I first wrote an insider’s guide to Fenway Park for the Phoenix eight years ago, and as I prepared to put together the 2002 edition, I decided to look back to see how many of the details needed to be altered. Though I figured that a 90-year-old ballpark couldn’t change that much, I found that numerous aspects of a day with the Red Sox are actually quite different. Many are for the better, and some are certainly for the worse, but let’s agree upfront that we are blessed — and sometimes cursed — to have the chapel of Fenway Park available for our deeply religious experiences each summer. Whether Fenway will be replaced or renovated, we must understand that there is no baseball experience that can compare to an afternoon or evening at our beloved ballpark, and we should make every effort to enjoy it while it still stands.
So what’s been improved at Friendly Fenway in the past eight years? Well, much of the minutiae I outlined back in 1994 is now available on the team’s Web site at www.redsox.com. Back in the mid ’90s, the site didn’t exist and the Internet wasn’t much of a factor in most of our lives — hard as that may be to believe. Now, however, you can get directions to the park, buy tickets, chart the minor-league squads’ progress, and brush up on the team’s storied history with a couple of clicks.
Other improvements in the last decade include much-needed efforts to reduce lines for food (10 additional concession stands are available this season); diversification of available menus; a ban on smoking; weekend shuttle buses from the Ruggles MBTA station; expanded bathrooms (some with changing tables!); and, to be perfectly frank, a greatly improved product on the field. In recent years, the Red Sox, despite having the smallest park in the majors and limited television and radio revenue, have spared no expense in escalating their player salaries. As a result, they have competed consistently with the hated Yankees for the title of highest team payroll. While that has not yet translated into overall success (World Championship scoreboard since 1918: Yankees 26, Sox 0), it has boosted the confidence of Sox die-hards everywhere that the team will spend what it takes to produce a contender. That seems particularly true with the arrival of the new owners, which thus far appear to be more fan- and media-friendly than the previous regime.
The most significant negative change in the past eight years has been — no shock here — the whopping ticket-price increases, as evidenced by the ’94 column’s description of the $18 lower-box, the $12 grandstand, and the $8 bleacher seats. Those updated figures are now $60, $32, and $20/$18, respectively — a jump of more than 200 percent in some cases, though the seats offer the same views that they did eight years ago. But that’s the cost of success, and it hasn’t dissuaded fans from coming through the turnstiles at a record-breaking pace. With a capacity of just over 34,000, Fenway Park is the lure, and people seem willing to pay whatever it takes to experience its charm.
So let’s take a step-by-step look at how best to enjoy Fenway Park, starting with preparations for visiting this hallowed shrine.
Getting tickets
The process by which one purchases tickets is easy; the difficulty lies in securing good tickets: not many of us have the wherewithal or the connections to land infield box seats, which offer such a beautiful view of the park. Those prized seats are usually in the hands of individual or corporate season-ticket holders (or scalpers), so the best seats available to the common people are down the right-field line, into the corner, or in the outfield bleachers.
When contacting the ticket office, keep this in mind: anything down the third-base or left-field line is preferable to the right-field grandstand. Trust me on this. Even sitting in the bleachers is better than sections one through seven in the right-field corner; there, you’ll feel like you’re miles away from the action. If you’re lucky enough to find infield boxes in sections 11 through 31, snap them up, but remember that those seats are under an overhang, so you won’t get any sun, which can matter in April and May when the temperatures are often cool. Next best are probably the right-field boxes, though you’ll find yourself watching most of the game over your left shoulder. Sections five through 10 in the right-field grandstand combine both of those negatives, and sections one through four are just plain lousy, especially for $25. Roof-box seats are available down both the first- and third-base lines, but even with their aerial feel, they’re somewhat overpriced ($60, $32) and can be downright cold when the wind whips up. (To help decide, go to the seating chart on the team’s Web site and click on a particular section to get the view of the field from that section.)
If you’re going to sit in the sunny bleachers, try to get as close to center field as possible, and don’t buy seats in the first three rows of any section, since people will be crossing in front of you during the entire game as they make their way to and from the concession area. It’s also a good idea to get seats close to an aisle, if you’re the type who makes frequent trips downstairs.
If you’re spontaneous, perhaps the standing-room option is just the ticket. For $18, you can get a general-admission ducat that gets you into the park but doesn’t guarantee you a seat (unless you can snag one of the 91 newly introduced " bench " seats that have been placed behind grandstand sections two, five, seven, and nine, which are reserved but have no seatbacks). With a standing-room ticket, you can pick a spot behind the grandstand anywhere in the park, then keep your eyes peeled for a seat that appears unoccupied. This way, you may be able to snag a box seat for the price of a bleacher seat, provided you can avoid the watchful eye of the usher. Eventually, you might get booted out by the seat’s rightful owner, but it’s always worth a shot.
