The Ramps of Fenway

Let’s look at the somewhat obscure topic of ramps.

Fans at Fenway Park walk on many sloped surfaces, but for the purposes of this article, ramps are defined as passageways to the main seating areas from beneath.

There once were two long, wide PRIMARY RAMPS from street level to the top of the grandstand (now called Level 2).  These were the two primary ways to access the upper grandstand, and in years past were absolutely packed with fans when games ended.  Fans walked down about 10 abreast.

Third base primary ramp

This ramp, behind third base, is still in use, from near Gate A to the walkway behind Section 26.  It has two turns (roughly 90 and 180 degrees).  Its size has been reduced by the insertion of two stairways, one (2010) from Gate A to Sections 26-27, and one (2008) from Sections 26-27 up to the Dell Technologies and Pavilion levels (Levels 3 and 4).  These stairways make circulation much more efficient, but the ramp is still packed when fans leave just after games.

As you use this ramp, you can see windows of Red Sox offices, windows of a conference room, windows made of glass blocks, and two doors connecting the public/private spaces.  There is also a beer concession stand where the ramp turns halfway up.

Lower part of third base ramp.

Upper part of third base ramp with conference room above.

A peek through a glass block window.

Home plate primary ramp

Part of this ramp exists, but most of it is obscured by alterations.  Only the lowest ten feet is still an accessible, unaltered ramp.  It begins along Jersey Street midway between the Gate A and Gate D corners, near the El Tiante concession stand.  The ramp continued straight ahead, above Gate D, then turned (to the left when ascending) at the corner of the original brick walls and reached the walkway behind Section 18-19.

Lower part of home plate ramp with original red fence.

From further inside the park near the lower end, you can clearly see the ramp and its original red-painted fence.  The new (2010) mezzanine-level restrooms and stairs/passageway follow the ramp, but the walkway was leveled between small groups of steps so it is not an actual ramp anymore.  You can see the upper path of this ramp when standing inside Gate D and looking upward.

Upper part of home plate ramp passing over Gate D.

Beyond a door in the mezzanine-level men’s room, a section of ramp was converted to a storage and mechanical equipment space. One day that door was unlocked, and I investigated.

Access door in mezzanine level men's room

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Original ramp seen through the door. Now a mechanical space.

Old paint on surfaces. This light green shade was once used in many public spaces.

As you go up the ramp, the headroom decreases!

The uppermost part of the ramp was demolished and replaced by the large “Home Plate Deck” concession area.

New Gate D ramp

This large structure along with the bank of three main elevators was installed in 1983, and replaced the old home plate ramp.  Its back-and-forth format through all five levels is similar to ramps at many modern ballparks.  It is functional and necessary, though few fans take the time to make the long journey up or down.  Nearby stairs take a fraction of the time, and fans who can’t climb stairs can take the elevators.

The structure was built in the players’ parking lot area, greatly reducing the space for cars.


Grandstand Section 12 ramp

This narrow ramp was oddly situated, reaching Grandstand Section 12 all the way from ground level near the First Aid station. Presumably it was installed to serve Sections 11, 12, and 13 and relieve crowding at the loge box ramp below 12-13.

Parts of the ramp can still be seen when standing underneath Section 12, including its red railing.  The lower part of it was demolished and that space is now used as a storage room for the groundskeeping crew.  Rakes, shovels, other tools, and bags of Pro League Elite Red infield "dirt" are found there.

From public space near the men's room, just a part of the old Section 12 ramp is now visible.

 

Behind the door a trace of the lower ramp is seen at left, with the upper ramp still in place at upper right.

 

Short lower ramps

The lower areas of stands are served by 18 short ramps (and also two stairways in the bleachers).  The left field grandstand has three, the infield grandstand has five, the right field grandstand has seven, and the bleachers have three (not counting the new 1991 ramp in the alleyway near the visitors’ bullpen).

