Renovation Related Articles Archive

Fenway Renovations on Schedule Fenway renovations on schedule, 02/08/2006 5:16 PM ET, By Mike Shalin / Special to MLB.com http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060208&content_id=1308754&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb BOSTON -- With the home opener some 62 days away, Fenway Park currently looks anything like a stadium that will host the Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays on April 11. But mark this down: The old place will be ready, complete with all kinds of new stuff. The Red Sox, in their late ....
Fenway Here To Stay? Fenway here to stay By Scott Van Voorhis and Michael Silverman Boston Herald Friday, October 29, 2004 Antique Fenway Park, which outlasted the just-shattered Curse of the Bambino, will be around for years to come. Red Sox brass have no plans to capitalize on the team's World Series success to push plans for a new ballpark, according to a highly placed Sox source. Instead, the team plans to forge ahead with its efforts to spiff up and add seats to 1912 Fenway Park. ....
Boston Globe Calls for Renovation! A BOSTON GLOBE EDITORIAL Friendly to Fenway 8/1/2002 CITY AND STATE taxpayers and Red Sox ticket buyers all stand to save millions of dollars if the team figures out a way to make Fenway Park work better financially. If the existing park could become an even more productive golden goose than it already is, the team would not have to build a new stadium and dip into public treasuries or fans' pockets for its substantial cost. . . . ....
Globe Questions Previous Owner's Stadium Stance New-Fenway push by former owners called into question By Scott S. Greenberger, Globe Staff, 7/1/2002 After inspecting every beam at Fenway Park, the old regime on Yawkey Way told fans and politicians the ballyard was crumbling and it was neither practical nor financially feasible to renovate it. City councilors recall even more dire warnings - that any attempt at renovation would put workers in danger.'It would be easier to straighten the Leaning Tower of Pisa,' ....
Sox Solicit Ideas for Improving Fenway! Change it? Save it? Make your Fenway pitch By Robert Campbell, Globe Correspondent, 6/9/2002 A couple of weeks ago this column reported on an interview with Janet Marie Smith. Smith is the former vice president of the Baltimore Orioles who led the effort to build Camden Yards in Baltimore. She is now a consultant to the Red Sox, with the job of figuring out how to improve Fenway Park and thus save it from being replaced by something trendier. ....
Sox Reach Agreement With Vendors Red Sox, vendors agree on concourse plan By Scott S. Greenberger, Globe Staff, 6/21/2002 Clearing a hurdle that could have wrecked their plans, the owners of the Red Sox have agreed to let peanut and sausage vendors operate all around Fenway Park in exchange for the vendors' support for a plan to extend the ballpark's concourse onto Yawkey Way. The peanut and sausage pushcarts have been part of the festive game-day scene outside Fenway since the park opened in 1912. In 1998, the for ....
Pike Air Rights Development Could Threaten Fenway Plan to build near Fenway could dash Sox dreams By Scott S. Greenberger, Globe Staff, 6/25/2002 The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has begun searching for candidates to purchase air rights - permission to build over the road - on three parcels behind Fenway Park, a move that may affect the Red Sox's plans to renovate the ballpark. In response to the authority's 'request for qualifications' two weeks ago, 50 candidates have asked for information about the parcels, which abut Landsd ....
NESN Revenue Production Sox eye double play partner By Bill Griffith, 6/16/2002 One of the big behind-the-scenes stories of this Red Sox season is the bidding going on for rights to become NESN's over-the-air broadcast partner for next season's games. Executives at Boston's network affiliates are running computer projections and huddling to decide just how much those rights are worth and how much each can pony up for them. And each wonders if someone else will overbid, willing to take a loss on the program ....
Keeping the Faith at Fenway Keeping the faith at Fenway By Joan Vennochi, 6/20/2002 AS MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL heads for the All-Star break, the usual questions are floating around Yawkey Way. Will the new Boston Red Sox fold in July, just like the old ones? And will the new Sox owners save Fenway Park or build a new ballpark? ....
Hoping the Monster Brings In Greenbacks Hoping the Monster brings in greenbacks By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff, 6/22/2002 Large ads attached to the netting above Fenway Park's Green Monster could be tested in late July, Red Sox officials confirmed yesterday, and the experiment eventually could include ads on the left-field wall itself as the team's new owners seek to balance economics and aesthetics. ....
Press Clippings, Jan 18-31, 2002 The following are a series of columns and articles that appeared in the media regarding the Red Sox between January 18th and 31st. Click on the title to go to the full article. Game's over for ballpark funds , Joan Vennochi, Boston Globe columnist, 1/31/2002. WELCOME TO BOSTON, and forget about getting your mitt on that $100 million in public money. It isn't going anywhere ....
Sox Tickets on Sale Feb. 24 Source: "BASEBALL NOTEBOOK; Sox make new prices official," Associated Press, 1/31/2002. The Red Sox yesterday confirmed that prices to see this season's team will rise in most areas of Fenway Park, and they announced tickets will go on sale at the team's box office March 2. All box seats and infield grandstands will increase in price, with bleacher and outfield seats remaining the same. The prices: $60 (loge, field boxes, infield roof), $40 (infield grandstand), $32 (right-fiel.....
