The Suite Life: the inside story

 The Suite Life:  the inside story

 

View along suites from L7

Everyone knows they’re there: the luxury suites, one of the big changes that modernized “Old Fenway”.  The suites were installed in 1982 and remodeled in the 2006-2007 offseason.  They’re on Level 3, the Dell Technologies Level, stretching from either side of the Dell Technologies Club.

The best known suite is the Legends Suite, where a Red Sox legend visits during the game and is shown on the main videoboard in a fourth inning break.  Dwight Evans, Carlton Fisk, and Fred Lynn are three legends who show up there fairly frequently.  That suite is called R1, first on the right side.  But who sits in there, and in all those other suites?  And is it possible for an ordinary fan to visit one?

 

View toward wall from L7

Occupants of the suites

Fans with access to Level 3 can walk the corridors and see the signage at each door.  (How do you access Level 3? Only those with tickets to the Dell Technologies Club, the State Street Pavilion Club, or the suites themselves can go there.  Best way to access is up the escalators at the premium entrance on Jersey Street.)  The R (Right) suites are on the first base side; the L (Left) suites are on the third base side.  Lowest numbers are closest to home plate.  Occupants this year are:

R1 (Legends Suite presented by W. B. Mason): Red Sox sell on per-game basis; 20 tickets for $11,000 - $20,000 per game; also includes 4 front row Green Monster seat tickets, keepsake souvenirs, 2 parking passes.

 

R2: Sign says Morgan Lewis (global law firm with 2200+ lawyers); but Sox ticket site says it is sold on a per-game basis, 22 tickets for $6,600 to $14,300 per game.

 

R3: Bank of America, multinational bank, 8th largest in world

 

R4: EY-Parthenon, management consulting arm of Ernst & Young, one of the “big four” accounting firms

R5: shared by W.B. Mason (business products company with 1100+ trucks) and Granite City Supply (electrical equipment supplier established in 1923 in Quincy).

R6: possibly sold on a per-game basis

R7: Walsh Brothers, construction management company since 1901; managed the construction of the State Street Pavilion Club and EMC Club, among many other Fenway Park projects

R8: Arnold Worldwide, US advertising agency base in Boston, en element of the global advertising firm Havas, based in France

R9: Hill Holliday, 17th largest US advertising firm, invented “America Runs on Dunkin’” slogan

R10: the “Partners’ Suite”, shared by all the Red Sox owning partners; individual tickets are awarded to a few Red Sox Rewards auction winners each season

R11: part of combined R10?

R12: MGM Resorts, operators of hotels, casinos, and other resorts across America

R13: possibly sold on a per-game basis

R14: F. W. Webb Co., wholesale distributor of plumbing and other mechanical supplies, sponsor of BOTH Red Sox and Yankees

R15: The Kraft Group, owners of the New England Patriots and other sports endeavors, also paper industry holdings

R16: PricewaterhouseCoopers, multinational accounting and other professional services company; in charge of the Oscars award voting and therefore responsible for the “wrong envelope” blunder of 2017

R17: possibly sold on a per-game basis

R18: Dunkin’ Donuts LLC, an element of Inspire Brands, operators of 8 restaurant/food chains including Arby’s and Buffalo Wild Wings

R19: sold on a per-game basis, 22 tickets for $6,600 to $14,300 per game.

R20: sold on a per-game basis, 22 tickets for $6,600 to $14,300 per game.

R21: sold on a per-game basis, 22 tickets for $6,600 to $14,300 per game.

L1: Red Sox President Sam Kennedy

L2: Bank of America, to go with their R2 suite

L3: Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast, regional bottling company for beverages including Canada Dry and Dr Pepper, actually owned by Japanese brewery Kirin

L4: Locke Lord, international law firm based in Texas with 641 attorneys, has some roots in Boston

L5: WCVB, television station (channel 5) based in Needham MA, outgrowth of WHDH which had broadcast Red Sox games on radio and TV

L6: Pyramid Hotel Group, global hotel operator with brands including Hyatt, Doubletree, Hilton, headquartered in Boston

L7: Aramark Corp., operators of Fenway Park concessions, began in the 1930s as a vending operation in California (ARA stood for Automatic Retailers of America)

L8: sold on a per-game basis, 22 tickets for $6,600 to $14,300 per game

L9: General Electric, multinational conglomerate formed in 1892 with roots in Thomas Edison’s businesses, headquartered in Boston, made diesel locomotives until 2019

L10: NESN (New England Sports Network), created in 1984, televises most Red Sox games; 80% owned by Fenway Sports Group, owner of the Red Sox

L11: Audacy, internet radio platform, 2nd largest radio company in US with 235 stations including WEEI

L12: Citizens Bank, has 1000+ branches in the eastern US, founded 1828 in Providence RI

L13: Dell Technologies, computer equipment and services company based in Texas, formed by merger of Dell and EMC

L14: Encore Boston Harbor, casino resort in Everett MA owned by Wynn Resorts; has 2700+ slot machines

L15: Morgan Lewis, to go with suite R2

L16: Azcat Foundation, investment and personal services company based in Connecticut