Close examination of these ramps shows, in some cases, that their walking surfaces have changed over the years, for two reasons.  First, the walkway between the field boxes and loge boxes has shifted away from the field. That allows more seats to be sold at higher prices.  Second, rules for accessibility have dictated that ramps cannot be too steep.  The consequences of these two forces are that ramps are higher and extend further back underneath the stands.  In 1991, ramp serving Grandstand Section 32 was made much longer (doubling back on itself) and more gentle so that wheelchairs can easily travel to the accessible area in front of that section.

Headroom clearance has been increased where ramp is higher than originally.

Old mounting holes for railing show that this ramp is less steep than it originally was.

Changes in 2017

The following changes in the ballpark have been noticed in 2017:

— The open front space of the dugouts has been increased, and between and beyond the dugouts the dugout boxes were moved closer to the field.  This represents a reduction of foul territory, the first since the dugout boxes were originally installed in 2002.  Fenway now has the smallest foul territory in the major leagues.  124 new seats were added.  Each row and each area are now priced separately.  The most expensive seats are "Home Plate Dugout Row A1" which are priced at $645.  A pair of season tickets there costs $92,880 this year, but you must commit to three years' worth of tickets.

Foul territory once extended as far back as the front of dugout roof.

— New Day-Of-Game suites were built on the right and left sides, above Pavilion Sections 9 and 10.  The new suites are B1 and B2 (first base side) and K1 and K2 (third base side).  Adjoining suites were renumbered.

Suites B1 and B2 above Pavilion Box 9.

— The Tully Tavern was constructed at the rear of grandstand sections 5, 6, and 7, with bar seats and tables.  There are 85 new seats (67 swivel seats, 8 pairs of seats at 8 tables, and 2 wheelchair spaces).  The new seats are numbered as if they were in grandstand rows 15 and 18.  Several rows of grandstand seats were eliminated.  Among the eliminated seats was Section 5, Row 17, Seat 10, which had been Fenway's worst seat with an unobstructed view of the infield.  Now the worst unobstructed seat is Section 4, Row 17, Seat 26.

— Because the Tully Tavern interfered with the aisle between grandstand sections 4 and 5, the aisle was relocated into Section 4.  This reduced the capacity of Section 4 and created an unusual seating arrangement in Section 5, where ten rows have seats mounted at two different angles.

— The Cumberland Farms sign was replaced by another videoboard.  Cumberland Farms dropped their sponsorship of Fenway Park.

— The front and side walls of the bullpens were replaced with removable walls to create a larger surface area when the park is used for non-baseball events.  The padding panels are numbered for reassembly, and they hang on metal frames.

— The roof area near the corner of Brookline Ave. and Yawkey Way was christened the "Strega Deck" and is available for special events such as receptions and parties.  Its 5600 square feet can hold 200 people.  It is associated with Strega Ristorante of Boston's North End.  Last year this area was available but not named.

— The Pesky Pole was replaced or repaired.

New Pesky Pole in April 2017.

Pesky Pole in May 2016.

— The “E” (error) light on the left field scoreboard was changed from green to red, to restore the historically correct color. ***
— the visiting team names' abbreviations on the Green Monster scoreboard were restored to more historically appropriate abbreviations that are also consistent with spelling out the word BOSTON.  In the opening series, PITTS. appeared instead of PIT. BALT appears instead of BAL.  NEW YORK appears instead of NYY.  CHICAGO appears instead of CHC or CWS. ***

Both the above changes are seen here.

— Two sets of four grandstand seats have been installed on Yawkey Way.  Those seats were possibly removed from sections 5-7 where the Tully Tavern was installed.

— Menus at all concession stands now list calorie counts for food and drinks.

— In some gate locations, physical turnstiles were replaced by freestanding (and portable) optical scanners.

— the “EMC Level” signs were changed to “Dell Technologies Level”.  The EMC Club is now called the Dell EMC Club.