New Owners Recommit to Renovation Source: “Ticket price hikes on deck at Fenway,” by Meg Vaillancourt, Boston Globe, 1/30/2002, A1. “During a meeting with Globe reporters and editors yesterday morning, [John] Henry, [Tom] Werner, and Larry Lucchino... insisted they remain committed to their plan to renovate, rather than build a new ballpark elsewhere. “’We feel like we made a campaign promise, and we need to honor it,’ Lucchino said. 'As we go forward, renovating Fenway is our most desired option.'...< ....
Limited Partners Can Veto Owner Choice Source: “Little-known partners key to Red Sox sale,” By Meg Vaillancourt, Boston Globe, 12/2/2001, page A1. Unlike Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez, or Nomar Garciaparra, their names don't register with Red Sox fans. Some team officials fail to recognize them when they bump into them. And even the most detail-minded Sox chroniclers often omit them from team histories. But before Red Sox chief John Harrington can announce who is the next owner of the storied franchise, he must consu ....
Bidder John Henry is Fenway fan Source: “Werner and Henry: Current owner added to bolster lineup,” by Beth Healy, Globe Staff, 12/10/2001, A16. Can John Henry save Tom Werner's bid for the Red Sox? The Florida Marlins owner is an 11th-hour addition to a team of Boston outsiders, a quiet numbers cruncher with a passion for baseball, brought in to bolster the chances of a group led by Werner, a Hollywood television producer. Henry brings deep pockets, a strong reputation in baseball and business, and th ....
Somerville Stadium Silliness Source: “Sox in Somerville? To one man, it's more than a dream,” by Daniel Smith, Boston Globe, 12/9/2001, W7. . Stephen J. Mackey and I are standing at a corner of the MBTA-owned industrial complex in Charlestown, just over the border from Somerville. We are looking at a single square block of patchy grass enclosed by a chain-link fence. What I see is the following: the MBTA's canine training facility; a desolate field littered with strange artifacts; a car-door stan ....
Harrington will drag out bidding Source: “Harrington: Bid evaluations may take weeks,” By Ronald Blum, AP Sports Writer November 28, 2001 CHICAGO (AP) -- It may take weeks to evaluate bids submitted for a controlling stake in the Red Sox, Boston chief executive officer John Harrington said Tuesday. The Jean R. Yawkey Trust, which has controlled the team since 1994, set a Thursday deadline to receive offers for its 53 percent stake in the team, which owns Fenway Park and 80 percent of the New England ....
Renovator bidders Front-runners Source: “Sources say Werner-Otten front-runner in bid for Sox,” by Sean McAdam, Sports Writer, Providence Journal, 11/27/2001. BOSTON -- As Thursday's deadline to submit binding bids to purchase the majority interest in the Red Sox draws closer, a clear -- and somewhat surprising -- favorite has emerged from the crowded field of potential owners. Several baseball sources indicate that the group led by television producer -- and former owner of the San Diego Padres -- Tom We ....
Sox 100-year video Source: “Red Sox video touches all the basics and keeps going,” By Bill Griffith, Boston Globe, 11/25/2001. Every time you stumble across something really neat, there's a dilemma: Keep it secret or share it? When you decide to share a 'favorite' - a neat little restaurant, a favorite getaway place, even a good mechanic - there's always the fear that 'everyone' will overrun it. Fortunately, that can't happen with the just-released video 'The Boston Red Sox: 100 Year ....
Werner/Otten wobble? Source: "Bidders facing serious hurdles," by Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald, 11/15/2001. A Hollywood TV magnate and a Maine skiing mogul vying to buy control of the Boston Red Sox may be facing some cracks in their efforts to assemble a team of high-powered investors and sports executives. TV Producer Tom Werner and former American Skiing chief Les Otten have failed to ink a deal with high-powered baseball executive Larry Luchinno, despite months of aggressively courting the for ....
Sox New Owner Saga Continues Source: Deadline looms for Sox bids, by Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald, November 14, 2001. Business heavyweights battling to buy control of the Red Sox are scrambling to put together their final offers, with the deadline for binding bids now set forsometime shortly after the Thanksgiving holiday, sources say. The contenders recently received letters from Sox brass telling them to prepare to file binding bids in the week or so after the holiday, sources say. Seve ....
Marino pushes Everett stadium Source:” Sox bidders offered site,” by Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald, November 1, 2001 Les Marino is the latest Hub business heavyweight to pitch a new ballpark -- one that would take the Red Sox across the Mystic River and put home plate in Everett. Marino recently began contacting the array of Sox bidders. The construction chief sent a letter and a video pitching the potential of his 35-acre site straddling the Boston-Everett line along the Mystic River. Marino' ....
Council says NO to stadium landtaking Source: Meg Vaillancourt, "Council resolution," Boston Globe, Oct. 25, 2001. With elections in two weeks, the Boston City Council endorsed a resolution opposing land-takings for a new Fenway Park [sic]. Noting the measure was adopted 7 to 6, opponents of the Fenway Park plan touted the council's action as a 'strong message' to prospective Red Sox owners not to count on building the ballpark, for which state legislators approved a financing plan last y ....