L17: probably sold on a per-game basis

L18: Fenway Sports Management (FSM), global sports group managing sales, brands, special events; subsidiary of Fenway Sports Group, owner of the Red Sox

L19: shared by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Boston publisher with origins in the 1830s) and Santander Bank (formerly Sovereign Bank; US operations headquartered in Boston, part of Spanish company Santander Group, no relation to Anthony Santander of the Orioles)

L20: Effectv, advertisement analytic company creating targeted ad campaigns, part of Comcast Cable

L21: shared by Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Co. (roots in Philadelphia in 1876), Chicago Title Insurance Co. (roots in Chicago in 1847), and Fidelity National Title Insurance Co.; all are parts of Fidelity National Financial.

L22: Boston Beer Co., makers of Samuel Adams beer, Twisted Tea, Truly seltzer, Angry Orchard cider, and other beverages, founded 1984

L23: Fidelity National Financial, to go with suite L21

L24: the Marvin Suite, sold on a per-game basis, 35 tickets for $10,500 to $22,750 per game ($300-650 per ticket). This is the newest suite, added when Grandstand 33 was roofed over.

View toward Dell Tech Club from L13

How to visit the suites

Here are a variety of ways to visit a luxury suite, some very difficult!

— Work at one of the companies listed above, preferably in a high-level position, or a position in which you interact with wealthy clients.

— Know someone, preferably in a high-level position, at one of the companies listed above.  Long-term clients, suppliers, or business partners often get invited, usually resulting from high-level financial relationships.

— Become a purchaser for a suite for the entire season.  I do not know the cost but I would guess on the order of $800,000, with probably a multi-year commitment necessary.

— Purchase a suite for a single game, and bring lots of friends, or sell extra tickets on StubHub.  See prices above.  Price is determined by five price tiers as determined by a calendar on the Sox website; click link at www.mlb.com/redsox/tickets/suites/dell-technologies-suites.

— Become a high-roller at the Encore Casino in Everett, spending lots of money there.  Tickets in L13 are handed out as “comps”, just like hotel rooms and other bonuses are.

— As a season ticket holder, accumulate enough points in your Red Sox Rewards account to become the winning bidder in an auction for “Tickets in the partners’ suite” (R10).

— Search many, many games on the Red Sox single-game ticket website.  Surprisingly, once in a while, suite tickets appear.  The Purist bought one of these for May 28th this year, in Suite L7.

— Search many, many games on the StubHub website.  Surprisingly, once in a while, suite tickets appear.  The Purist bought one of these for May 7 this year, in Suite L13.

— As a result of a visit by one of the last two methods, develop a relationship with the contact person for that particular suite.  Though unlikely, it might then be possible to ask to buy a ticket or two for a certain game.

The suite experience

You really do feel like a special guest, not just a fan, as you enter the door of a suite.  Where else do you have a private restroom with TV, comfy leather couch facing a giant TV, coat closet, pizza warming stand, champagne bucket, heated seats?  It’s just about as good as it gets.  Every true fan should put a suite visit on their bucket list.  Maybe pricey, but worth it once in your life!

L13, inward view

 

Most suites are linear, with the long axis toward the field.  The restroom and coat closet are in back, then the kitchen/serving area with cabinets, refrigerator, icemaker, and sink.  Next is the plush upholstery area with the large TV, which may be tuned to any station desired.  In 2019 I was in L7 and fans were closely watching the Masters golf tournament on the TV instead of the game.

 

L13, outward view

 

From there you are near the door to the outdoor seating.  There are high stool seats on either side; in L13 the three stools to the right have a food/drink counter just inside the window, which may be slid open vertically.  Outdoor seats are numbered, but according to suite etiquette you shouldn’t absolutely insist on having your specified seat for the whole game.  Some tickets have numbers higher than those on the seats (meaning some patrons are assumed to be indoors).

 

There are at least two outdoor seats with a drink counter in the third row, which is very handy if you’re using a scorebook.  All the outdoor seats are warmed by overhead radiant heaters, but the heat is not uniform and may be slightly inadequate on a chilly, windy day.  At each side of the seating area, you can chat with those just across the rail in the adjoining suite, and compare notes on the food available.

 

 

Important on cold days!

There are NESN monitors in overhead spaces.  And some suites have fancy video cameras discretely placed overhead.  They are aimed at the infield, for both in-house video and proprietary MLB use during umpire challenges.  You’d be surprised at how many stationary cameras are all over the park… several dozen.

 

Some fixed cameras are made by Spiideo, suppliers of incredible camera technology to many sports teams and leagues around the world.