-- the line scores on the fascia videoboards were given a new format and were made to light sequentially at the start of the game, replicating the sequential R, H, and E totals on the Green Monster scoreboard. ***

-- some inaccuracies in song lyrics, which appear on the New Balance videoboard, were corrected. ***

— Of course, some advertisements have been replaced.

*** - changes recommended to management by The Fenway Purist

The Left Field Scoreboard: History

The left-field (“Monster”) manually operated scoreboard is a Fenway icon, practically as significant as the wall itself.  It is a visual focus throughout the game, and an integral part of the fan experience for 90 percent of the fans.

Tom Yawkey embarked on a renovation streak after he bought the Red Sox in 1933.  Before the 1934 season, the wall in left field was built to contain the game within the park and block the view from outside, and it was built with a scoreboard somewhat similar to what we see today.  It showed 10-inning line scores for four American League games (including the Red Sox game), and pitcher, inning number and run totals for four National League games.  Since there were only 16 teams in the Majors, that sufficed. And the board also showed balls, strikes, and outs with colored lights, H (hit) and E (error) lights, and a dot-matrix light display for the batter’s number.  These indicator lights were similar to today’s but in a different location (between pairs of American League games).

The 1934 scoreboard on July 2, 1958. Note AL scores have no run totals!  The Senators went on to beat the Sox 5-3 that day. Ted Williams drove in all three Boston runs.  Starting pitcher Tom Brewer was charged with the loss.

This scoreboard had 116 slots for numbers.  In the narrow room behind the scoreboard, there were originally 288 double-sided metal plates with numbers and letters (the only letters were R, A, I, and N to indicate rain delays or postponements; later, the letters N, I, T, and E were used to indicate night games).  The highest displayable number of runs per inning was 13, and the highest pitcher's uniform number was 33.  Plus there were 16 plates for team names, including BOST., PHILA., N. YORK, CHI'GO, ST. LOU, WASH, CLEVE, DET'RT, BROOK, PITTS, and CINN. The abbreviations changed over the years (in photo above, note CHICAGO, DETROIT, and NEW YORK are spelled out).

Remote control of lights, including the batter’s number, was a high-tech innovation at that time.  Wires ran from there to switches in the Press Box area.  In the 1960s into the 1970s, the control box for the lights was a box about 5” x 14” and 2” thick with simple small toggle switches.  The At Bat number was selected with two rotary switches.  These were often operated by the PA announcer Sherm Feller during those years.  The system was strictly electrical, not electronic.

Due to expansion from eight to ten American League teams in 1961, the scoreboard was modified before the 1961 season.  The format changed to much like today’s. Under a wide AMERICAN LEAGUE heading, the Sox game was given a full line score with 10 innings plus P (pitcher number), and R, H, and E totals. Under that is the AT BAT, BALL, STRIKE, OUT, H, and E. To the right of all that were spaces for 5 more American League short line scores (P, IN, and R only) and an announcement area for upcoming games.  This area was soon changed to show the numbers of the game’s umpires.  The furthest right-hand part of the scoreboard under a NATIONAL LEAGUE heading had space for six National League games.  This scoreboard had 83 slots for numbers, and 87 after the umpire numbers were shown.

The 1961 scoreboard, May 20, 1961.  The Sox went on to beat the Tigers 4-3 in 10 innings, thanks to a walk-off Jackie Jensen single driving in pinch runner Tom Brewer, who was mentioned in the caption of the first photograph!

The next change came the following year when a lineup board was installed to the right of the scoreboard.  This unit used a dot-matrix light bulb display, controlled by a bank of rotary switches inside the scoreboard.  The control unit is still in place there.

The lineup board, June 15, 1969.  The A's beat the Sox 13-5 that day.  Also note style of team name abbreviations.

72 rotary switches controlled the lineup board.