Pro-Fenway bidder seeks media backers Source: “Dialing for dollars,” Steve Bailey, Boston Globe columnist, 10/19/2001. The first inquiry Boston Red Sox boss John Harrington received after announcing the team was for sale last year was from someone with ties to a media company. Now, in the stretch drive, at least two media companies with important local properties have been weighing whether they want to be last-minute additions to one of the groups making a run to buy our Sox. Both The New York Times Co., owner ....
Pro-Fenway Sox bidders Source: By Steve Bailey, columnist, “Inside baseball,” Boston Globe, 10/17/2001. Another deadline and another round of who's-on-first rumors about our Sox. Tomorrow is the deadline for bidders to deliver their final list of partners and financing plans to John Harrington and his lawyer, Justin Morreale. Now for the good stuff, sports fans: The word among insiders is that Cablevision billionaire Chuck Dolan has committed to get his family's money out of the Cleveland Indi ....
From Peter Gammons Source: excerpted from Peter Gammons, ESPN.com, Sept. 29, 2001. "Boston Red Sox There has been some criticism of the Werner/Otten plan to renovate and modernize Fenway Park, but one club official says, 'The feedback we've gotten is very positive. The reason John Harrington decided to recreate Fenway in his plan is that the overwhelming majority of the fans we surveyed said that's what they want -- Fenway Park.'" ....
Win/lose, bidders advocate renovation Source: “Buy, fail, Sox bidders push Fenway plan,” by Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald, October 1, 2001. Former Maine skiing mogul Les Otten and Hollywood TV magnate Tom Werner may be battling hard to buy the Boston Red Sox. But the would-be Sox owners are clearly hoping that their proposal to renovate and expand storied Fenway Park lives on, even if their bid to buy the Olde Towne Team doesn't. Otten, in a recent meeting with a key Fenway political leader, acknow ....
Rebuilding Fenway is Option Source: "Rebuilding Fenway is option: Red Sox consultant switches after a look at bidders' plan," by Scott Van Voorhis Boston Herald, Sept. 26, 2001. Critics of the stalled $665 million Red Sox plan to build a ballpark were left stunned yesterday by a key team adviser's statements favoring a plan to rebuild Fenway Park. Sox consultant James Walsh reportedly said rebuilding "doesn't look impossible" after looking over a scheme developed by would-be team owners Les Otte ....
Renovation Validation Source: “Pols blast Sox renovation flip,” by Scott Van Voorhis Boston Herald Thursday, September 27, 2001 An apparent flip-flop over the feasibility of renovating Fenway Park by a key Red Sox adviser - after team officers have blasted any suggestion the turn-of-the-century ballpark could be salvaged - has aroused anger both at City Hall and on Beacon Hill. City and state lawmakers yesterday recalled how Sox brass spent years ridiculing groups like Save Fenway that ha ....
Sox adviser admits renovation is possible! Source: “Red Sox adviser shifts on rebuilding Fenway: Says new owner may be able to expand current site,” by Meg Vaillancourt, Staff, Boston Globe, 9/25/2001, D1. After dismissing previous proposals to rebuild Fenway Park as impractical and too expensive, a key adviser to the Red Sox yesterday said it might be possible for new owners to preserve and expand the current ballpark. The team's construction adviser, James Walsh, was responding to a renovation plan devised by televisi ....
Bidders sell park plans to neighbors Source: “Bidders sell park plans to neighbors: Fenway rehab is pitched,” by Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald, September 11, 2001. Call it preaching to the converted. A glitzy group of out-of-state Red Sox bidders recently pitched its plans for renovating creaky Fenway Park to Fenway neighborhood activists. Les Otten, the former Maine skiing mogul vying to buy the Sox with Hollywood TV magnate Tom Werner, met last Friday with members of Save Fenway Park and the ....
Dictator Duq' is Harrington's Baby Source: “It's high time for Harrington to own up to it,” Dan Shaughnessy, Columnist, Boston Globe, 9/9/2001. NEW YORK - Time for John Harrington to step up and swallow his share of the blame pie. Like fish, baseball teams rot from the head down, and it's time for the invisible CEO of the Red Sox to be accountable for this train-wreck finish to a season that was supposed to honor the vaunted Yawkey legacy. Harrington hasn't spoken about a single baseball issue all s ....
Southie Sours on Seaside Stadium Source: “A second look in Southie,” Boston Herald editorial, Sept., 8, 2001. City Councilor Jim Kelly - and others who have been giving a fairly warm reception to the concept of a Southie ballpark - got a bit of a reality check this week. It seems the other shoe has dropped on landowner Frank McCourt's plans for his 25-acre parcel a stone's throw from the waterfront. McCourt has been touting plans for a new ballpark on 12 of those acres, promoting it to local offici.....