Food choices

The suites do not come with any food or drink except tap water.  Special menus give lots of choices, but the catch is, each item serves TEN guests.  This year’s menu has the following:

Warm, salty pretzel bites with mustard, $75

Cracker Jack (bagged), $45

Ballpark peanuts (bagged), $55

Ballpark nut mix, assorted, $60

Souvenir popcorn buckets, $55

Kettle potato chips with onion dip, $75

Tostitos tortilla chips with salsa, guacamole, sour cream, $70

Classic antipasti assortment, $165

Mozzarella sticks with sauce, cheese, basil, $95

Vermont fried chicken wings with maple syrup/chili sauce, $150

Buffalo wings with cheese, carrots, celery, $150

Vegetable crudités with ranch dressing, $110

Garden salad w/vinaigrette, $75, grilled chicken $50 extra

Caesar salad, $85, grilled chicken $50 extra

Seasonal fruits & berries, $100

Sal’s cheese pizza (whole 16” pie), $52

Sal’s pepperoni pizza (whole 16” pie), $57

Kayem Fenway Franks, rolls, sauerkraut, $90 (gluten-free buns $2.50 each)

Kosher style hot dogs, rolls, sauerkraut, $90 (gluten-free buns $2.50 each)

Veggie hot dogs, rolls, sauerkraut, $90 (gluten-free buns $2.50 each)

Chicken tenders with honey mustard, $115

Spicy fried chicken sliders with pickles, sriracha aioli, lettuce, $95

Cavendish french fries, $90

Cavendish potato barrels (tater tots?), white truffle, herbs, cheese, $100

New England Clam Chowder, $90

Yankee Lobster Co. lobster rolls, $360

Kayem Italian sausages, rolls, peppers & onions, $110

Ice cream novelty bars in a souvenir Red Sox cooler, $110

House-made cookies & brownies, $95

Ice Cream Cart visit to the suite, guests can create their own sundaes, $9.75 per sundae

Soft drinks, water, juices, per 6-pack, $27

Domestic beer, per 6-pack, $57

Craft beer, per 6-pack, $65

Hard seltzers, ciders, cocktails, per 6-pack, $62-$67

Wine, per bottle, $50-$150

Reserve List (per bottle):

Nickle & Nickel merlot, $210

Far Niente Chardonnay, $210

William Selyen pinot noir, $340

Dom Perignon champagne, $400

From this list, you can see that food and beverage service can easily reach $500 or even $1000.  Six Cokes and ten Fenway Franks? $117.  Ten lobster rolls and a bottle of Dom Perignon?  $760.

L13, galley area. Ice-maker in back corner.

Changes at Fenway, April 2022

 

Sunday, April 10, 2022

After an unusually long offseason -- with no regular season games the first half of April -- the gates of Fenway open to fans again April 15, 2022.  The owners' lockout and owners/players negotiations concluded successfully just in time to make a 162-game season possible.

April 8th through 10th was Season Ticket Holder Batting Practice Weekend, when we were given the chance to "take batting practice" at "home plate".  Iron Mike (the pitching machine) hurled ten straight pitches to each of us, but home plate was covered with a tarp with a home plate painted on... not exactly an authentic experience, but a fun one.  I made good but weak contact with seven pitches, getting the farthest about 200 feet before it stopped rolling.  Plus two foul tips and a decent bunt toward third.  Few folks bunted, so I got a few cheers from those waiting in line.

We could walk around a bit, but mostly in sections 31 to 33, the Monster seats, and the concourse near Gate E.  The park looked great, with everything fresh and clean.  Many areas were freshly painted, such as the famous steel "poles".

Stencils for section numbers

The most obvious change this year is the "Truly Terrace" perched behind the bleacher sections 39 to 43.  There is a standing room area literally joined to the bleachers, and above that is an open area that is part of a rentable event space.  The new structure sits atop the old Laundry Building/Garage, which is between the park and the new theatre complex still rising in the triangle bounded by Ipswich and Lansdowne Streets.  Above the event space is an enlarged, widened video board, which will have room for both teams' lineups.  There is also a new fascia video board (ribbon) above the standing room area.

 

The Truly Terrace and New Balance scoreboard

 

The Truly Terrace looks professionally designed and built from a distance, but it also represents a very unfortunate situation:  The rear wall of the 1934 bleacher structure was demolished, as were three or four rows of the bleachers themselves.  If only the new facility were built overlooking the historic bleachers, with three passageways cut into the concrete wall to give fans access at the top of each stairway.  New construction is one thing -- it is in evidence almost everywhere around the park in the upper levels -- but cutting away large pieces of the park's historic building fabric is much more serious.

Miscellaneous changes in 2022

— The park is almost totally cashless, to minimize personal contact and to eliminate cash handling.  Various digital options and credit cards work, as does “Fenway Pay”, a credit-card-linked system used by season ticket holders to earn points in Red Sox Rewards.  If you only carry cash, you must use “reverse-ATMs” to convert the cash to a plastic gift card.  These RATMs were seen inside Gate B and Gate E.
 

— While Mo Vaughn strolled toward the infield in the Opening Day festivities, a drone flew around with its video aired on the jumbotron.  I had not seen a drone within Fenway before.

— The umpires were not listed anywhere on Opening Day, just announced on the PA.

— “FLUFFER NUTTER BITES” ($14.50) and a “CHEETOS DOG” ($8.50) were available in Aramark’s experimental food booth under the bleachers.  This was the only spelling mistake noticed so far this year on the menu boards.