As a general rule, you’re more likely to find better available seats for weeknight games than weekend ones. Fenway Park has already sold out all nine games versus the Yankees this year, and homestands against other marquee teams like the Diamondbacks, Braves, and Mariners are also completely booked, so you’ll probably have to resign yourself to seeing lesser-quality teams. However, be aware that often the home or visiting team will return unused player tickets to the box office on the day of or before any home game, so it pays to check with the box office beforehand, even if a game is officially sold out. Also, get to know the ticket-return policy should you be unable to use the tickets you purchase.
No matter what, though, the best course is to get your tickets soon — nearly a third of the home schedule is already sold out.
Three words: do not drive. I mean it. And if you do, prepare yourself for heartache and frustration. There just aren’t enough parking lots, and those that do exist will charge you at least $20. In addition, you could get blocked in or stuck in a massive traffic jam at the end of the night, which is even worse if there’s a rain-delay or extra-inning situation.
If you must drive, avoid the Kenmore Square area and Storrow Drive near the Kenmore/Fenway exit. The best bets are to drive to any one of the Green Line stops along the B, C, or D lines and take the T in to Kenmore station (or the Fenway stop on the D line), or to park out on Comm Ave, Brookline Avenue, or Beacon Street (west of the park) at metered spots that are free after 6 p.m. But don’t think that by coming into the Fenway a few hours early you’ll find a spot on the street — take it from someone who works down the street from the park.
Perhaps you want to grab a bite or a pint before the game. The five most popular spots in the immediate area are all on Brookline Avenue: the Cask ’n’ Flagon, Boston Beer Works, B.B. Wolf, Copperfield’s, and the Boston Billiard Club. These places will all be loud, packed, and may have lines out the door. You’re better off far from the madding crowd, perhaps over on the other side of Boylston Street to the south. By heading away from the park, westward down Brookline Avenue, and taking a left down an alleyway just past the Il Giardino Café (a great eating and drinking facility at 132 Brookline Avenue) and going two blocks down Kilmarnock Street, you’ll find Thornton’s (American fare with outdoor seating) at 100 Peterborough Street; Sorento’s (fine Italian, also with alfresco seating) at 86 Peterborough; and the homey Linwood Grill (the gritty bar is connected to a nicer bar/restaurant area, serving top-notch barbecue) at 69 Kilmarnock. All three are just five minutes from the park.
When you get to Fenway, check your ticket to see which gate you’ll be entering. Generally, if you’re in box seats or the grandstands, you’ll enter through Gate A, which is adjacent to the ticket office on the corner of Yawkey Way and Brookline Avenue. Bleacher creatures enter through Gate C, which is halfway down Lansdowne Street.
Eight years ago, I wrote about the little-known practice of bringing your own food into the park, but tightened security now prohibits that (along with everything else, save for handbags and perhaps sweatshirts). So barring a pre-game meal elsewhere, you’ll be stuck with ballgame food — fare whose diversity and quality has greatly improved over the years. Unlike most major-league parks, beer is not sold in the stands at Fenway, so you’ll have to trudge down below for your Larry Lucchino Lager. But sodas, popcorn, peanuts, " sports bahs, " dogs, and Cracker Jacks are all sold by the roving vendors.
When’s the best time to head down for a food/drink/souvenirs/bathroom break? Be advised that nearly everyone makes that pilgrimage as soon as the home team gets its third out of the inning, so long lines are usually guaranteed. You’re better off waiting until the Sox have one or two outs in the bottom half of their inning, and then going; it’s possible you’ll miss something noteworthy in the game, but more likely you’ll be back in your seat before any unfolding rally on the field is complete. Plus, TV monitors at the concession stands ensure that you won’t miss a single Trot Nixon trot.
A couple of other things you should know: first, Fenway Park offers hourlong guided tours of the facility during the summer months, so if you’re in the area and won’t be able to see a game, this is the next best thing. Call (617) 236-6666 for schedules and further information. And brand new this season is the opening to the general public of the Diamond Club, the Sox’s function room previously available only for group events. The room becomes a sports bar of sorts for all fans attending home games; its doors open in the seventh inning (or during rain delays) for food and drink, and WEEI’s post-game show is broadcast from the club.
So make a day of it, but stop by the ATM on your way in (or at the park), because the Fenway experience ain’t cheap. Your day at the ballpark will be enhanced by the performances of the folks on the field, but since the outcome is out of your control, the best way to enjoy your visit is to overlook the unavoidable negatives in this 90-year-old structure and realize that we’re the luckiest fans around — with or without 26 bleepin’ championships.
Christopher Young’s " Sporting Eye " column appears Mondays and Fridays on BostonPhoenix.com. He can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com
Getting there