Southie Pol Questions Ballpark Scheme Source: “Kelly asks McCourt to limit Southie development,” by Ellen J. Silberman and Karen E. Crummy, Boston Herald, Friday, September 7, 2001 City Councilor James M. Kelly is seeking assurances from land owner Frank H. McCourt that he won't use a massive hotel and office complex to bankroll a new ballpark in South Boston. "If they put this and a stadium (next to each other) it would be a one-two punch," said Kelly, who is reserving judgment on McCourt's plan to buy the Red S ....
Source: "Local pair said to join hunt for Sox: Eskandarian, Bain are seen joining with Werner-led group," By Meg Vaillancourt, reporter, Boston Globe, 8/23/2001. Two high-profile Boston-based bidders have joined the high-stakes auction to buy the Boston Red Sox, sources tracking the sale of the team said yesterday. Advertising executive Ed Eskandarian and the investment company Bain Capital are now members of the bidding group led by television producer and former San D ....
Fenway-based Sox DOUBLE renevues Source: “Duquette touts local ownership,” By Joan Vennochi, columnist, Boston Globe, 8/17/2001. EVERY SEASON has its dominating news. This summer, Boston is focused on the governor's newly uncovered status as wife No. 4 - and, as always, on the Boston Red Sox. At a loss to understand the dynamics of the Jane Swift-Chuck Hunt household, I talked to Dan Duquette the day before he fired Jimy Williams. That probably explains why, when asked about the manager's future, Duquette a ....
Ballpark frankness from Brian McGrory Source: “Ballpark frankness,” By Brian McGrory, columnist, Boston Globe, 8/28/2001. A friend of mine is over at Fenway Park on one of those gorgeous summer nights when the season -- in fact, all of life -- is suddenly, wonderfully imbued with the sense of the possible. On his way to the park, birds are chirping. Beautiful women are inexplicably smiling at him. The gas station attendant asks if he'd like his windshield washed. Then he comes face to face with Aramark. ....
Will Southie buy his ballpark plan? Source: “Will Southie buy his ballpark plan?,” By Joan Vennochi, columnist, Boston Globe, 8/24/2001. THAT FRANK McCOURT, 'tis a saint, he is. Did you know the real reason he wants to build a ballpark on the waterfront? It has nothing to do with money -- he says he can make more with an office tower. Very simply, it is better for South Boston, this Brookline resident insists. Saint that he is, McCourt is also promising a veritable miracle to go with his alleged financial sacrifice: ....
Freaking about a leaking Source:” Freaking about a leaking,” Darren Rovell, ESPN.com, August 8, 2001. Last Friday night, the Red Sox-Rangers matchup at Fenway was postponed because of rain and lightning. The 89-year old ballpark wasn't holding up too well as Red Sox players had to tread through waist-high waters in the passage between the dugout and the clubhouse. To some, it was a sign from above that a new Fenway needs to be built. "Save Fenway Park, my ass," groaned Pedro Martinez, whose sign from abov ....
Sox Bidder News Clippings Latest News Clippings on Sox Bidders Some see weakness in a top Sox bidder, by Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald, July 31, 2001: A skeptical look at Red Sox bidder and cable titan Charles Dolan. List of possible owners for Red Sox narrows, by Bob Wyss, Pro>....
Traffic Problems for Southie Scheme source: "Southie ballpark would need road money," by Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald, July 28, 2001. A group of South Boston political leaders met with state transportation officials recently to discuss the costs of putting a new ballpark in Southie, in the first move by elected leaders to hash out details of such a plan. Building a Red Sox ballpark near Fan Pier would potentially cost hundreds of millions in roadwork required to ferry fans in and out of the neig ....
Fenway Sox bidder hits up investors by Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald, 7/21/2001. Even as they insist they have the cash in hand to buy the Boston Red Sox, former Maine skiing mogul Les Otten and Hollywood TV producer Tom Werner are aggressively recruiting deep-pocketed investors, sources say. With Otten as the local frontman, the Sox bidders are hitting up potential investors for as much as $30 million to be a limited partner in the Olde Towne Team, sources say. All to ....
Boston Phoenix calls for Sox to Source: “Giving up the ghost: The Red Sox’ Fenway plan is dead. It’s time to stop pretending otherwise,” Boston Phoenix editorial, July 12-19, 2001. THE RED SOX cannot afford to build a new ballpark in the Fenway neighborhood. Red Sox CEO John Harrington knows it. Mayor Tom Menino knows it. Prospective bidders for the team know it. Still, the charade continues — much to the detriment of the Fenway. As the Boston Herald reported July 9, area businesses are bearing the brunt of the ....
Land offered for Fenway renovation Source: “Fenway plan gets boost: D'Angelos may sell adjacent land to Sox' new owner,” by Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald, July 11, 2001 A key Fenway Park neighbor says he might provide land to the next majority owner of the Red Sox for a plan to rebuild and expand the team's turn-of-the-century ballpark. In offering to consider selling its substantial Fenway land holdings, the D'Angelo family could provide a more viable alternative to present plans to build a ballpark n"....
Sox set deadline for buyer bids Source: "Sox set deadline for buyer bids," by Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald, July 10, 2001. It's time to step into the bidders' box for the bevy of business bigs vying to win control of the Boston Red Sox. Red Sox brass have set Aug. 15 as the deadline for initial, nonbinding bids for a controlling interest in the fabled franchise, sources say. Off to a slow start, the sale is finally picking up steam, sports industry observers say. When he offered a 53 percent sta.....