— However, there were several mistakes to the lyrics of Sweet Caroline and the National Anthem shown on the New Balance scoreboard, caused by inadvertent transcription glitches between the former board and the new one.  Acting as quality control, the Purist alerted the scoreboard crew and the errors were corrected.

— Wifi boosters were placed in the bleachers under certain seats in rows 4, 9, 14, 20, and 25.  Ushers report that some fans have complained about the reduced spaces under their seats.

— Security personnel are wearing a new patch this year (as the Sox players are wearing Remy’s ‘2’ patch).  It says 206.  A sign above Gate A explains, it is in loving memory of security supervisor Donny Bowes, who died tragically in a car accident in March.  Bowes’s assigned radio number was 206.

 

 

— Gate A is now sponsored by Aspiration Partners Inc., presumably because the name starts with A.  Aspiration is not a bank but an SEC-registered broker-dealer which offers “socially-conscious and sustainable cash management services and investment products”.  They measure emissions for corporations and offer carbon-offset strategies to help the corporations reach climate-impact goals.

Aspiration is now the Official Sustainability Partner of the Red Sox.  The good news about that is that they are helping the planet.  The bad news is that Gate A is now “sponsored”… and the name is also painted in large white letters right on Fenway’s green grass along the baselines in foul territory.  The Purist cries “Foul!”

In coming months, are we going to be treated (or our eyes assaulted) by seeing the Draft Kings Gate D?  The CVS Gate C?  The Bank of America Gate B?  Hope not!

A tour of the new Truly Terrace

The Truly Terrace is a standing room mingling area, a bar/concessions area, and the home of a new NESN studio.

 

The Terrace is eight steps higher that the upper grandstand/bleacher elevator level, with two stairs and a ramp gaining access.  To extend this new floor level into the bleachers, the top five rows of the bleachers were removed and that space leveled with new concrete.  Row 45 is the last row of old 1934 concrete.  In section 43, the space beyond row is a small flat area with eight barstools.  In sections 39, 41, and 42, two rows of seats were reinstalled, and two rows of barstools added.  This area was jammed Opening Day, except for the special little area in section 43.

Entering into the enclosed terrace from the south, one first comes to an enormous double sided Truly bar, yet another place for fans to crowd into to get more alcoholic drinks.  Past that, one sees the new NESN studio, featuring a wall of baseballs behind the NESN logo.  The on-air crew faces away from the field with the park as the backdrop.  This space is much more polished than the former street level studio near the corner of Jersey and Van Ness Streets.

Away from the field from the bar are two new concepts in food and drink.  “Truly Takeout” offers twelve food and three drink choices, which fans can order at four kiosks or via the Ballpark App.  Offerings include a lobster roll for $31.00, the “market price” on Opening Day.

Near the takeout area is a walk-in Drink Market, with beverage cans and bottles and a few snacks.  Fans pick out their choices and then place them in a three-dimensional box frame.  Optical scanners and weight sensors detect what was put there, and a few seconds later a screen shows what you’re buying and how much you owe.  The system is made by Sbot Technologies (that’s not a misspelling), otherwise known as Caper, is called the “AI Counter”.  It is said to decrease transaction time by 70%.  An employee is still needed to monitor customers and check for adult IDs for alcoholic drink purchases.

There are restrooms available on this level as well.  This will benefit fans sitting in the upper bleachers as the new restrooms are closer that the ones at ground level quite a distance away.

The Truly Terrace looks like it will be a successful addition to Fenway.  It adds spaces that fans will happily use.  It does not look unattractive.  But as I said earlier, all that comes at a hefty price:  destruction of a part of historic Fenway.  When the current ownership group began multi-year renovations after assuming control in 2002, they adopted a “do no harm” approach.  Various types of harm has been done to old Fenway during the last two decades of modernization, but most of that harm was done in superstructure (ironwork supporting the grandstand roof and the roof itself) and rear walls (such as that between the park and the Jeano Building, where the Third Base Deck etc. are).  But to me, this harm is worse, because it happened in a very visible part of the park.

A tour of the new 521 Overlook

Above the Truly Terrace is another new gathering place, but without concessions.  Named for the number of home runs Ted Williams hit, the 521 Overlook is a set of four enclosed function rooms with an outdoor area attached.  The whole area held a “Private Reception” Opening Day.  These are basic, rentable areas, with the two central rooms (521 B and 521 C) able to be combined into one large room.  A decorative entrance sign incorporates 100 bats.

Room 521 B and 521 C combined

Behind the four rooms is a carpeted hallway decorated with oversize prints of historic Red Sox photos.  That hallway serves restrooms, a kitchen, two passenger elevators and an enormous freight elevator, and a sure sign of ritziness: a coat check room.

 

Admittance to this level is controlled by Security, with only designated standing room tickets being valid for entrance.  The Red Sox ticket purchase pages do show this area, but it seems no tickets are available to the public at this time.  Similar to the Sam Deck standing room, it's another area for one to observe the game from afar.

