the first to applaud John Henry and Company for all the changes made at the park since 2001 but the reality is the park still has major warts that if they plan to stay there for another 10-20 years they need to address. All the changes they have made in the past 5 years was to increase revenue and that they have done in smashing fashion. The Green Monster Seats are the hardest to come by and it is amazing to think the Red Sox are able to sell obstructed view seats in the outfield for over $100 a ticket. The right field seats while a little cheaper come with a food voucher included in the price. The new seats on the roof also are high priced. But what have they really done to improve things for the average fan that pays $85 for an upper box or $45 for a grandstand seat? Truth is they have done nothing...yet.

First of all NOBODY will miss the wooden Grandstand seats that were installed in 1934. They simply have no leg room for the average person and the rows are so long you are up and down countless times a game as fans go to the concession areas. Problem is by replacing the seats and adding a little more leg room the Sox would probably lose close to a 1,000 seats as there would be less rows in the Grandstand. I'm not sure the Red Sox would even consider taking that hit after all the work they have done to increase seating to over 37,000.

The situation is even worse in Grandstand sections 1-8 out in right field. It is amazing how bad seats become between Section 9 and 8. Those seats belong to the grandstand that was built in 1934 after the famous Fenway Park fire that almost destroyed the stadium. The new grandstand was built in 3 months and in the rush to rebuild the park a critical mistake was made as the seats wound up facing the flagpole in center instead of home plate. They are perhaps the worst seats in any major league stadium. It would be a major off-season construction job to redo the right field grandstand but it could be done.

Fenway Park has become a "theme park" that Disney would envy. Even in the middle of winter the Red Sox offer tours every hour 7 days a week and people come happily. No other team in baseball can do this, not even the Yankees or Cubs. We New Englanders do love Fenway Park on that there is no doubt but it is time the Red Sox do something to improve the game experience for the average fan.

2 years ago the Sunday Globe Magazine printed an article titled Isn't It Time We Said Goodbye To Fenway Park? I'm not saying that we need a new stadium but it is time to fix up the lower seating bowl.