Waterfront's Fatal Flaws Source: “On the waterfront? Nah: Move to Southie would leave Sox fans out in cold,” by Michael Gee, Boston Herald, 7/10/01. Shhh! Listen, can you hear it? Wherever important and self-important people meet in Boston, there's the soft sound of skids being greased for a new ballpark for the Red Sox on the waterfront. Developer Frank McCourt squirted the first drops of oil, gallantly volunteering to build a park on the land he owns in Southie, if he gets to purchase the club. m....
Globe admits renovation possible Source: “Ballpark choices,” By Boston Globe Staff (editors), 7/9/2001. DESPITE SPECULATION about a South Boston site, it is premature to determine a new location for a Red Sox stadium. The most important issue facing the team (besides the pennant race) is the choice of new ownership that will pay top dollar for the franchise and present a credible business plan to keep the team among the best in the American League. The new owners should also promise to keep the team in B ....
Weather Clouds Waterfront Stadium Fad Source: "Weather should be factor in location of new Fenway," By O. Ray Pardo (letter to the editor), Boston Globe, 7/8/2001. Have our fellow Bostonians heard of Candlestick Park? That was a wonderful site for a baseball park -- available, near the freeway and with a lot of land for parking, and right on the waterfront for wonderful vistas! However, in the hurry to jump at the site, the city by the Bay forgot to check a small item -- the weather! Boston is now bei ....
Failed Sox Plan Blights Fenway Neighborhood Source: ”Languishing in limbo: Stalled ballpark chills Fenway business activity,” by Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald, 7/9/2001. Hopes for a giant new Red Sox ballpark in the Fenway may be all but dead, but the ill-fated project continues to hang over the heads of neighborhood business owners like a $665 million Sword of Damocles. Souvenir hawkers, retailers and land owners in the path of the stalled stadium plan say they're paying a steep and bitter price - in empty storefron ....
Skeptical Look at Source: "McCourt now sees 'legacy' wrapped in field of dreams, " by Peter Gelzinis Boston Herald, 6/24/01. In the upper reaches of a downtown bank, I once spent most of an afternoon listening to the vision and passion of Frank H. McCourt. We sat 30 floors above his sprawling portion of the South Boston waterfront. And for much of the time, he sounded more like a caretaker than a shrewd, armor-plated mega-developer. McCourt said he wanted to create a "legacy" on the wa ....
Sox bidder promotes Source: "Sox bidders making the rounds: Road trip includes State House, Fenway," by Cosmo Macero Jr., Boston Herald, 6/29/01 High-powered bidders trying to buy control of the Red Sox are turning on the charm and turning up the heat as they cast for support among Boston's corporate and political elite. Hollywood mogul Tom Werner and former ski-company executive Les Otten spent part of yesterday cruising the corridors of power on Beacon Hill -- winning an audience with both H ....
Media plugs S. Boston stadium Source: "Councilor urges Red Sox chief to back a ballpark in S. Boston," by Meg Vaillancourt, staff, Boston Globe, 6/26/2001. Seeking to persuade Red Sox chief John Harrington to support a new waterfront ballpark before selling the team, Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty yesterday formally asked Harrington for a meeting to discuss the idea. Flaherty's push comes amid growing support among South Boston political leaders for a plan to build a ballpark on 25 acres develop ....
Sox plan dying, Source: ”Sox look good to Southie,” by Cosmo Macero Jr. and Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald, June 26, 2001. With major hurdles remaining on the Red Sox' plans for a new ballpark in the Fenway, Southie business and political leaders yesterday added more muscle to a bid to move the club to Boston's waterfront. Sox officials have yet to strike even a single deal with Fenway landowners who occupy the 15 acres where much of the new stadium would sit. That may make it easier fo ....
Globe slanted reporting on Sox stadium Source: sidebar from a longer article, "Throwing the Game: Conflicts of interest prevent tough coverage of sports issues," By Neil deMause, FAIR magazine, Nov/Dec 1999. The Victory of P.R.: The Boston Globe The Boston Red Sox' plans to replace historic Fenway Park with a modern stadium were not going well. Local preservationists had formed a Save Fenway Park! group to promote renovating the old park at a fraction of the cost of a new one; business owners in th ....
PNC Park No Help to Pirates Source: "New park asides, Pirates are still the pits," by Gordon Edes, 6/17/2001. There are few things more aggravating to a major league owner than opening a spectacular (and expensive) new ballpark, only to have the team resemble vagrants squatting on the property. When that happens, heads are likely to roll, which was the case last week in Pittsburgh, where general manager Cam Bonifay was bounced by owner Kevin McClatchy in the wake of the Pirates' brutal start in PNC Park. < ....
Councilor Ross assesses Fenway Park situation Source: “Public Financing Of Professional Sports Stadiums,” A Politalk Discussion, June 11-22. City Councilor Michael P. Ross, Boston District 8 wrote: I've been reading the discussion strands of the contributing writers [to the Politalk Discussion] with great interest. As the District City Councilor representing the Fenway Neighborhood (as well as several other neighborhoods in Boston ....