Return to Fenway Park! April 2, 2021

First batter on Opening Day 2021

 

On April 2, 2021, fans returned to see a baseball game 551 days after the last time they could do that.  On September 29, 2019, 35,427 fans watched the Sox beat the Orioles 5 to 4.  On April 2, 2021, 4,452 fans watched the Orioles beat the Sox 3 to 0, in a disappointing start to the season.

The return to Fenway meant a lot more than watching a dreary game in chilly 37° conditions, at least for me.  I had gone through Fenway withdrawal during the shortened Covid season of 2020 with zero fans.  After the festivities of Winter Weekend in Springfield, Mass. in January of that year, and after the heartwarming delivery of 193 paper tickets in the Purist’s mailbox, the virus dashed our hopes of ever using those tickets and seeing those players we saw in Springfield.  We STHs — Season Ticket Holders — would be literally holding season tickets all year, unable to use them.  Maybe in fifty years they will be worth a lot on eBay as the last paper tickets sold by the Red Sox.

Returning to Fenway meant not just reentering our shrine to baseball, “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark”, but reconnecting with friends I’ve made over the years.  Before each game, I make the rounds through the park checking in with about a dozen employee friends.  Some of them I correspond with sporadically through text or email, but seeing them again in person helped bring back one aspect of normalcy.  And it was great to reconnect with a good baseball buddy as we shared seats in my socially distanced “pod” for two.  Our sharing of baseball philosophy, Fenway minutiae, and life experiences helped make up for the poor brand of baseball in front of us.

In making the rounds outside and inside the park, there were lots of changes noticed since 2019.  They include:

MGM Music Hall crowding the bleachers

 

— The MGM Music Hall Theatre is being built in the triangle of Lansdowne and Ipswich Streets, in the aftermath of destruction of much of the “Laundry Building” which occupied the section next to Fenway.  The destroyed portion was recently a parking garage; the remaining portion houses trash handling, Aramark’s employee and vendor operations, the Champions Club, the Royal Rooters Club, and the remote WEEI studio.  In plans of this project published two years ago, the theatre was shown as rising behind the bleachers with spaces designed to connect to the back of the bleachers, offering a new concession and gathering area.  Unfortunately this would necessitate the destruction of the original 1934 rear wall of the bleachers.  This non-reversible act would violate the integrity and sanctity of Fenway Park.

Hornitos Cantina in Section 5

 

— In the rear of Grandstand Section 5, the Tully Tavern whisky bar has been transformed into the Hornitos Cantina tequila bar.  Whereas the Tully Tavern seats were sold individually, the Hornitos Cantina is, at least through May, a group ticketing area sold as one private space for 12 or 24 guests on “socially distanced barstool seats”.  For Opening Day, $5400 bought seats and meals for 24 guests (including clam chowder, garden salad, chicken sandwich, Italian sausage, Fenway franks, cookies, brownies, soft drinks, beer, and wine).  For the Tampa Bay series, $3600 for 24, or $150 apiece.  That’s a lot of money for good food and seats in what many fans consider the worst grandstand section.

Paper towels are back!

 — A Purist prayer has been answered, thanks to Covid:  paper towel dispensers have been restored in all restrooms, and electric hand dryers have been deactivated.  Blowing bacteria or viruses around with those dryers is obviously a health hazard.  But beyond that, the fan experience at Fenway Park is inarguably improved by making paper towels available once again, as I wrote here in 2017:  “Why?  Because paper towels have many more uses at a ballpark than merely to dry hands.  They are much better for drying faces, and they are the only proper way to clean up children’s messy hands or faces, wipe sweat from the brow or neck on a hot day, or wipe moisture off a seat if it has rained (and an usher is unavailable).  In most cases napkins are a poor substitute in doing these tasks.  Napkins disintegrate when wiping off a wet seat, for example.”

New batting cages under RF grandstand

 

— Changes in the clubhouses involve spreading everyone out (each player gets three lockers, with plastic between players).  This caused spillover into the trainer’s room, and pushed the trainers into the media room.  More batting cage space was needed, and so batting cages were installed under the third base stands, screened off by fencing and opaque tarp material.

There are numerous new health safety protections and protocols everywhere, directed by signage and structures in many areas.  These include:

You can't be blocked by tall fans in front of you.

A lot of Monster seats are blocked off.

— The most basic change is limiting attendance to 4500 fans (12 percent).  Most seats have been tied in the raised position with zip ties.  Those seats that are still operable are in “pods” of two or four seats, with the pods scattered and widely spaced.  This limitation may be eased if state or local authorities permit it.  Pods are not laid out in badly obstructed spots or in the upper rows of the grandstands and bleachers.

— Signs urge fans to be socially distanced entering the park and in other congested places.

— A “no bag” policy to minimizes security employees’ contact with your belongings.  Actually there are some exceptions: diaper bags, medical equipment or supplies, and bags (basically purses) 9” x 5” or smaller.  I would guess that diaper bags unaccompanied by babies are not allowed.  Passing through the metal detectors is a little different.  There are no trays for phones and metal objects; you are told to hold your phone close to your chest and walk through.