After the American League pennant winning season of 1975, the decision was made to invest in the first electronic scoreboard above the centerfield bleachers.  This display, using 8640 40-watt bulbs, was very versatile, so it was thought that the National League scores and the lineups could go there.  As a result, the unfortunate decision was made to remove the National League scores and the lineups from the left field wall, leaving only the American League scores.  This scoreboard had only 58 slots for numbers.

In 1977, the American League expanded to 14 teams, so to accommodate 7 simultaneous games the umpire numbers area was converted to another score area.

In 1997, interleague play began, meaning NL teams might appear on the AL scoreboard. To specify the New York and Chicago teams, NYY, NYM, CHC, and CWS were used, and the rest of the team names were changed to the standard two- or three-letter codes.

In 2003, the National League scores were restored to their former place in left. Because the National League had expanded to 16 teams by then, the scores had three columns of three games each rather than two columns.  At each side, permanent advertising was added, and an American League East standings board was added.  These changes bring the scoreboard to its present state. 

There are now 103 slots for numbers.  Because the National League scores extend beyond the original room behind, they must be changed from the field; the others are changed from inside.  The red and green lights and the At Bat number are operated from the control room behind the plate on Level 5.

Fenway Park, the purest baseball experience

Before 1942, all major league parks provided their fans with a pure baseball experience.  The entertainment WAS the baseball game.  There was no video entertainment.  There was no music, except that played by bands before some games.  There were usually modest amounts of advertising.  The only distractions were the yelling of vendors, things to eat and drink, and antics among the fans.

Changes began in 1942, when the first permanently installed organ began giving non-baseball entertainment to Dodgers fans at Ebbets Field.  Other teams installed organs soon after, and music became part of the baseball experience.  Most organists engaged in subtle forms of cheerleading through their musical selections.  But not at Fenway.

1960 brought the first spectacular scoreboard, Bill Veeck’s famous “exploding” scoreboard at Comiskey Park. Others followed including the Astrodome’s 50,000-light animation display. Scoreboards went beyond their function as information providers, becoming part of the entertainment.  But not at Fenway.

The Tom Yawkey years (1933-1976) were pure baseball years at Fenway.  Yawkey removed the left field wall advertising and otherwise purified the park. It was virtually a 100% baseball experience.  Yes, there was organ music, but with John Kiley at the keyboard there was no cheerleading.  Kiley refused to play bugle calls, rhythmic phrases, or anything else between pitches or between batters.

In recent decades, changes within our society have been inevitable, causing changes at all ballparks that have been driven by financial requirements.  Advertising and television coverage have changed the appearance of stadiums and the game’s timing. In efforts to keep up with society’s ever more fast pace and to attract more fans, ballparks were given more and more gimmicks such as disc jockeys in place of organists, mascots, mascot races, “kiss cams”, sound effects played between pitches, garish video effects, contests, and all kinds of promotions.  Electronic technology has allowed ever larger video displays in sharper resolution.  Now, most fans are inundated with sights and sounds during every moment when the ball isn’t in play. But not, not as much, at Fenway.

Though today Fenway is festooned with advertising in every direction, has giant video boards, and is blasted with loud music between innings, it can be argued that Fenway has the purest form of baseball among major league parks. Regardless of the fact that Fenway is the oldest major league park today and is the only one that offers wooden grandstand seats, the experience is pure in two important ways.  First, the fans are never explicitly told when to cheer as they are at every other park.  They are not told to clap or make noise at certain times, based on one employee’s judgment that those times warrant more cheering.  Giant video ribbons do not start to pulse and flash when there are two strikes on an opposing batter, to let fans know that the batter might possibly strike out on the next pitch.  Boston fans know better.  They know when to cheer!

Second, there are no sound effects added within a player’s at-bat, between pitches.  Between the catcher throwing the ball back and the pitcher peering down to read the next sign, do we really need to hear a snippet from the Banana Boat Song, electronic beats, or a bugle call?  No!  At least, during an at-bat, all Boston fans can concentrate on the game.