Fenway alternatives gain steam Source: "Fenway alternatives gain steam," by Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald, June 15, 2001 After hearing from a group with a plan to rebuild Fenway Park, Mayor Thomas M. Menino says he is now intrigued by the idea that had been dismissed repeatedly by City Hall and the Red Sox over the past few years. Menino's comments come after more than a year of insisting that the team's current $665 million plan for a new ballpark -- which calls for demolishing Fenway and b.....
Study says new stadium could hurt Sox ”Study says new stadium could hurt Sox,” by Isaac Baker, Globe correspondent, 6/14/2001. The Red Sox would struggle to increase revenue and attract fans if the club follows through with plans to tear down Fenway Park and build a new stadium, according to a study released yesterday by Save Fenway Park and consumer activist Ralph Nader. The study, conducted by economics professor Robert A. Baade of Lake Forest College in suburban Chicago, found the Red Sox are among the most ....
Plan eyed to rebuild Fenway in place source: “Plan eyed to rebuild Fenway in place: Sox bidders would avoid landtakings,” by Meg Vaillancourt, Globe Staff, 6/14/2001 As they prepare to review the Red Sox's confidential financial records, several prospective bidders are also studying plans to rebuild Fenway Park on its current site. One group of bidders, led by television producer Tom Werner and former skiing company executive Les Otten, has spent more than six months developing plans that call for a new and >....
Stadium Plans Stall as Team Slows Sale Source: Timing of Sox sale raising eyebrows, by Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald, June 8, 2001. Boston Red Sox executives left sports business observers and even a would-be bidder or two wondering anew about the sale of a majority interest in the team, after sketching out a time frame on Wednesday that rules out any serious bidding until after the current baseball season ends. Despite claims of record interest in the controlling stake in the team, some industry observers ....
Globe acknowledges renovation option! Source: "Sox to open its books to buyers," Meg Vaillancourt, Boston Globe, 6/6/2001. "...Since the team has been unable to nail down a financing deal for the proposed Fenway ballpark, prospective bidders will have to at least consider alternatives, including other sites in Greater Boston or renovating 89-year-old Fenway Park...." ....
Sox bidder may pitch renovation of Fenway Source: "Sox bidder may pitch renovation of Fenway," by Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald, June 1, 2001. A media mogul who is one of the frontrunners to become the next majority owner of the Boston Red Sox is weighing a rather radical idea: renovating Fenway Park and scrapping the team's plans to build a giant new stadium, sources say. Sox brass long ago discarded the renovation option, contending it could prove impractical and more costly to rebuild the creaky, turn ....
David Cone's Fenway debut "Cone anxious to win over Fenway fans," by Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 5/28/01. David Cone has pitched from the mound at Fenway Park many times, but tonight he'll do it for the first time as a member of the hometown team. And while Cone, at 38, has accomplished an awful lot in his 14-year major league career, including five World Series titles and a Cy Young award, he wasn't afraid to admit that he's a bit giddy over his Fenway debut. "It's the first start as a Red Sox"....
Full House: Fenway Bulging Source: "Dealing a full house: Fans have Fenway bulging early," by Bob Duffy, staff writer, Boston Globe, 4/30/2001. The Yankees, yes. Weekends, maybe. But the Twins? The Royals? The Devil Rays, for goodness' sake? On glacial April school nights? You may not accept it, but you'll have to believe it. If April attendance at Fenway Park is any gauge, the Red Sox have graduated from mere icons to full-fledged phenomenons. This is the earliest they've filled the 89-year-o ....
The Singles Bar of American Sports Source: "Singles hitting," by Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe (staff writer), 5/16/2001. Through the years, it has been described in many ways. Tip O'Neill compared Fenway Park to your living room, John Updike said it was a lyric little bandbox, and Bill Lee called it a religious shrine. Fenway also has been compared to a pinball machine, a cemetery of memory, and an American pyramid. And now we have a new handle for Fenway Park ... The Love Shack. Those of yo.....
Fan Fun at Fenway Source: "Manny had fans' full attention when he stood and delivered," by Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe sports columnist, 4/14/2001. Eighteen more of these? Please? In one of the more pulsating April games in the history of 89-year-old Fenway Park, Manny Ramirez banged a two-out single against unbeatable closer Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the 10th to rescue the Red Sox from sure defeat against the hated New York Yankees last night. Manny, who was acquired for the sol ....
Remembering Fenway's First At-Bat Source: "Fenway's first batsman: Harvard's Wingate made history when he stepped to the plate on April 9, 1912," by Steve Buckley, Boston Herald, 4/29/01. "...But, then, nobody knew Fenway Park was going to be a big deal, that it would become a storied baseball landmark throughout one century and into the next. Thus, on April 9, 1912, when Dana Joseph Paine Wingate became the first man ever to step into the batter's box at Fenway Park, it was just a passing item in the next>....