— an all-electronic ticket policy means no more paper tickets.  Naturally, the Purist finds this most untraditional and inconvenient.  I have always chosen the paper ticket option (at the expense of some Red Sox Rewards points) for ease of handling tickets in certain situations.  For example, I donate some tickets to charities at dinners I attend (for example the annual Dinner in the Depot held by the Mass. Bay Railroad Enthusiasts).  I auction them off in person, and then hand the winner the tickets.  Or I send tickets to other charities by mail, or sell some to friends in person.  They like having the actual tickets to handle and keep as souvenirs.

The electronic tickets have new protection devices this year to prevent misuse and fraud.  Barcodes are not sent to ticket holders until 48 hours before game time.  When they do appear, they have moving images that make screenshots invalid, much like the digital tickets on the MBTA commuter rail.  One side effect of this is that scalpers will have a difficult time.  Tickets can be forwarded to friends via the Red Sox (or sent to StubHub to sell on the secondary market), but I’m not sure how sales on the street would be possible.

You must have a smartphone to enter the park, since the Ballpark App is the only way to display the barcodes.

— Only a few concession stands are open, because of the small capacity.  The open ones have plexiglass shields protecting employees.  (Similarly, plexiglass protects other employees anywhere they might be close to fans.)  And the concessions are trying to become “contactless”, encouraging RFID credit cards and discouraging cash.  Again, contact between employees and fans is being minimized any way possible.

Concessions items include several familiar offerings, but individual pre-packaged servings are more prevalent.  Don’t look for those condiment dispensers… they have been dispensed with!

— Masks must be worn at all times, unless you are actively eating or drinking IN YOUR OWN SEAT.  Or if you are younger than two years old.  Gaiters and bandanas are prohibited.

— Players and employees have been directed to refrain from throwing balls into the stands.  Players still do that anyway, but the ballboys do not.

— the security employee normally standing on the field down the third base line is no longer there… he’s just inside a gate sitting in a fan’s seat.  And the ballgirls down the foul lines are no longer on the field.

— Paper 2021 schedules are not handed out anywhere, though you can request them by mail.

— There are hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the park.

— Because of the small seating capacity, artificial background noise is piped into all the loudspeakers.  It is a very unpleasant, scratchy, abrasive noise, like the noise you get with a radio turned way up but not tuned to a station.  Even with 4500 fans, there is a fair amount of crowd noise when things are happening on the field, so the fake background isn't always necessary, but maybe the players like it that way.  Actually, the crowd noise reminded me of games in the mid-1960s when attendance was very low (attendance was only an average of 8052 in 1965).


 

The Red Seat

Fenway’s famous Red Seat, only visible when the bleachers are empty or nearly so, is a big element of Boston’s baseball lore.  Often visited by fans who arrive early, mentioned on countless Fenway Park tours, and spoken of in reverence when the conversation turns to Ted Williams, the seat has become an icon.

According to legend, Ted Williams hit a homer off Detroit’s Fred Hutchinson on June 9, 1946.  The ball hit the straw hat worn by fan Joe Boucher, a construction engineer from Albany NY working in Boston.  Boucher was a Yankees fan at the time, but became a devoted Sox fan soon after that day.  Not only was it Ted’s longest home run at Fenway, but it was the longest home run hit by anyone at Fenway.  Boucher was sitting in bleacher 42, row 37, seat 21.  That seat is clearly iconic!

But is it a false icon?  I think there is something very fishy about it. And David Ortiz and others agree.

For starters, it is not a historic artifact.  There was no red seat there on June 9, 1946, when Ted launched his mammoth home run.  One tour guide related a humorous story in which a young fan asked how Ted was lucky enough to hit the only red seat in the bleachers.  Owner Haywood Sullivan had the red seatback installed in 1984.   Later, the bottom part of the seat was changed to red.

And there wasn’t even ANY seat there in 1946, at least any individual seat.  The entire bleachers were constructed with benches in 1934.  Seat numbering is not known to me, but images of 1946 World Series bleacher tickets do not show any seat numbers.

The fan on the right in row 37 is sitting in the red seat. Note every fourth row has extra vertical rise.

Fact-checking the legend

Most elements of the legend are obviously true; the home run and its damage to Boucher’s hat were well documented and reported.  See Harold Kaese’s article in the Boston Globe on June 10, for example.  (Some may wish to debate calling it “the longest home run ever hit at Fenway”; I do not wish to engage that discussion here.)  The only poorly documented element is the exact location the ball landed.  Location depends on reported information and changes to bleacher seating since 1946.

Kaese reported that Boucher “was sitting in the 33rd row of the bleachers, next to the aisle dividing the first and second sections behind the home bullpen. This was a little more than half way up the slope…”  Curiously, this does not match today’s placement in the 37th row.  And also, curiously, today the red seat is behind the visitors’ bullpen, not the home bullpen.  And, curiously enough, today’s red seat is five seats from the aisle, not “next to the aisle”.  Is this a case of inaccurate reporting then, or inaccurate interpretation later?  Did the bullpens change places?