Boston Waterfront Ballpark Plan Fails (again) Source: "McCourt-Sox talks failed, sources say," by Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald, 4/24/01. South Boston parking lot king Frank McCourt pitched his idea to the Boston Red Sox for a Camden Yards-like ballpark on his prime tract of waterfront land, but was rebuffed, sources say. While it is not clear that McCourt ever sat down with Sox CEO John Harrington, sources say the Southie landowner made overtures several weeks ago to the team laying out his willingness ....
New Stadium financing Source: "Sox plan's financial picture seen bleak," Meg Vaillancourt, Boston Globe, 4/24/2001, D3. FleetBoston Financial Corp. president Chad Gifford and Red Sox consultant Micho Spring recently met with Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Boston Redevelopment Authority chief Mark Maloney to detail for the first time why the team has been unable to secure financing for its portion of the project. "It's not going anywhere," said one political leader who declined to be identifi ....
Fenway's New Groundskeep "I've moved from the newest ballpark in the country [Miller Park] to the oldest.... It's the dream of my life. It's the best place in the world to be. Fenway Park." -- David Mellor, the Red Sox's new director of grounds "Fenway's field marshall," by Carol Stocker, Boston Globe, 4/7/2001. ....
Opening Day at Fenway source: "Hope, as usual, springs eternal," Tom Mashberg, Boston Herald, 4/7/01 "...To a man and woman, the Fenway fandom refused to view the Ramirez homer as a typical Red Sox tease - the kind of early-season appetizer that turns into a bitter pill after the Sox find a way yet again to blow the pennant or fritter away the World Series. "'It's just fantastic - worth any price,' said Richard Askins, 54, of Concord, N.H., attending his fifth straight opening day alongside his wife, ....
Fenway's Competitive edge Source: "Hope at Fenway," editorial, Boston Globe, 4/6/01. "Despite league-leading price increases, the Sox can already boast of a pre-season sale of some 2 million tickets, just a half-million fewer than were sold all last season..." "Ticket sales like this, even after a season in which the Sox failed to make the playoffs, help finance a team payroll of $109,558,908 that is second only to the New York Yankees'." ....
Baseball Myths SOURCE: "The Baseball Fallacies: Five Myths of a Broken Business." By Ken Kurson. Esquire Magazine, April 2001. [Last bullet of the article (From Conclusion: Reality Ahead):] "The despicable trend of taxpayer-funded stadiums will collapse. Already the people of Boston are standing up to the turds who would demolish Fenway. Cities large and rich enough to support a baseball team are desirable enough for the owners to fund their own stadiums." ....
Landmark status proposed for Fenway Source: "Park foes [sic] bank on history," Scott Van Voorhis, 4/5/01. In a move that would blast a hole in Red Sox plans to replace an aging Fenway Park with a giant stadium, a group fighting to save the old Fenway from the wrecking ball has launched a drive to make the 1912 ballpark a historic landmark. A leading opponent of Sox plans to build a $665 million ballpark, Save Fenway Park!, has filed a proposal with the Boston Landmarks Commission to give Fenway historic status. ....
Field of Schemes on Fenway Source: Field of Schemes news, April 2001 Massachusetts State House Speaker Thomas Finneran has indicated to the Boston Red Sox that no additional state aid will be forthcoming, regardless of their ongoing difficulties in raising private funds for a proposed new stadium in the Fenway. "To the extent that the Red Sox are having difficulty with their bankers, welcome to the club," Finneran told the State House News Service. "Don't we all have difficulty when we go to the bank f ....
Red Monster? Source: "New wall at Reds' stadium will stand taller than Green Monster," AP-NY-03-20-01 1612EST. CINCINNATI (AP) - The Green Monster will no longer be the major leagues' most imposing wall. Major league baseball told the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday that their new center-field wall will have to be 40 feet tall, eclipsing the famous left-field wall at Boston's Fenway Park by 3 feet. The Reds have made major changes at Cinergy Field to open space for a new ballpark under con ....
Eminent domain debate focuses on Fenway Source: “Research group recommends changes to eminent domain laws,” Susan O’Neill, Boston Tab, 2/2/2001 A Boston-based think-tank recently released a study recommending dramatic changes in the state’s eminent domain laws. The Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research, a nonprofit research organization specializing in Massachusetts public policy issues, commissioned Michael Malamut, an attorney with New England Legal Foundation, to study the state’s existing laws. Th ....
Happy Birthday Sox! SOURCE: "100 years of blood, sweat and cheers," by Steve Buckley, Boston Herald, 1/28/2001 It has become popular over the years to kick the Red Sox in their corporate shins whenever possible, and to criticize them for their many failures. They haven't won a World Series since 1918. They sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees. They were reluctant to sign black players. They fired Dick Williams, perhaps the greatest manager in the history of the franchise. But today is no day to point fing.....
A swing at keeping old Fenway Park alive SOURCE: George B. Donnelly, Editor’s Notebook, Boston Business Journal, 1/22/01 The Fenway Park Follies has been quietly rehearsing before its full run later this year, should it become transparent that the Red Sox cannot pull off a deal to build a new ballpark adjacent to the old one. The financials behind acquiring the land and constructing a shiny new baseball palace appear to daunt some of the sympathetic big-money guys in town, although no institution wants to be the fir*....