Without access to the Red Sox archives, there is little do do further without making assumptions.  What was the source for “Section 42, Row 37, Seat 21”?

Supposing we do assume that the specific seat location actually was recorded somewhere and was accurate.  Now we can analyze today’s red seat in light of changes to the bleachers since 1946.  The key to the legend is the row number — it’s so far up.  Today (2018) the bleacher rows go up to 50.  37 is 74% of 50, so row 37 is about three-quarters of the way up, not “a little more than half way up” as was reported.

The explanation of this discrepancy is that the bleacher seats were originally wooden benches in about 60 rows rather than individual seats in 50 rows.  Fans were squeezed in tightly, with a pitch of only 24 inches between rows!  During the 1960-1961 offseason -- probably in preparation for the 1961 All-Star Game --  about half of the seating (the lower half) was converted to individual seats.  Pitch was increased from 24” to 30”.  This was done by pouring concrete to make four adjacent rows 6” deeper front-to-back, at which point the fourth row (the bottommost of the four) would be right on top of the old fifth row.  So every fifth row disappeared under concrete.  That’s why when you look at the empty bleachers, every fourth row has an extra vertical rise, giving fans in those rows a height advantage for a better view.

Fans can see the old bench seat pitch and count the number of bench seat rows by examining the underside of the bleacher structure.  Underneath section 43 near the bottom, there is a storage room you can peer into and see the row structure going right down to the ground.  It appears that there were 60 rows originally.  Where was row 37?  My best guess is today’s row 30.

The underside of bleacher 43. I am standing under the original row 37.

A photograph in the on-line Globe for April 4, 1976 shows about 32 rows of lower bleacher seats and 21 rows of upper bleacher benches.  Those 32 rows of seats replaced 39 rows of benches.  Where would row 37 be?  In 1976, five rows above the dividing line.  In 1946, two rows below the dividing line.

1976 view shows original bench rows at top and chair seat rows below.

In 1983, the remaining bench seats were converted to individual seats.  This caused the loss of three more rows, in effect pushing Row 37 even further away from the field.

In summary, since there were more rows in 1946 than now, row 37 back then was not where it is now!  It must have been closer to the field.  Based on the assumption that Boucher sat in row 37 in 1946,  I would recommend moving the red seat down to row 30.  That would:
  — correctly correlate with the concrete evidence (literally!) of the bleacher structure
  — make it closer to “a little more than halfway up the slope”
  — make it closer to the 450-foot distance reported at the time
  — make it a bit less “inhuman” in David Ortiz’s words, a little bit less impossible to hit.


Research questions (If you can answer them, let me know!):

— What is the factual basis for B42/37/21?
— Exactly how many rows of bench seats were there in sections 41-43 originally?
— Were the bench seats numbered in 1946?
— Were the home and away bullpens in 1946 placed the way they are today?
— When was the fence removed separating the bleachers from the right-field grandstand area?
— When were bleacher seats first sold as season tickets?


Bleacher trivia

In 1976 the capacity of the bleachers was 3681 in seats and 3791 in benches.

For most games up until the 1980s (need definite date) the bleachers were general admission (no reserved seats) with the possible exception of season tickets.  The tickets were printed on cheap paper with a different shape from regular tickets with seat numbers shown.

One row of bench seating at Fenway lasted well into the 21st century: The Dunkin’ Dugout, section 41 row 50.  Tickets for it were given out to youth groups.

Bleacher seating capacity:
1934        8400 (approx.)
1975        7472 (decrease reflects loss of every fifth row in lower bleacher)
1986        6563 (decrease reflects loss of every fifth row in upper bleacher)

Bleacher ticket prices:
1912                $0.25
1946 world series        $1.20
1967                $1
1976                $1.25
1986                $4
1986                $5-$6
1997                $10
2003                $10-$20
2004                $12-$20
2005-2006            $12-$23
2011-2013            $12-$28
2016                $15-$32
2017                $20-$36
2018                $25-$38

The Art of the Wall

Would you baseball fans rather spend money to watch a ballgame or visit an art gallery?  See live baseball action, or stare at dozens of small framed paintings amid a few enormous masterpieces?  Well, at Fenway Park you can do both at once.

Fenway Park actually has an art gallery functioning as a backdrop for the game.  It’s The Wall, or if you prefer the Green Monster.  With the exception of the advertisements on its upper half, which are applied decals, everything you see is hand painted artwork.

Everything in white is hand painted. This day saw the debut of the PITTS. sign.

I met The Wall’s artist, Brian, at his Somerville studio, to see where some of this art is created.

Brian told me how it began.  “I got a call in mid-2003, from an assistant of Janet Marie Smith. The new John Henry ownership group had already renewed the manual scoreboard, but the number plates themselves didn’t have a consistent look.”  Smith, former Vice President of Planning and Development, was the visionary whose designs basically saved Fenway Park.  The National League scores were also restored during the renewal.

Since all the plates with numbers and team names were hand painted, who better to contact than a local artist?

“Those plates — some were old, some were new, some were made of vinyl, some were even done in — Helvetica”, Brian related in a disdainful tone.  “They had cans of paint back inside the Monster and the guys would just paint a number freehand when they needed one.  Kind of charming, perhaps, but not consistent. So we took all the plates out, leaned them up against The Wall, and carefully chose the ones that looked the best: the old ones.”  The same approach was taken for the plates with individual letters.

There are many R plates, for rain-delayed games. This one was in a mismatching font.

This R, currently in use, has the correct look.

Brian made stencils by tracing the “good” numbers, and during Sox road trips, he and another artist repainted the number plates under the bleachers.  There are hundreds of those plates, all with numbers on both front and back.  These hand-made paintings look just right when hung in their “frames” on The Wall.

These are the stencils used to make new numbers.  Sometimes the Sox give plates as special gifts, such as a "2" plate given to Derek Jeter before his last MLB game, played at Fenway.

Notice that the "9" and "6" plates are different! The 9's tail is longer.

A few years later, the owners also decided to standardize the team name lettering on the long plates that hang just above BOSTON.  Brian worked on those back in his studio.  By then, some names had already been altered (the original NEW YORK had already been shortened to NY, for example), but some names like BALT remained.

NEW YORK was shortened -- but why?

But in 2013, management decided that all team names should be “consistent” and become the official MLB abbreviations, making more work for Brian.  MINN became MIN, PITT became PIT, BALT became BAL, and CLEVE became CLE.  “I really loved CLEVE.  Loved the aesthetics.  I was very sad to paint it over.  I couldn’t paint it over — I left it, and made CLE on another plate,” he explained.  “So I was extremely happy to be told that CLEVE would be restored last year.”

The iconic CLEVE was never painted over, and was put back in service in 2017 after CLE had been used for a few years.

And that was the result of a letter from me, an ordinary fan, to management requesting a return to the historic format for team names.  One argument was that it was not in fact consistent; true consistency would demand that BOSTON become BOS, which would not look good.  So Brian had some extra work last season to restore the longer team names.  NEW YORK is now spelled out, the way it had been for many years.

NEW YORK was restored in April 2017.

Brian was told to replace PIT with PITTS., which was not the former PITT, but was a throwback to the 1933 scoreboard.  True restoration would specify PITT, but PITTS. is better than PIT.  Anyway, PITTS. made its debut on Opening Day 2017.

I asked Brian what font the lettering has.  “It is no font.  Well, it’s my font.  I based all the letters on the style of the numbers and the style of the old lettering,” he said.  And how about the electronic scoreboard font, that mimics the same style?  “That was made in house, copying my painted letters.”  So almost all the text on the videoboards is, in effect, displaying hand-painted letters!  You may have noticed this year that NESN has replicated the same style in the on-screen text showing scores in other games.

Xaverian Brothers High School needed a plate for their game against St. John's Prep on April 21; Here is the plate freshly painted in the studio.  XBHS won 3-2.

My library has a 1928 book by E. C. Matthews, How to Paint Signs and Sho’ Cards, with a very similar font called Modern Egyptian.  It was a plain and simple lettering style that Matthews recommended a sign painted learn first.  Others can be readily be found on the web.  But Fenway’s organically derived lettering is perfect.  It is much better than the Engravers Gothic font that appeared briefly on the Fenway videoboards a few years ago, and it is arguably the most attractive font of any scoreboard in the major leagues.  Visit other parks, and pay attention to the text graphics.  Almost all of it is b-o-r-i-n-g.

And besides all those name and number plates, Brian also has also painted various large advertising signs on the lower part of the wall, with the assistance of other local artists.  His crew painted the current OPTUM, FW Webb, and CVS signs. Elsewhere in the park, you may have noticed various murals: Remember the Jimmy Fund (under third base grandstand), FDR (under the bleachers), and Go Red Sox / Welcome to the Kids Concourse (inside Gate K).  Those paintings were done by his crew as well.

I wondered if he had painted the scoreboard tin itself.  “I’ve touched it up here and there.  Then there was the Morse Code.  Someone said it wasn’t quite right, and I had to revise it a little,” Brian explained.

And THAT cleared up something that had intrigued me since 1963.  I knew Morse Code as a kid, and saw the vertical code on the scoreboard but had no idea what TAY signified.  I wrote a letter to Ken Coleman to ask what TAY and JAEY meant, and he told me about the Yawkey initials TAY and JRY.

But there was a problem: the “R”, dot-dash-dot, was not painted correctly as the second dot was too far away, and I had read it as dot-dash-space-dot, or AE.  That bothered me for many years.  The Wall at JetBlue Park in Ft. Myers still has the incorrect spacing.  After living far away from Fenway for years, in 2005 I immediately noticed that the Morse Code spacing had been corrected.  And now I know who corrected it!

So the next time you visit Fenway, take a moment to appreciate the beautiful numbers and letters, both hand-painted on the manual scoreboard and duplicated electronically on the videoboards.  And other larger paintings here and there.  Thanks for all you have done, Brian.

Brian with one of his creations in April 2018.