Harrington's Latest Stadium Plea "Staying the course on new park" By John L. Harrington, Op-Ed, Boston Globe, 1/8/2001, A11. AS CEO OF the Boston Red Sox, I get advice from virtually every quarter on topics ranging from the batting order to the designated hitter rule. Lately, I have been reading lots of commentary suggesting that I should give up on efforts to build a new ballpark in the Fenway and leave the decisions to my successor. Since I have decided to sell the Yawkey interests in the.....
New Stadium Mania Parody For a good laugh, check out this humor piece by John Brattain at SportsTalk.com. ....
USPS to issue Fenway Park stamp in 2001 Fenway Park and nine other ballparks will be part of the "Legendary Playing Field" stamp collection from the U.S. Postal Service. Other ballparks include Wrigley Field, Tiger Stadium, Comiskey Park (the original), Yankee Stadium, Ebbetts Field, the Polo Grounds, Shibe Park, and Crosley Field. ....
ESPN.COM Focuses on Fenway! The renovation option for Fenway Park finally got the thoughtful coverage it deserves (Peter Gammons not withstanding) by some truly talented writers at ESPN.com. They spent a fair amount of time gathering information from several key members of Save Fenway Park as well as from their own diligent research. We have created a special summary page with excerpts from, and links to, all the articles. ....
MA State House to undergo $33 million renovation SOURCE: Christopher A. Szechenyi, Boston.com, 05/03/00. "[T]he State House should look better than new after it undergoes a $33 million renovation set to begin this summer... the building that has come to symbolize Boston around the world will get a major facelift. And then it will undergo further repairs that will continue for 28 months. The project represents the first major restoration to the exterior of the building since its east and west wings were finished in 1917. ....
Grass Roots Organization to Bid on Red Sox SOURCE: BOSTON, Oct. 17 /PRNewswire/ "If not us...then who? This has been the rallying cry for the newly formed Red Sox New England Exchange (RNX), a publicly-funded organization created by Western Mass Radio and local fans, which is preparing a bid for the hallowed Boston Red Sox. On Tuesday, Oct. 17, RNX made public its venture to secure funding for the purchase of the Red Sox via a highly ambitious pledge drive and is asking interested parties to pledge a minimum of ....
Eating Crow at New Comiskey Park A Chicago sportswriter ponders why the White Sox are seeing pitifully small crowds this summer despite challenging for the best record in Major League Baseball. He admits that "In the din surrounding the 1980s effort to save old Comiskey Park, Chicago-based architect Philip Bess quietly put forward a plan that, in retrospect, would have been as good for the city and the South Side as winning a World Series...." "The newest bull's-eye is fixed on Fenway Park in Boston.... Bess and ano ....
Red Sox May Build on Existing Fenway Site The embattled Red Sox' drive for a new ballpark could end up right where it began - by rebuilding a new stadium at the site of the existing Fenway Park - some working on the plan say. Meanwhile, the team's bankers could give Sox Chief Executive Officer John Harrington a grim report as early as next week casting doubt on the team's ability to raise the hundreds of millions it needs for the project. People close to the ballpark planning are urging Sox brass to mull altern ....
Flattening Fenway by Neil deMause SportsJones Magazine September 6, 2000 ...New parks like Jacobs Field and Pac Bell Park aren't new, they're "retro," with odd angles and exposed steel and brick. You know, like Fenway Park... So now, naturally, the owners of the Boston Red Sox want to tear down Fenway -- and replace it with a modern mallpark.... ....
Philip Bess counters Sox claims According to reporter Meg Vaillancourt, (Boston Globe, 8/13/00): "The Red Sox argue that they have studied a number of similar ideas [to SFP's August Future Fenway Symposium] over the years and none would give the team the amenities it needs or generate the revenues required to compete with other teams that play in newballparks, most of which are publicly subsidized.” To which symposium leader Philip Bess responds: "When the Red Sox are denied the funds to build their enormously over-scal ....
Time is Now to Undo Plans to Tear Down Fenway Park by Neil deMause The Boston Herald Sunday July 30, 2000 There are some things that cannot be undone. You can't unfight a war or bring back an extinct species or restore a place, whether natural or manmade, that has been destroyed in the name of progress.... [T]he tragedy of the Red Sox's stadium push is that it will help no one: not the team, not the fans and certainly not the city... ....
Camden Yards Isn't The Cure by Michael Gee, Boston Herald, 7/20/00. ...If there were no Camden Yards, there would be no talk of a new Fenway Park. Without this place and what has happened here, John Harrington would be straining with all his might to keep the Sox at the old Fenway for another century.... ....
SFP! appeals to City Council Dan Wilson (for SFP!), to the Boston City Council at a June 19, 2000 hearing: Thank your for calling this meeting and for this opportunity to say a few words on behalf of Save Fenway Park!. My name is Dan Wilson and I am one of a team of tireless Save Fenway Park! volunteers. Across the country, there is great affection for Fenway Park as the oldest major league stadium and one of only two constructed prior to World War I. We receive letters and e-mail daily from people who spe ....